How to Get Wholesale Customers in Australia: 9 Practical Ways for Suppliers

You make a good product, your existing customers keep reordering, and yet new trade accounts arrive slowly. Most come from word of mouth or a rep who happened to know someone. Meanwhile, buyers who could be ordering from you are finding a competitor first.

If you're working out how to get wholesale customers in Australia, the hard part usually isn't the product. It's being visible, credible and easy to buy from at the moment a buyer goes looking. This guide covers nine practical ways Australian manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors can win more trade customers, using free or low-cost channels, with sources for every claim.

Why winning wholesale customers is harder than it looks

Trade buyers do most of their homework before they ever speak to you. In a Gartner survey of 750 B2B buyers, buyers spent only 17% of their buying time meeting potential suppliers. If they were comparing three suppliers, each one got roughly 5% of their time. Most of the rest went on independent research and discussions within the buying group. That research was global and covered complex purchases, but the lesson holds for smaller suppliers too: if a buyer can't find clear information about you, you may never make the shortlist.

Buyers also check whether you're genuine. ASIC tells businesses to search the Australian Business Register's ABN Lookup before dealing with a business, and lists warning signs such as a trading name that isn't registered or an ABN linked to a different entity (ASIC). The ATO adds that if an ABN on an invoice isn't valid or doesn't match the supplier, the payer must withhold at the top tax rate (ATO). Getting found is half the job. Passing the credibility check is the other half.

How to get wholesale customers in Australia: 9 practical ways

1. Define the buyer you actually want

"Anyone who buys in bulk" isn't a target. Write down the type of business (retailer, builder, fabricator, hospitality group, reseller), its size, the states you can deliver to, and what makes a good account for you: order size, frequency and payment reliability. Shopify's guide to wholesale suggests building a buyer profile before pitching anyone, then checking each lead for fit and creditworthiness (Shopify Australia).

Business Queensland describes the familiar sales funnel: many contacts become leads, fewer become prospects, and fewer still become customers (Business Queensland). A tight buyer profile means you spend your effort at the top of the funnel on the right people.

2. Make your offer easy to say yes to

Before you look for buyers, make sure a busy purchasing officer can understand your offer in two minutes. That usually means:

• a trade price list or line sheet with photos, descriptions, pack sizes and trade pricing (Shopify Australia)
• minimum order quantities and any volume pricing tiers
• lead times and where you deliver
• how to order: email, phone, portal or order form
• payment terms for new accounts (more on this below)

If a buyer has to email three times just to find out your minimum order, many won't bother.

3. Be findable where buyers search

When a buyer searches for a product and a state, they should land on a page that answers their questions. On your own website, give each main product line its own page with specifications, applications and the areas you supply, plus a clear way to enquire.

A Google Business Profile can help, but check the rules first. Google says a business must make in-person contact with customers during its stated hours to be eligible (Google Business Profile Help). If you deliver to customers but don't serve them at your premises, you're treated as a service-area business: you hide your address and can list up to 20 service areas (Google Business Profile Help). A purely online brand isn't eligible.

For a step-by-step walkthrough of product pages, Google Business Profile and directory listings, see our guide on how to get your business found on Google as an Australian supplier.

4. List your business in B2B and supplier directories

Directories put your business where buyers are already browsing by category and location, and they give you another page that can appear in search results. Choose ones that are relevant to trade buyers rather than mass-listing everywhere.

• The Cravio B2B Directory. Our B2B Directory is built for Australian businesses that make, stock and supply products to other businesses. Each listing gets its own page with products, photos, location and contact details. Buyers browse by state and category, then contact you directly, with no commission. Every new listing and edit is reviewed before it goes live, and a standard listing is free for founding members.
• Gateway by ICN. The Industry Capability Network connects suppliers with projects across Australia and New Zealand. Australian and New Zealand companies can register free, browse opportunities, express interest in work and receive notifications, and may be recommended to project owners (business.gov.au).
• Your industry association. Many associations publish member directories that buyers in that sector trust.

Whichever directory you use, fill in the profile properly: what you make or supply, product names buyers actually search for, the states you serve and current contact details. A thin listing with one line of text does little.

5. Look at government and major-project supply chains

Government is a large buyer. Under the Commonwealth Procurement Rules, non-corporate Commonwealth entities are committed to buying at least 25% of contracts by value from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for contracts up to $1 billion, with a target of 40% for contracts up to $20 million. For procurements of $10,000 or more and below the relevant threshold, they generally must invite only Australian businesses to make submissions.

