How to get samples manufactured to showcase in front of clients?

Scenario: Currently we are starting to sell merchandising products to our cold call clients by meeting them personally. Our vision is to build a company that has a site portal where people can opt for customized products on demand in bulk. But before that we are looking to serve bulk order customers by approaching them via cold call. We are looking to stabalize B2B operations before entering B2C operations.

Problem: We need to showcase some samples to the potential clients. We can make the samples via two options:

1. Ask the local manufacturer to provide samples. However, he's busy with more profitable tasks than providing samples to our startup.
2. Provide the necessary materials to workers who know how to make these products. The downside is that we'll need to invest money to purchase materials and pay the workers. So money get stuck if samples won't get approved.

How do we tackle this problem of getting samples manufactured to showcase in front of clients?

If the product is small enough then you can resort to a rapid prototyping service or buy a rapid manufacturing machine such as desktop 3D printers.

Economists point out that eCommerce suits inspection goods ... (or services) where it is very easy to determine if what you see matches your needs. Items such as tickets, catalog reorder, books with ISBN numbers etc all meet this criteria and therefore foster frictionless markets as Amazon, Ticketek, and Dell have proven.

Mass customisation poses somewhat different issues. I don't know what your product line is but historically, can be demonstrated through

1. samples
2. scaled down models (eg 1/10th)
3. glossy brochures and fast talking

You can extend this through virtual or augmented reality, carry just a few baseline items and then use overlay software so the customer can quickly see the variations (or customisations) whilst getting a feel for the quality of the basic good