September 17, 2013

When putting together your pitch to retailers, your first order of business is to shop their store and get a sense for the selling environment. Develop opinions and propose recommendations for how your brand or product line can live successfully in their store environment. To develop your expertise, follow this checklist. And in one-hour, you’ll be dropping lingo like you’ve been a retail expert for ages.

Observe the following:

note the different sections of the store your product might fit
note your potential competitors are within that store and their retail prices
potential complementary products in-store that could be purchased with yours
their merchandising and POP displays
shelf communication and signage – do they use little, some, a lot?
store shelf/display dimensions
store organization – clean, cluttered, clear navigation?