✅ Pitching Products to Retailers - How to get your product in stores
Summary
TLDRKaren Waxman, founder of Retail MBA, outlines five key considerations for pitching products to retail chains like Walmart and Macy's. She emphasizes the importance of a compelling pitch, showcasing past retail successes, understanding that buyers are actively seeking new products, demonstrating reliable systems and processes, and avoiding annoying the buyers with ineffective outreach. Waxman offers insights from her experience and invites interested parties to Retail MBA Live, an event designed to help entrepreneurs successfully pitch and sell to retailers.
Takeaways
- 📚 Focus on creating the best possible pitch for your retail product to make a significant difference in your business.
- 🗓️ Retailers are interested in your past retail successes and want to see that your product has been proven to sell in other stores.
- 🚀 Retail chains are actively seeking new products, so don't assume they aren't interested in what you have to offer.
- 💼 Retail buyers are interested in your business systems and processes to ensure you can deliver products on time and meet their needs.
- 📦 Retailers are concerned about the risk of not being able to deliver, so it's crucial to demonstrate your reliability and capability.
- 🏢 Even if you're a small company or startup, retail chains are open to working with you if you present your product and business effectively.
- 📈 Retailers are looking for the next new product to keep their customers interested and maintain their competitive edge.
- 💡 Retail buyers are busy and don't have time to decipher lengthy or overly detailed information, so keep your pitch concise and impactful.
- 📨 Avoid annoying retail buyers by not sending out long-winded information or overly complex presentations that they won't have time to review.
- 💼 Retail MBA offers live events and trainings that can help you learn exactly how to approach, pitch, and sell to retailers, potentially multiplying your business success.
Q & A
What is the main topic discussed in Karen Waxman's video?
-The video covers the five things to consider when pitching retail chain stores with a physical product.
Why is it important to create the best possible pitch for your retail product?
-Creating the best possible pitch is crucial because if you don't pitch the buyer correctly, they might skim your information, not reply, or ignore your product, even if it’s amazing.
What do retailers want to know about your product's past performance?
-Retailers want to hear about your retail successes and any other retail chains where your product has been sold to ensure your product is not too risky.
What should you do if your product hasn't been sold anywhere before?
-You should express your product’s potential to sell and make the retailer money, even if it hasn’t been sold anywhere before. This might require extra handiwork and careful presentation.
Is it true that retail chains are not interested in looking for new products?
-No, that is a misconception. Retail chains are hungry for the next new product and are actively looking for innovative items to satisfy their customers.
How should you present yourself as a business to retail chains?
-You should demonstrate reliable systems and processes, including your ability to deliver on time, manage shipping and manufacturing, and handle funding to reassure retailers that you are a dependable partner.
What is a common mistake people make when reaching out to retail chains?
-A common mistake is reaching out in a way that annoys buyers, such as providing long-winded, overly detailed information or complicated graphics, which buyers don’t have time to decipher.
What can happen if you annoy retail chain buyers?
-If you annoy retail chain buyers, they may not be interested in your product despite its potential, as they don’t have time to go through lengthy or complex information.
What is the benefit of attending the 'Retail MBA Live' event?
-Attending the 'Retail MBA Live' event provides a full day of guidance on how to make money with your physical product, create a pitch, develop a strategy, and get your products reviewed by retailers.
How often does the 'Retail MBA Live' event take place?
-The 'Retail MBA Live' event takes place almost quarterly.
What is Karen Waxman's primary goal in offering additional trainings?
-Karen Waxman's primary goal is to support individuals in actualizing their dream of getting their products into retailers.
Outlines
🛍️ Pitching to Retail Chains: Key Considerations
Karen Waxman, founder of retail MBA, discusses the critical factors to consider when pitching to retail chains like Walmart or Macy's. She emphasizes that often, retailers can't cure you, meaning that without a proper pitch, your product may be overlooked. Waxman advises focusing on creating an effective pitch that resonates with buyers. She also highlights the importance of showcasing past retail successes to demonstrate product viability and reduce perceived risk. Retailers are actively seeking new products, so it's a misconception that they are not interested. However, they require assurance of a supplier's ability to deliver on time and meet demands, which involves scrutinizing the supplier's systems and processes. Waxman encourages learning about these aspects to make a successful pitch.
