Use a “no” as an opportunity to get more information to improve your pitch.
Never receive a “no” without following up to ask “what would you like to see done differently?” Remember, a “yes” means that you have satisfied the buyer’s requirements in three areas:
1) Product, pricing and packaging are all in order
2) Your supply chain, inventory management and customer support operations are all in order
3) You have a marketing plan for how you will build awareness and drive sales to shelf
I’ll start with why you should care. Understanding how buyers’ are ‘goaled’ helps you frame how to pitch your product to buyers. These goals dictate how buyers make decisions…everything from which vendor to work with, which products to introduce into their assortment and when, plus at what cost and markup. The better you can connect the dots between your product and how your product helps the buyer meet their performance goals, the harder it is for a buyer to tell you “no”.
I would like to share with you a story about a time I said “no” and how it turned into a “yes” and what that vendor did to convert my answer to “yes”.
Company D presented to me a new item they insisted would sell like hot cakes. But it was unproven, was too new to have sales history from other stores, and my gut was lukewarm on the item and therefore, I said “no”. I said “no” probably 3 more times after that. Truth be told, this will likely be what you encounter when pitching to retailers.
Buyers don’t necessarily want to see the results of your market research, but rather, they want to know you have validated your decisions and the product itself. Decisions like product name and concept, packaging design, packaging copy, product claims, marketing messages, formulas and flavors/colors. For example, conducting in-use testing (a consumer takes your product home and uses it for a week, then answers questions about their experience) assures that your product delivers to the promises and claims your product makes. This helps reassure retailers that if they put your product on their shelf, customers will enjoy the experience thereby making their experience at that store favorable. No retailer wants to be known as a store that carries products that don’t work...
What are some of the stumbling blocks people make, when attempting to get their product line into stores?
a. Not building credibility or laying foundation for trust
b. Not building the financial/business case. Your product needs to make business sense to retailers.
c. Saying,“Retailer A is good for my product because…” instead of “my product is good for Retailer A because…”
d. Not understanding the difference between selling as many units as possible vs. selling enough to meet consumer demand
e. Not scaling up slowly
f. Not having incorporated the retailers’ perspective earlier in the game. Like during product development (e.g., packaging)
1) Ask the buyer what his or her concerns are. Is it product-related (pricing, margins, packaging)? Is it an issue of timing or the wrong buying cycle? Is it concerns about the category? Is it because of insufficient marketing support?
2) LISTEN. You’d be surprised how many companies/vendors fail to listen to the reasons given by a buyer. Instead of being defensive or trying to argue or change the buyers mind right then and there, just pause and listen.
3) Ask for permission to get back to them after you’ve investigated their feedback. A buyer will be interested to know if you are able to come back with a solution to the concerns they articulated.
4) When the moment is right and if you are able to do it, offer a guaranteed sale. This means offering to take back your inventory at your expense if it doesn’t sell. This shows tremendous confidence in your product line.
5) Sweeten the deal: Offer them a unique assortment not found elsewhere. In other words, extend a limited time exclusivity on a special color, design, pack size, packaging, etc.
Before you are ready to pitch to a buyer, there are “must-haves” you should first have in place. These “must-haves” are all components of a larger business case you are building to convince buyers they need your product in their assortment. And these components take time to build, which is why it is important to address them now!
Add this “Must Have” to your business case:
Metaphorically! Please, we don’t need people lighting fires at Target stores. Translation: Create a sense of urgency.
Retail buyers aren’t hurting for good products. They see awesome new products – all the time. So what’s stopping them from bringing your awesome product into their stores? Well, you failed to give them a deadline!
Before you are ready to pitch to a buyer, there are “must-haves” you should first have in place. These “must-haves” are all components of a larger business case you are building to convince buyers they need your product in their assortment. And these components take time to build, which is why it is important to address them now!
Here is the next “Must Have” for answering the question, how does your product benefit retailers?