Are you ready to sell your product to retail?

Do you have a product to sell to retail?  If you are a consumer products company, an inventor, an entrepreneur, one of your end goals is to successfully sell your products into and through retail stores – either brick and mortar or online.  Whether your goal is to sell your produce regionally, nationally or globally, you must convince a buyer to stock your product.

Many companies believe that a new product is so great that every retail buyer will want their product.  They may or may not be right.  I have talked with a number of product developers who have a “If we build it, retailers will buy it” attitude.  If your company name is Procter & Gamble, Nike, Apple, or Samsung, you are probably right.  If your brand or company is not number one in your market segment, you may have more challenges and competition to earn your spot on the retail shelf.  Mintel’s Global New Product Database currently adds over 20,000 new products a month, worldwide. Are you ready to compete with these products for retail distribution?

I have participated in many new product pitches, and have seen the sales presentations for many others.  Not all products equally excite a retail buyer.  But, even a great product may not reach the shelf if the sell-in presentation does not provide the needed information to meet the buyer’s needs.  The following checklist should help you prepare for your next new product presentation.

_____ Know your market – Shoppers, consumers and competitors.  Know who buys products in your category and why.  Who are you targeting for your new product?  Who is the end consumer?  Who are your future key competitors?  Is it your own products or competitive brands?  If you have a product ready to launch, all of these should be well known to you by now.  Visit and audit stores to learn the market and retailers.

_____ Know your value proposition – Know what is unique and valuable about your product – to retailers, to their shoppers and to their end consumers.  Why does your product truly belong on their retail shelves?  What should it replace?  What data / insights can you bring to back up that pitch?  You will need your reason for being (value proposition) and several supporting data points to justify it (reasons to believe).

_____ Know your target retailers – First of all, learn whom you need to sell to.  Without their name, it will be difficult to get an appointment. If it is a new buyer to you, can you get a referral from someone you know?  You will need to know the retailer well.  What is important to them in the buying decision?  Learn everything you can before setting up an appointment. Make visits to multiple stores before you pitch a retailer. How do they differentiate themselves in the market?  How do they merchandise your category?  What products do they sell at what price?  How do they promote? Be prepared to talk about how your product will fit in their store.

_____ Show proof – Get quick wins early.  Success can accelerate if you can point to others already buying your product.  Create an early success story with 1-2 retailers.  Bring your story and your numbers to prove your results to others.  Today, data sells new products more than relationships.  Bring research and test market data to help your sales pitch resonate.

_____ Where to sell – Don’t sell your largest target customer first, but do not be afraid to sell to large customers early once you have a solid sales story to tell. 

_____ Bring a brand to sell, not just a product – Buyers and shoppers connect with brands, not just products.  Be prepared to talk about your brand and your plans to build your brand in the future.

_____ Intellectual property – Do not present your product before you have protected your intellectual property.  Have you filed at least a provisional patent? Have you trademarked your brand?  Do not discuss your product or brand before you are protected.

_____ Sell sheet – Your sell sheet is a front and back selling tool that lists everything the buyer needs to know to buy your product from you.  It should include:

·       Brand logo – establish the brand for this product

·       Product photo – a great photo of what your product looks like inside and outside of the package

·       Product specifications – all product dimensions, packaging dimensions, product, package and pallet weight, shipping configuration, boxes per case, cases per pallet.

·       Product availability date – when your product will be available to ship

·       UPC code and case codes – for the retailer to enter into their system

·       Merchandising information / suggestions – use a separate sheet if you are offering pre-packed shippers

·       Information on how to place the order – Are orders placed on your website, through EDI, etc.?

·       Company and contact information – to reach you after the meeting

·       Marketing calendar – show your launch support – this can be on a different sheet if room is needed for the above

_____ Product samples in finished retail packaging – Bring, and be prepared to leave, product samples that are production samples that are ready to sell.  Buyers may express interest in a prototype, but they place orders for finished product that is ready to ship.  This means final packaging and product.  Your commercial production line may not yet be commissioned, but you cannot show one product and ship a retailer something different once they order it.

_____ End-user Endorsements – Test your product with target consumers.  Show the test results and quotes from consumers about what they like about your product.