📈 Systems and Processes: A Retailer's Perspective
In the second paragraph, Waxman delves into the importance of demonstrating robust systems and processes when pitching to retail chains. Retailers are meticulous about their supply chain and want to ensure that potential partners can deliver products on time and meet the high standards of retail operations. They are particularly concerned about the availability of products on their shelves, as every square footage is crucial for their business. Waxman points out that understanding and presenting one's capabilities in this regard is essential for securing a retail partnership. She also warns against annoying retailers with ineffective communication, urging instead for a clear, concise, and compelling approach. Waxman invites interested individuals to attend 'retail MBA live' events for further guidance on pitching and selling to retailers, promising an enriching experience that can significantly boost one's business.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Retail MBA
💡Pitching
💡Retail Chains
💡Buyer
💡Product
💡Retail Successes
💡Risk
💡Systems and Processes
💡Annoy
💡Retail MBA Live
💡Partnering
Highlights
Karen Waxman, founder of retail MBA, discusses five key considerations when pitching to retail chains.
Retail chains often can't 'cure' you, meaning they may not respond if the pitch isn't tailored correctly.
The importance of using the right language and understanding what matters to buyers in a pitch.
Retailers are interested in your past successes and retail experiences to gauge product viability.
Strategies for pitching to retailers even if you have no previous sales.
Retail buyers are actively seeking new products, contrary to common misconceptions.
Retailers are open to working with small companies and startups if the presentation is appropriate.
The necessity for retailers to understand your systems and processes to ensure timely delivery.
Retailers are concerned about the reliability of new suppliers to maintain their inventory.
Avoid annoying retailers with ineffective communication; learn the right approach.
The potential for a single retail chain order to exponentially grow your business.
retail MBA offers live events, retail MBA live, for in-depth training on pitching to retailers.
retail MBA live events provide a full day of learning and opportunities for product reviews by retailers.
The importance of creating a compelling pitch to stand out to retail buyers.
Retailers are hungry for the next new product, indicating a shift from reliance on big manufacturers.
The role of customer demand in driving retailers to seek out new products from small businesses.
The value of attending retail MBA live events for networking and gaining insights into retail strategies.
Karen Waxman's commitment to supporting entrepreneurs in realizing their dream of retail success.
Transcripts
[Music]
hey everyone this is Karen Waxman
founder of retail MBA and today we're
going to be covering the five things to
consider when pitching retail chain
stores so if you have a great product
that you think would be perfect for
Walmart or Macy's Home Depot Kroger
grocery store or whatever it is for you
we're going to be covering the five
things to think about when you're
pitching them when you're reaching out
to them with your physical product so
let's talk about those five things so
the first thing I want you to consider
is that most the time they can't cure
you so what does that mean it means that
a lot of times people are reaching out
to retail chains maybe they got a buyers
list and they paid for it or maybe they
submitted their product online to
retailers or whatever they're just
following their own strategies you're
trying to cut corners and save on cost
and and they're just going out to
retailers themselves but what happens is
if you don't know how to pitch the buyer
correctly they're actually going to look
at your information kind of skim it and
either not reply or you're just not
gonna get your products in the stores
because a lot of times you're not saying
the words the things that matter to them
correctly and so they just kind of
ignore you so I've seen some of the most
amazing products not get into retail
chains simply because they are not being
heard by the retailer because they just
didn't take the time to really consider
finessing the verbage and setting it up
correctly learning about how to do that
and so forth before they pitch retailers
so a lot of times just can't cure you
and that's too bad because you know you
deserve to get your products in the
retail chain so bottom line
focus on creating the best possible
pitch for your retail product it will
make a huge difference for your business
next thing to consider is they want more
info about what you've done in the past
and so what does that mean so a lot of
retailers pretty much every retailer
would love to hear about your retail
successes if you've sold anywhere before
let's say you're trying to sell the
Walmart they'd love to hear about any
other retail chains that you've sold
into why because they love to hear that
your product is not so risky you see if
you've never sold your product anywhere
before
they may get concerns that your product
works sell in stores so what do you do
if you haven't sold your product
anywhere before
well there's ways to express that in
such a way to get the buyer to believe
that your product will sell that your
product will make them money even if
you've never sold anywhere before how
can I say that I've taught tens of
thousands of people across the globe on
how to get products in the retail chains
I have so many clients who got in the
world's largest retail chains without
any you know sales they haven't gotten
their products the stores anywhere they
went from selling nothing to getting
