If you have considered starting a wholesale business, or you are currently in the wholesale business, you need to use the power of the Internet to grow your wholesale business.

Many wholesale business are still operating in the dark ages when it comes to marketing and advertising.

The majority of wholesalers still find their customers by either canvassing, telemarketing, or local advertising.

While these advertising and marketing strategies are effective, they are time consuming and expensive.

Take for instance the process of canvassing. A wholesaler who decides to canvass an area will visit local stores to see if they are interested in his or her merchandise.

While canvassing can produce immediate sales, think of what it involves. The wholesaler needs to spend time driving to different areas, then walking into stores where he has to ask for the owner.

Most often the owner will not be in at that time. Even if the store owner is available there is no guarantee that the owner will have any interest in the wholesale product line of the wholesaler.

Telemarketing is alot faster, since you can reach out to hundreds of stores without leaving your desk. But think of the phone bill you will soon have. And since the store owners will not know you, they will be both defensive and suspicious.

You can make a few sales this way, but you will have to make at least 50 calls for every sale.

Local advertising saves you time, and solves the above problem by letting the store owner call you.

But think of the amount of money you will have to spend advertising your wholesale merchandise. And, what if no one calls?

All of the above strategies can produce sales for a wholesaler, but there is a much more efficient and productive way to market your wholesale products.

Using the Internet you can set up a site that will advertise your wholesale merchandise. You can have your wholesale business, and wholesale products, listed in wholesale search engines that target dollar stores, flea market vendors, and eBay sellers.

You not only will save time, but online advertising is usually cheaper than print advertising.

And since your online advertising is targeted, you will be able to specifically reach out to wholesale buyers.

Interested wholesale buyers can then call or email you. Since they have contacted you to buy wholesale products, they will not be defensive when you talk to them, unlike with a telemarketing call.

One strong benefit I almost left out, is that with a wholesale site, you can show potential customers all your wholesale products without having to print a catalog or visit their stores.

If they are interested an item, you can always deliver to their stores, but at point you are making an actual sale, instead of just spending time on a sales call.

Think of all the time and money you will save, and the extra profits you will make, by taking your wholesale business online.

Donny Lowy is the CEO of http://www.closeoutexplosion.com, an online wholesale and closeout business, and http://www.wholesalecloseoutforum.com, an educational resource for the wholesale and closeout business.