Most Common Questions asked by Potential Distributors

1. How can I be a Brazzen Distributor?
The great thing about being a Brazzen Distributor is there is no distributor fee. Your commitment is to buy equipment. If you want to be a Brazzen Distributor you would need to buy a 40-foot container of mixed inventory of your choice. This would be about $50,000-$60,000 for a container of Brazzen inventory. You would then be given an exclusive area and an agreement that goes for 5 years. 
 
2. How long does it take to get a container of Inventory?
Normally about 10-12 weeks (6 weeks production 4 weeks shipping)
 
3. If I run out of some inventory what will happen?
This will happen, in fact the first year is all about getting enough Inventory on the ground. Overtime, it would be good to have about 5 containers on the ground then you can top it up as needed. It is not uncommon in your 3rd and 4th year you will be receiving 1-2 containers a month, if working as a distributor full time. A lot of distributors also swap goods amongst each other.    
 
4. How do I choose a Brazzen Name?  
We like you to use a Brazzen Name that is related to the area you operate in. It can be named after a town or an area that might describe your area. Example: Brazzen Cairns or Brazzen Blue Mountains. Once you choose your name, we will then give you a name approval letter to state you can use that name. The name must have Brazzen listed first.
 
5. What do I need to do to secure an Area?
We suggest once you have done all your homework and it is something you would like to do, you can pay a deposit to hold the area of $3000 if you choose to be a Distributor. The deposit you pay will be Non-Refundable and go towards your first order. Once the deposit is paid the area will be placed on hold and would no longer be available to anyone else. The area will be on hold for 2 months. During this time, you would then need to finalize your first order and an agreement will be sent and signed and your order will be processed. A 30% deposit of the value of the order will need to be paid, for the inventory ordered, and the balance will need to be paid when receiving the equipment.  The initial deposit will apply to the final balance.
 
6. How do the Exclusive Areas work?
What if I get someone out of my area wanting to buy from me? You can sell outside of your area, as long as it is a referral, a friend, or a family member. It can even come from your advertising as long as you have stated in your advertisement your Brazzen Name and the area you service. This description should be in all your advertising.  You cannot advertise in any media that does not cover some or all of your area. Eg: a local paper that does not cover your Distributor Area, Leaflet drops out of your area, attending Fairs, Shows or Field Days.   Most Distributors areas do not join each other. There is a buffer area between the distributor‘s areas in most cases. This is what we call “No Man’s Land” Any distributor can sell into this area, you can advertise in these areas and attend Fairs, Shows and Field Days. You can’t have a location in this area unless it has been approved from Brazzen Rural. It’s important we are all honest. Rules are there to help all of us. We also have the right to check if all your advertising adheres to the rules and we may from time to time ask your clients where they obtained your details. These advertising rules are designed to benefit the distributor who advertises the most. If you are proactive and advertise on social media, on the internet and other avenues you should be the one to benefit the most. It is not right if you do all the advertising, but the distributor in the area near you does very little advertising, but you would have to give him all the enquiries that are not in your area to him. (this is not fair)   You can refer clients to other distributors at your own discretion. Perhaps the client is too far away for you to service so it is good you pass it to the Distributor closest to the client. It is always good Brazzen gets the sale.   ​
 
7. What happens if I get something damaged or does not work in my shipment?
This will happen at some stage and we will either replace it in the next order or pay the repairs once we have both agreed on a fair price. We will not compensate travel costs if it was sold to the client and malfunctions. We all have business costs when mistakes happen. We just need to both try to minimise them.   ​
 
8. How does warranty work, how long is it? Who pays for and performs warranty work? And how does replacement pieces work if required?
If there is a problem, and there will be at some stage, we will replace it in the next container or we will credit you or we will pay you to fix it. Each part is talked about fairly. If the product is at the clients place we do not cover the transport there etc to replace it. Some occasions we will also travel out to see your client and help him with the problem. The warranty goes for a year but you can warranty it for more if you like. There is not a lot that can go wrong with most of the products.
 