into the majors and so forth so I know
it's possible but it does require a
little extra handy work and so forth but
generally speaking they want to hear you
know what's been done and so forth
because they want to make sure the
products going to sell once they put it
in stores again all this is learning but
you know you just have to consider that
the next thing that most people don't
realize when they are thinking about
things to consider before or when
pitching retail chains is that these
buyers can't ignore you what does that
mean well most people have the common
misconception that the retail chains
don't care about you and have so many
products and stores that they're not
really going to pay attention to you and
the answer to that is absolutely
ridiculous today more than ever you
chain stores are hungry for the next new
product I have friends who are Walmart
buyers trust me I talk to all sorts of
retailers all the time I do large events
and so forth and we partner with buyers
and everything so I know that these
buyers are scouring the web going to
trade shows you know excited about when
people approach them in very specific
ways but trust me they are looking for
that next food product and the reason
that's important for you to note is
number one do not not consider retail
because they're not interested in
looking for new products it's not true
the other thing is they don't mind if
you're a small company if your startup
or whatever as long as you present
appropriately it would be very
interested in the product and the reason
for that is because their customers are
looking for that next new product and
these retailers know that they will lose
clients if they do not get new products
in those stores it's a very different
game today than when I first got started
back in the day it was very not a big
deal if the big
manufacturers ran everything today small
companies are basically able to get the
source of fairly easily and that's
because these customers want that next
to product and the custom the retailer's
know that the small guys have that
product so definitely our hungry for new
products next thing to consider is they
want more insights today than ever about
your systems and your processes so what
does that mean these retail chains are
really curious about who you are as a
business because they are really afraid
that if they do business with you that
you might not deliver right because if
you don't deliver they lose they have
nothing on the shelves every square
footage is accounted for so what that
means is they're going to look into what
you're up to make sure that you're gonna
be able to deliver on time they're going
to look at your shipping your
deliverability sometimes explore your
manufacturing make sure that you got
everything figured out they're going to
explore you know you and funding and
whatnot you be able to pay for these
orders because they just cannot afford
for people to mess up when they're
working with them and so the good news
is all the stuff is learn about all this
stuff can be cost effective it doesn't
have to cost a lot and so forth but it
is something that you have to think
through before you reach out to these
guys or when you're pitching up to them
because they actually are going to care
about your systems and processes because
they want to make sure again that they
are having a great partner it's worth
their effort to work with you the next
thing is and the final thing is that
they wish you wouldn't annoy them that's
pretty funny to say but a lot of people
reach out to retail chains and they
reach out directly the buyers are so
forth but they do in a way that's really
infuriating to a buyer and so the buyer
is not interested in their products now
that doesn't mean that the buyer doesn't
want to hear from you now if you
approach them in a way that's effective
that's interesting to them that you're
saying the right words trust me they
would be happy to know about your
product is happy to know about you but
the problem is a lot of people are
sending out information to the
retailer's
long-winded information lots of detail
lots of words these buyers don't have
the time to kind of decipher code
because you may think that you have
explained your product perfectly but for
a retailer you know they don't have time
to read through everything to figure
stuff out and where they don't have time
to open 3d graphics or whatever people
get
very creative when they're very excited
about their products so my point is
sharing that with you is that they would
love to know about you but a lot of
times you annoy them so you definitely
want to learn how to actually approach
them correctly because if one chain
store order could be you know 10x or
100x tons your business I mean it can
grow your business exponentially so I
hope that helps the five things to
consider when pitching retail chains and
again this is care wax and retail MBA if
you are interested in learning exactly
how to approach pitch and sell the
retailers we actually do a live event
almost quarterly our events are called
retail MBA live you can take a look at
the link below the website for that
event is retail MBA live.com and
basically not only do we spend a full
day with you walking you through exactly
how to make money with your physical
product we help you create a pitch your
strategy everything we also help you
partner and get your products reviewed
by retailers and so forth so definitely
want to come to one of our events
because they're amazing and magical and
people love them so anyways hope this
helped and by the way please be on the
lookout for additional trainings that I
create because I'm here to support you
and actualizing a dream of getting your
retailers thanks so much
you
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