Partners and resellers in the US: how an Indian business can find them

You have a product US customers have bought twice, and you are tired of finding every buyer yourself. A reseller seems the answer, but the usual first attempt, a long agreement sent to a stranger, gets no reply. An Indian business finds US partners by approaching people who already serve its buyer, offering them margin, training and a reason to switch, and starting with one agreed use case. Begin with one partner, one customer type and one thing they will sell. A partner who has sold one product successfully will help you design the second.

What a US partner needs before they say yes

A partner is running their own business and has limited attention. They will sell your product only if it is easier and more profitable than what they sell now. Check that you can answer these four questions in a sentence each.

• Why would my customer ask for this? The product must solve a problem the partner's customers already mention.
• What do I earn? Margin or commission. When is it paid?
• What do I need to learn? Training they can finish quickly, and someone to ask when stuck.
• What happens when it goes wrong? Returns, support, warranty, who speaks to the buyer.

If you cannot answer the last one, you are not ready. A reseller who has to chase India for every fault may stop offering the product.

Where to look for the first partner

Make a list of ten with a reason beside each, then write to them one at a time. A message that names what they sell and why your product sits beside it is more likely to be read than a programme brochure.

Start with one agreed use case

Write a one-page partner brief with these fields:

1. The customer type the partner will sell to.
2. The single problem the product solves for them.
3. The price the customer pays and the margin the partner keeps.
4. What you provide: samples, a demonstration, a short training, a contact for questions.
5. What the partner agrees to do in the trial: for example, offer it to a named number of customers.
6. How you will judge it, and the date you both sit down to review.
7. How either side can stop.

A short trial with a review date is easy for a partner to accept. A twelve-month exclusive agreement is not.

An invented example: an incense maker in Mysuru

This maker is made up, and so are the numbers. A Mysuru maker of hand-rolled incense wanted US retailers. The first plan was a mailing to eighty wellness shops with a 60-item catalogue and a wholesale price list. Nobody replied, and the one shop that did asked which five items to try first.

The revision started smaller. Two of the maker's US online customers had mentioned a yoga-and-wellness boutique in Portland, so the maker wrote to that shop only. The pitch was narrow: one gift set of three fragrances, sold at the till and online, at a margin both could see on a single page. The maker supplied sample sets, a photo set and a two-line description of how to burn the sticks safely. The trial ran for one season, with a review date, and unsold sample sets would come back.

Say the shop took 12 sets and sold 7. The other 5 came back, and the maker paid the return freight, which ate most of the margin on the seven that sold. Still, the shop wanted to try a second set, and now the maker knew the real cost of a return. The first mistake had been asking a stranger to choose from sixty products. The revision gave the shop one thing to say yes to, which is the size of decision a new partner can make on a busy day.

What to leave out of the first agreement

Avoid exclusive territories, minimum purchase commitments and long terms until you have seen real sales. Leave out price promises you cannot keep when currency and costs move. Have your lawyer or adviser read anything that touches import duties, tax, returns, product claims or warranty, since rules differ by product and place and change over time. Our post on why channel partners stop promoting a brand lists the usual reasons a signed partner goes quiet.

How to run the review at the end of the trial

Sit down with the partner on the agreed date with three things: what was sold, what the customers said, and what slowed things down. Ask the partner what they would change before you say what you would. Then extend the trial, widen it, or end it politely.

When this route is not for you

If your product needs heavy installation or on-site service in the US and you have no way to provide it, a reseller cannot fix that. Direct sales or a service partner comes first. If you have not yet sold to a single US buyer, wait: a partner will ask for proof that someone has bought.

Once a partner signs, onboarding decides whether they sell; partner onboarding is our service for that. If you are still weighing resellers against other ways into the US, start at the United States hub.

What to say on the first call

A twenty-minute call goes better with an order. Say who you are in one sentence, then ask before you pitch.

1. "Which customers of yours ask for something you cannot supply today?"
2. "What do you carry that sits next to this, and what would you drop for it?"
3. Then show the one-page brief and ask, "What would you change so this works in your shop or office?"

If three partners raise the same objection, such as returns, fix it in the brief before you write to a fourth.

Writing to your first three candidates

Pick three from your list of ten, write the one-page brief for each in their own words, and ask for a twenty-minute call. When a trial succeeds and you want to turn it into a programme, tell us what you need.