This article by Steve Wurzel, President of MarketForce Media, appeared in Business Journals across the country.
Selling To Major Retailers Requires Creative Approach
by Steve Wurzel
This past summer, I climbed the Chilkoot Pass in Alaska which took me into the Canadian Yukon. The pass was slippery, dangerous, not well marked, and always full of surprises. Sounds like a good description of what one encounters in the normal course of business today.
Building and growing a business is a lot like making your way through that treacherous Chilkoot Pass. One false move and you're dead.
The business environment today is the most competitive it has ever been. The quality of products is probably at an all time high. (Motorola tries to achieve fewer than three rejects per million parts produced.) As markets become more global, there is a pressure to dominate a particular niche, so acquisitions and buyouts are rampant. What this means to the business executive is that there are fewer and fewer potential customers to sell.
Customers have become far more savvy, so yearly price increases have become a thing of the past. The new mantra is cost reduction. How can I make this same product, with the same quality, for a reduced cost? Are we flexible enough, as a company, to take advantage of market trends and tastes? Are we quick enough to take advantage of the competition when they stumble?
In the 22 years our company, MarketForce, has been in business, we have sold many different product categories into many different marketplaces. A strong business knows where it is the best and how to take advantage of that. It is too difficult for a business to be all things in all markets. Pick your battleground and become the best in that corner of the world.
One lucrative market is selling to major retailers. This is one that many companies choose not to enter simply because they are unfamiliar with it. Everyone would like to sell to Wal-Mart and the other "majors." Just think, overnight your factory would have to work overtime to keep up with the orders!
Dream on. It's not that easy to sell the majors. Wal-Mart does more than $260 billion in annual sales. Its buyers are not sitting around waiting for your product, no matter how imaginative it is.
Is it impossible to sell the majors? Absolutely not!
|
The following are some basic issues to consider before presenting a product to a major account:
• The Window of Opportunity
Certain product categories are reviewed only at certain times of the year. If you miss a category review, you may have to wait an entire year. The reason for this is that a retailer works from a plan-o-gram, the way in which a shelf is set up, so you must be prepared to make your presentation when your product category is being reviewed.
• The Patience of a Saint
If you're not prepared to spend a year to get your product onto the shelves of a major account, don't waste your time and money in a half hearted effort. It takes time to get products placed with the majors, so if you're not willing to invest the time, then you are better off selling the moms and pops.
• Know Your Competition
If you don't know what the company you're trying to replace is charging, then how can you possibly make an intelligent presentation? You have to know everything about your competition. Do you have the resources and know-how to get this information?
• Will Everyone Make Money?
Do you know the margins required on your particular product in order not to be laughed out of the buyers' office? Can you afford to sell at those margins? Are you going to make any money? Will they make money? You can be sure the majors are going to make money, they know exactly what margins they want to make on a product. You had better know this too.
• Do You Have An Attractive Package?
You have only a few seconds to catch the consumer. Does your packaging say, "Buy Me?" Do you have the ability to design something that is eye-catching and tells the story? Good packaging helps move product.
• Can You Get the Buyer to Look at Your Product?
Buyers today are overworked and understaffed. They are responsible for hundreds and even thousands of products. Get to know the buyer you will be dealing with because you may only have one chance.
Selling major retailers can be an extremely profitable market niche for your company. Don't overlook the majors simply because you don't know the tricks of the trade.
|
web design by alicia bequette