What you’re about to read can transform your life forever. Therefore, I strongly recommend that you take your time to read and understand every word of it from start to finish.

The idea is a straight forward one, and easy to implement too. Also, it doesn’t require a lot of capital to start. I believe you are aware that most of the items you and I use everyday like soap, detergents, cream, beverages, drugs, footwear, animal feed, etc. are produced from agricultural produce like palm oil, palm kernel oil, cocoa, garlic, groundnuts, maize, etc.

The companies that manufacture these products use these agricultural produce as raw materials. It would be safe to say that without these raw materials, the companies will shutdown. Hence, these companies are always on the lookout for individuals who can supply them with these agricultural produce, and at competitive prices.

On the other hand, farmers who cultivate these produce are looking for people to sell to. Majority of them do not have access to these companies, making them rely solely on individuals who buy on a small scale. Often times, their produce get spoilt because they are unable to sell them all and they do not have the facilities to preserve them.

The idea I’m sharing with you is about being a link or middleman between the companies and the farmers.

Like I said earlier, the idea is straight forward. It does not require plenty of capital and highly convenient. It doesn’t have to affect your full-time job if you have one already.

What You Need To Start:

1. A mobile phone.

2. A laptop with internet connection (For Research). There’s no problem if you don’t have a laptop, a phone with browsing facility will do. And if you don’t have that, you can use the cyber café.

3. A few bucks for marketing (You need to create a business card, proposal and transport yourself to and from the company location).

4. Nothing More (You don’t need an office to do this).

These are the steps to follow:

1. Create a list of FMCG companies with their address, phone numbers, and the raw materials they use in production. FMCG stands for Fast Moving Consumer Goods. Soap, drugs, cosmetics, cream, beverages, etc fall under this category. You’ll find them on business directories.

2. Do an internet research on farmers and people who deal in these agricultural products: palm oil, groundnut, maize, sorghum, palm kernel oil, cassava, cocoa, plantain, coconut, banana, pepper, kola nuts, ginger, garlic, etc. You won’t need to do this if you’re close to where they’re cultivated. The agricultural section on Nairaland, www.nairaland.com/agriculture is a good place to start your online search. You’ll also find this link: www.nairaland.com/2222332/nairaland-farmers-contact-details to be very helpful. It contains contact details of hundreds of farmers and dealers in agricultural produce.

3. Discuss with the sellers. Tell them that if their price is good, you could help them get companies that will buy up all their products and that the only thing they’ll do in return is to give you a little commission from the profit they made. You can make it a percentage of sales or profit. I believe they will all agree. Tell me, if you were in their shoes would you have objected? I guess the answer is “NO” (Make sure the people you are dealing with are the real owners of the product, who can afford to make delivery before getting paid).

4. Write a very compelling proposal, using low pricing as your key selling point.

5. Call some of the companies to book an appointment.

6. Visit them to submit a proposal on supplying them with quality raw materials at very competitive prices. Also hand them some of your business cards (Ensure to get the current prices of products from the sellers before visiting the companies).

7. Try to convince them that you are a direct agent of the farmers and that you are representing their interest.

8. Some of them will reject your offers on the grounds that the prices are not good enough, they already have a regular supplier or they have an in-house team that does the sourcing of raw materials.

9. Some will accepted your offer.

10. Continue to communicate with the ones that accepted your offer. Call them at least once in a week as a reminder. Also, send each of the companies an SMS at least once in a week (preferably on Mondays) and during festive occasions like Christmas, Easter, New Year, Independence Day, Democracy Day, Etc. Remember to add a signature to all your messages. Example: From Patrick Okunima (Agric Produce Supplier) Tel: 08104502652.

11. When they need agricultural raw materials, they will call you. And you in turn will call the farmer or the dealers and get them to make the supply. Some companies pay on delivery, others pay after a week or a month, depending on the term of the Local Purchase Order (LPO) issued.

12. After payment, you get a commission from the seller.

Depending on the volume of produce the company buys, sometimes you can earn a hundred thousand naira or more on a single transaction. I am not exaggerating. I have earned more than that in commission, without leaving my room. Just a few calls on the phone and a few days later I get an alert.

PatrickOkunima:
If you're determined, you can turn this idea into a full-time business.

ovo12:


Nice one .. what is the full meaning of FMGC

PatrickOkunima:


Fast Moving Consumer Goods.

PatrickOkunima:
If you're determined, you can turn this idea into a full-time business.