9. Do I need to have a separate phone number with this business?  
Yes, it is best to have a separate phone linked to the business as one day you will sell the business and the goodwill is linked to the phone that you have been advertising for years. ​
 
10. Can I sell my Dealership?  
Yes, you can sell it. More is explained in the Agreement. ​
 
11. Can I terminate my dealership?
Yes, you can terminate at any time. We just need notice according to the Agreement. ​
 
12. How do you know if I am suitable to be a Brazzen Distributor? Do you do a background check or character references?
No, we do not do any checks. It is hard for us to know who is good and who is not at this business. We have had people join we thought would be no good as they have had no experience in Live Stock Equipment at all, but they have become better than the person who said how good they will be and how experienced they are. One of our most successful distributors is a woman who had never dealt with this equipment at all.
 
13. I noticed the Areas do not always join each other and there are areas in between the next Exclusive area? What happens in this Area?
This area we call No Man's Land. It is good to have a buffer between areas. This area can be worked by any distributor. There are more details in point 6. ​
 
14. Is it good to do Fairs and Field days in my area? How do we advertise?
For sure Fairs/Field Days are great to do and should be done every year. This is a great way to get awareness. We will be happy to help and attend your first one. As for advertising you need to use your local papers, any free website listings and Facebook are good ways to get work. You will find word of mouth will come from giving good service and reasonable prices. We also have staff to help you design your business cards and adverts and any promotional materials. We also have promotional material available to buy like caps, pens, teardrop flags, banners, Cooler boxes etc.   ​
 
15. Do we get added to the Distributor area on the Brazzen website?
I think our website is very good but still will be improved all the time. You will be added to our website and we will also have an area for you to have a website within our website. Go to our website and Find a Distributor Tab and then go to a distributor. You will see there is a button that will go to the website. This website can be populated by you. Just give us the info you want on it and the pictures and we will update it for you. There will be a website address you can use and advertise it if you like. It will go straight to your website. ​
 
16. Do we operate from a Property or Store?
Our model is to operate from your property. If you could set aside an acre and put crushed rock down. All the gear can be stored outside but it would be good to have a small shed to keep all the small stuff in. You will need a forklift, to load clients when they pick up, and a trailer to do deliveries. It is good to keep your overheads as low as you can but some of our distributors also operate from stores. Just need to keep in mind the commitment to be in stores, when operating from your ranch you can just meet when you make appointments with clients it’s very convenient, but stores can also increase your sales. We don't mind either way how you operate your business. As long as you have a location in your area. ​
 
17. Can we sell to Farm stores?
Yes, you can as long as it is in your area. You will need to make sure they are not going to sell at low prices. Your margins will be a lot less but they do order in volume and regularly. We have 3 pricing structures.
 
1. Distributor Prices which is the landed prices. (cost of the goods with all the shipping, taxes, port fees and truck fees)
 
2. Wholesale Prices which can be set by the distributor but to sell to stores I would think the wholesale prices will be about 10-15% added to the Distributor Prices. A lot of our Distributors also put their products on consignment with the stores and then they split the profit made between the wholesale price and the retail price. This means the distributor would take 2 bites of the cherry. They would make the margin from the Distributor prices to the wholesale price and also make half of the money from the wholesale price and the retail price, sharing the other half with the store.
 
3. Retail Prices, which is the prices we sell direct to the Farmer.  ​
 
18. Can I sell other products besides Brazzen Equipment?
If Brazzen does not already supply it then you can sell other products but they can't be similar livestock equipment. It can be barbed wire, feed or other items we don't supply. If Brazzen starts to supply such products then you as a distributor would then need to buy from Brazzen.  If you sell products Brazzen does not make you can sell it but it can’t be sold under the Brazzen banner or placed in adverts that make it look like a Brazzen product. ​
 
19. Can I have more than one Distributor Area?
Yes, you can get another area but would need to sign another Agreement related to that area. You will need to have a location in the area. You will need to have another Brazzen Name. ​
 
20. How is my area worked out? Is there a formula?
No, we don't have a formula. Most clients won’t travel more than an hour to buy their Livestock Equipment so we take this into consideration and also population. Unpopulated areas are a lot of larger areas.  You also do not want hours to drive to deliver goods.
 
