Have you never heard back from a reseller that you would like to connect with? Or maybe you rejected an agent or reseller’s request to resell your products. Similar to how you wouldn’t want to work with every reseller who reaches out to you, resellers and agents don’t agree to work with every operator who reaches out to them.

You may find a particular reseller that you really want to work with, whether it’s because they target a specific niche that’s valuable to you, or because they’re highly recommended by your friends or partners. In this case, you want to ensure that you do as much as possible to make your tours & activities irresistible to the reseller when reaching out to them.

In this article, we’ll show you some quick things to include when reaching out to the reseller to ensure that they will want to partner with you and resell your tours & activities.

1) What makes your company different

When a reseller asks to resell your product, the first question you’ll ask is “Why would we want to work with you over another partner? What value do you bring?” Similarly, when you reach out to a reseller, the first thing that’ll come to their mind is “What value is this operator bringing to the table?”

Give them a little background about your company and showcase all the reasons that the reseller should partner with you over other operators. How quickly are you growing? What’s your capacity for customers? Do you have any numbers to back it up?

Here’s an example of what you might say to them:
Last year we did almost 2000 tours, taking on about 10,000 customers. This year we’ve got the capacity to take on 15,000 customers. Customer service is our #1 priority and we’ve received thousands of 5-star reviews as a result. We’ve primarily focused on customers from Australia and New Zealand but are looking to expand further.

2) What are your product’s Unique Selling Points

Think about what makes your products different from your competitors. What would make a reseller want to work with you over an operator who offers a similar experience? What are the main things that your customers love about your tours? Eg. the vehicles, equipment, added experiences. Perhaps the vehicles you use to transport your customers are extremely luxurious or exotic.

A Rezdy customer started a cooking school in Cambodia where his customers could pick their own ingredients from a mini-farm in his backyard – a unique selling point that put him apart by emulating a unique farm-to-table experience that not many other cooking schools can provide.

He also ran tours to the Angkor Wat temples that included a private blessing session with the local monks – who are usually not usually open to travelers. With so many competitors running tours in Angkor Wat, this small addition creates a truly unique and local experience.

3) Do your research

Why do you want to work with the reseller? Why do you think this would be a productive partnership? Maybe your tours & activities are very relevant for the reseller’s target audience.

Perhaps you offer extreme activities like skydiving, this would work really well with an OTA like Adrenaline who targets travelers interested in exciting activities. If you offer your tours in multiple languages, your tours would be highly relevant to resellers who target specific countries.

Knowing about a reseller’s audience, what products they’re interested in, where they’re traveling from, their language preference, overall demographics, etc. demonstrates that you’re genuinely interested in working with the reseller and not just sending out emails to everyone. It’ll also show that you bring value to the table.

Here’s an example of a well-researched message to a reseller:
From the 5 star reviews you are receiving from your customers, I can tell that customer service is a top priority for you. Customer satisfaction is the top priority for us here at company X, and we want to ensure that this is replicated across all our channels, which is why we don’t reach out to resellers we’re unsure about.

I think together we’d be able to create a great experience for a lot of happy customers.

Bonus: Build credibility

You want to build some credibility and show that you’re a serious player in the industry. Here are some ways to do it:

  • Show that you’re well connected
    For example, if someone recommended the reseller to you, let the reseller know.
    “One of my friends at company X mentioned that we’d work really well together.”
  • Show that you’ve been around for a while
    You could also show that you’ve been in the industry for a long time by saying something like: “I’ve been following your company for many years now and have been impressed by the things you’ve been doing.”

You don’t have to close the deal within the email

A big change in marketing in recent years has been to focus on the micro-conversions that lead to a conversion instead of the conversion itself. Meaning focus on influencing the actions that lead to the sale rather than the sale itself.

Don’t ask for the partnership in the email. Instead, ask for the opportunity to chat further over the phone or even in person. That’ll give you the best opportunity to pitch your company; not just for them to resell your tours & activities, but for them to prioritize reselling your tours & activities over that of other companies.