_____ Cost information – Be prepared with the wholesale cost to the retailer, distributor costs if there is a distributor needed, and the manufacturer’s suggested retail pricing (MSRP)

_____ Website / social media – Have your website ready to share in a sell-in meeting.  Social media can be launched when new products are on the shelf, but be prepared to share your digital marketing plan.

_____ Other marketing support – Reach out to media to see if you can get some early PR support.  If your marketing budget is small, PR may be your best friend.  An in-store pre-packed shipper can also provide a second point of distribution or a way to gain initial trial and sales before getting a permanent spot on shelf.  If you will be supporting the launch with advertising or promotion, bring a marketing calendar to show how you will be supporting the product in market. 

_____ Make sure you are ready for success – Know how much volume you can produce AND finance in the first year.  Many new companies fail from not being able to fulfill early large orders.  Others fail from not having the finances lined up to cover costs while waiting to get paid for early orders.

_____ Attend the key trade shows – If you cannot get in to see all of the key buyers or cannot afford to travel to many retailers, go where the key buyers go.  Do not waste money on trade shows that are not important to your key buyers.  Do your research.  Know which trade shows are important to your category buyers and for new product launches.  Buy a booth and prepare an engaging display to capture the attention of potential buyers.  Be ready to sell.

_____ Listen to feedback – Some buyers may give you good coaching and the opportunity to come back with a revised product if they find your initial product falls short of their needs.  This feedback may open opportunities for a revised product and provide ideas for product improvements to create version 2.0.

In short, do your homework and be prepared before you make the sales appointment.  You often get only one chance to sell a new product into a retailer.  Hopefully this list will help you get ready to sell your product to retail.

This blog was originally posted by GrowthSpring Group on the MENG Blend website.

David Lund is the founder and president of GrowthSpring Group – a unique a strategic growth and marketing innovation firm that works with clients to accelerate success by helping them identify and launch new growth initiatives. www.GrowthSpringGroup.com

What kind of elevator do you need for your elevator pitch?

Does your elevator pitch work for you?  Do you need one?  I recently read a blog posted on LinkedIn titled, “I don’t really care about our elevator pitch.”  The author shares he does not care about his pitch, “simply because what matters is issues and opportunities.”

He may have found a way to jump to that conversation, but many have found value in using a simple, but effective pitch to get a conversation going.

You may or may not be pitching your value proposition to a prospective client on an elevator.  For most, probably not.  I do believe, and have repeatedly witnessed, that the ability to clearly and concisely communicate your value proposition can open the door to a meaningful conversation on what you have to offer.  I have also seen the reverse where a poorly articulated value proposition quickly leads to disinterest and a potential missed opportunity.

Elements of an effective pitch

In my experience, a great pitch has three components:

1.    It is short and easy to explain

2.     It shares the unique value or benefit you have to offer

3.    Your benefit engages the listener’s emotions as well as their brain.  It makes them think, “I want that – it will make my world better.”

If your pitch does these three things, you will often get your listener to say, “tell me more.” After all, isn’t that what you want your prospect or a person you are meeting to say?  Your pitch should start a conversation.  A short, meaningful, engaging pitch will do far more to start conversations than a long-winded explanation of everything you have to offer.

What is our company’s pitch? “We help companies grow faster.”  We often hear, “tell me more.”  Then, we have a conversation about their challenges and the value we offer. 

So…what is your elevator pitch? 

Does it fit the three criteria above?  Many do not.  Based on a range of pitches I have heard in the last year, many companies need to work on their pitch – or, at least, they need a special elevator in which to make their pitch. 

See if one of these elevators fits your elevator pitch.  Based on the pitch your company uses today, what type of elevator do you need to deliver it?

Elevator in a tall building – Some people take several minutes to share their pitch.  This requires a long elevator ride in a tall building.  A pitch over 20-30 seconds is likely working against you.  You should be able to deliver your pitch in 1-3 sentences.  My experience is that a great one-sentence pitch will be most effective in prompting someone to respond with “tell me more.”

Many elevators to different floors – This is common with many companies.  Each person at the company makes a slightly different pitch about different aspects of your value proposition.  Some may effectively engage the listener, but as they describe different points of value, your representatives are taking prospects to different destinations.  Your company can be more effective if your entire team is aligned to pitch your company in the same compelling way.