Open Australian Government tenders are published on AusTender, where you can register and set up alerts. For major projects, Gateway by ICN lets you set notifications for work packages that match your capabilities and submit expressions of interest. ICN is upfront that an expression of interest doesn't guarantee an invitation to tender (Gateway by ICN), so treat it as getting on the radar rather than a sale. For where tenders are listed, how to write a strong bid and how quickly government pays, see our guide on how to win government contracts in Australia.

6. Use trade shows for relationships, not instant sales

At a B2B trade show you meet retailers, wholesalers, agents and distributors, but Tasmania's trade show guide notes that you generally can't make direct sales there and contracts often come well after the show (Department of State Growth). Business Queensland recommends inviting key prospects before the event, training staff on your key points, collecting lead details and making it easy for customers to buy at the show and afterwards (Business Queensland).

The follow-up is where most shows pay off or don't. Send your price list and a short company profile within days, while they still remember your stand. If you'd rather have a distributor carry your range to those buyers, our guide on how to find a distributor for your product in Australia covers where to look and how to vet them.

7. Do outreach that's legal and welcome

Cold outreach works best when it's targeted and short, but email has rules. Under the Spam Act, you need consent to send commercial emails, and every message must identify you, include contact details and offer an unsubscribe option that's honoured within five working days (ACMA).

There's a narrow exception for business addresses: consent can be inferred when a work address is conspicuously published, there's no "no marketing" statement with it, and your message is relevant to that person's role (Spam Act, Schedule 2). A published purchasing@ address and a relevant product offer may fit. Buying a mailing list doesn't remove your responsibility for consent (ACMA). If in doubt, phone first or ask for permission face to face.

8. Make it easy to check that you're legitimate

Remember the ASIC checks above. Make them easy to pass:

• show your ABN and legal entity name on your website, quotes and invoices, and make sure they match
• use a company email address on your own domain rather than a free webmail account
• show a real address or service area, real photos of your products and premises, and any accreditations
• have two or three trade references ready, since ASIC suggests buyers ask for referees (ASIC)

This is also why the Cravio B2B Directory asks for a business email and reviews each listing before publishing: buyers are more willing to make contact when they can trust what they see.

9. Set clear trade terms before the first order

Clear terms make you easier to deal with and protect your cash flow. business.gov.au notes that credit is common in business-to-business sales, and suggests credit checks, credit limits and making it clear that customers don't own the goods until they've paid in full (business.gov.au).

If you use the same terms for every customer, they're likely a standard form contract. Since 9 November 2023, unfair terms in standard form contracts with small businesses (fewer than 100 employees or under $10 million turnover) are banned and penalties apply (ACCC). Have your terms of trade reviewed so they're fair and easy to accept.

Keep the wholesale customers you win

Business Queensland makes the point that satisfied existing customers who bring repeat business and referrals are very valuable (Business Queensland). In wholesale, that mostly comes down to reliable delivery, accurate orders and quick answers about stock and pricing.

If orders arrive by email and PDF and someone retypes each one, that's often where errors and delays creep in as you grow. Our guide to AI order entry for wholesalers in Australia explains how to cut that retyping without changing your ERP. We help manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors with this kind of work.

A simple 30-day plan

1. Week 1: write your buyer profile and finish your trade price list, minimum orders, lead times and payment terms.
2. Week 2: fix your website product pages, check your ABN details match everywhere, and set up or correct your Google Business Profile if you're eligible.
3. Week 3: create complete listings in two or three relevant directories, such as the Cravio B2B Directory and Gateway by ICN, and set up AusTender alerts if government work suits you.
4. Week 4: contact 20 to 30 well-matched prospects by phone or compliant email, and book any trade shows worth attending.

Then track where each new enquiry came from, so you know which channels to keep.

FAQ

What's the fastest way to get wholesale customers?

Start with buyers you can reach directly: past enquiries, referrals from current customers and well-matched prospects you contact by phone or compliant email. In parallel, list your business in relevant directories so buyers who are already searching can find you.

Do I need a website to get wholesale customers?

It helps a lot, because buyers research before they make contact. If you don't have a good website yet, a complete directory profile with products, photos and contact details gives buyers somewhere credible to land.

Is it legal to cold email businesses in Australia?

Only in limited cases. You need consent, which can sometimes be inferred from a conspicuously published work address when your message is relevant to that person's role. Every message must identify you and include a working unsubscribe option. Check the ACMA guidance before you start.

Is the Cravio B2B Directory really free?

Yes. A standard listing is free for founding members, and no credit card is needed to sign up. You can build the listing yourself, or ask our team to set it up for you.

List your business where Australian buyers look

Getting wholesale customers comes down to being findable, credible and easy to order from. The Cravio B2B Directory gives your business its own profile page with your products, photos, location and contact details, so trade buyers can find you by state and category and contact you directly. Create your free account with your company email, and we'll review your listing before it goes live.