21. Can I choose the  products I get in the container or in my first order?
Yes of course you can add in what you like, you know your area better than us. You know if you have more horses, cattle or sheep in your area. We will give you a general list of what we do for most of our Distributors when they start, but feel free to let us know what you want and what you don’t want.
 
22. Do I need to worry about the local competition?
I never worry about the competition. Our product is so much better than what I have seen locally. I am sure you saw the oval rails and the galvanizing our equipment has. Brazzen does not sell to any one like others do.  So you never hear the words “thanks for the prices but I will just check down the road to see what prices they have.” You can’t buy Brazzen products down the road. We do not make competition among our Distributors. Some companies sell their equipment to many stores in the same town or city. The only people who win on this, is the company that sells to the stores, leaving the stores to fight over the margins given to clients.  Having an exclusive area gives you the peace of mind that others will not be under cutting you or the person enquiring can’t buy at the other place down the road.  
 
23. Are the shipping, taxes and port fees included in the price of the container?  
Yes, we pay for all the shipping, taxes and all port fees to your door, so you don’t need to worry about extra costs.  
 
24. Can I buy the container that my products are shipped in?
We will credit you an amount of money to return the container back to the port or back to the train port. So that saves us one leg if you keep the container at your end.  It saves us having to send it back to the port or to the train station.  So we will credit you on that amount. We can let you know the cost of the containers if you want to buy one.  
 
25. Can I pick up the container from the port?  
Yes you can pick up the container from the port or organize to pick it up from the train port if you own a truck yourself.  If you can get a better deal, then we will credit you the amount it would cost us to pick it up, take it to you and return it.
 
26. Who pays and schedules shipping from dock to me?  
We look after it all but we keep you in the loop from production to shipping to your place.
 
27. Do containers need to be unloaded at delivery, to be hauled back or pickup at next shipment?
We pay for the container to go back. You can also buy the container if you like and keep it and we will credit you the cost to have sent it back. You do have about 1-2 hours to empty it (depending on the company) after that they charge about $80 an hour so it is good if it is emptied in 2 hours. You will need to make a loading doc.
 
28. Do we make our own advertising materials?
We will supply you with the advertising artwork, but you have to find a local company to set up printing and payment.  In the first container, you will receive free stuff like caps, brochures, canopy for fairs and banner flags etc.  
 
29. Is there a buy back on products not sold?
No, but you can use it yourself or sell it discounted to minimise losses. Other distributors would also buy at the right price.
 
30. Can I have a lawyer go through the agreement and change things before I sign it?
You are more than welcome to hire a lawyer to go through the agreement, but let them know it can’t be changed.  We have one agreement that is the same for every distributor and it can’t be changed by each individual.  We can clarify any points you think aren’t clear, but can’t change what it says.  Also, our distributors can’t buy products that compete with Brazzen products. That’s why we give exclusive areas and don’t sell to everyone. We have a clause in the agreement so we can check all invoices etc. Checking invoices will show us what items you sell.
 
31. What are the timing and payments like for my first container?  
You can put down a $3000 deposit to hold the area. You then can work out what you like to go in your first container which normally takes about 2 weeks to figure out what you want. Once we place your order before the 15th of the month it should be shipped by the end of the following month. When you place the order you need to pay 30% deposit. The $3,000 initial deposit will go towards the 30% deposit. Once the Container is loaded we will let you know and it will take about 3 weeks to get to you and we will pay for all the shipping taxes and trucking to you. You will then be required to unload the container and the container will be returned to port. You will be required to pay the balance 7 days after getting the container.   For your repeated orders: When you place the order you need to pay 30% deposit. Once you place your order before the 15th of the month it should be shipped by the end of the following month. Once the Container is loaded we will let you know and it will take about 3 weeks to get to you and we will pay for all the shipping taxes and trucking to you. You will then be required to unload the container and the container will be returned to port. You will be required to pay the balance 7 days after getting the container. Most of our dealers once they are busy, order a rolling container. When they are receiving a container they are placing an order for the next one. Some of our dealers order 20-30 a year. At this stage they are pretty much doing it full time.