All the elevators look the same as in those other buildings – Your company has an established elevator pitch, but it is so generic prospects cannot tell how you are different from other options.  An example of this would be, “We help you market your products to your customers.”  A generic pitch seldom engages one’s interest or emotions.  Often, the thought or response triggered by pitch like this is, “I already have someone who does that.”

No elevator, take the stairs – This happens when someone has no clear pitch to explain their company.  The listener has to work to learn what the company does. Prospects either ask questions to try and figure out if there is value for them, or they tune out and quickly leave the conversation.  Don’t make prospects become stair climbers, have your pitch prepared for when you meet people.

We have one fantastic high-speed elevator.  This is the best elevator for your pitch.  It is a short ride, it will take you where you want to go, and you are pleased when you get there.  If your pitch quickly engages your listener because you may make their world simpler or better, you likely have a highly effective pitch. 

In the end, the goal of the elevator pitch is to start a conversation, not to start and close a sale in 30 seconds.   Tell enough to engage and communicate your value, but leave your listener wanting to learn more. 

Voltaire once wrote, "The best way to be boring is to leave nothing out."  Don’t be boring.

David Lund is president and founder of GrowthSpring Group, a unique a strategic growth and marketing innovation firm that works with clients to accelerate success by helping them identify and launch new opportunities to profitably grow sales. www.GrowthSpringGroup.com

Is your value proposition selling or sinking your business?

Six questions to help you assess if your value proposition and marketing plan need a tune-up.

When you introduce yourself and start talking about your business, do people truly want to hear more?  When your company advertises its products, do you quickly get more sales?  Does telling your story prompt consumers to try your product?  Can your customers easily explain to friends why your product or service is better than your competitors’?  If you answer “no” to any of these questions, it is likely time to revisit your value proposition – or at least how your are communicating it in the market.  It can be hard to grow your business if your target customers do not fully understand your value.

If the concept of a “value proposition” is new to you, I discussed this important tool in my last blog.  I discussed the importance of focusing your value proposition on the benefit you deliver to your customers rather than just talking about your product.  In this blog, we will look at how to make your value proposition a more effective selling tool.

Many companies have a clear value proposition that they use well to define and drive their marketing communication and customer engagement strategies.   Many other companies are less effective.  How is your value proposition working for you?  Are you as effective as you can be in engaging, selling and building loyalty with your target customers?  The following six questions can help you assess if you need to revisit your value proposition and brand communication.

Is it optimized for your target audience?

If it has been a while since you developed your value proposition, is it possible that either the value you deliver or your target audience has shifted?  Start with your definition of your target customer.  Is it clearly defined?  Have you segmented your market? Have you established personas to help you clearly define and communicate your target customer(s) across your organization?  Once you have a clearly defined set of target customers, you can assess whether your current value proposition communicates the most important benefit and decision criteria for that target audience.  If your currently defined value proposition isn’t what compels them to buy from you – and to tell their friends about your product or service – it is time to work on an update.

Does your value proposition engage your customers’ emotions?

Does your value proposition do more to inform or engage your customer?  If your value proposition does not engage an emotional response, it likely can be stronger.  Most product decisions include both rational and emotional components.  The emotional components are not always top of mind for consumers, but they can be powerful drivers.  Few will buy a new car, boat, fishing reel, dress shoe, bottle of bourbon, a meal from a restaurant, or many other items on a purely factual basis.  Even problem-solving purchases such as a drain cleaner, lawn service, spot remover, or toilet plunger can trigger emotions related to doing the best job and/or removing the fear of a poor result.

Doing the right research with your target customers can uncover the conscious and unconscious purchase drivers for their purchase decision.  If your value proposition can connect strong emotional benefits with the strong factual benefits of your product or service, it will be more effective.

Are you translating it to compelling communication?

Some great value propositions get lost on the way to market.  It is important that your finished marketing communication clearly communicates your value proposition – not just create a funny or engaging piece of communication.  In other words, the value proposition should be the core driver of your marketing messages.  If your target customer is not able to restate your value proposition after reading or viewing your communication, you have work to do.  You communication needs to consistently engage customers and reinforce your value proposition to create a growing number of satisfied and loyal customers – and to get these customers to become advocates for your brand.

Ask prospective target customers what is the key message of your communication.  If they do not talk about your value proposition, you are not optimizing your efforts to grow your business.

Are you engaging people in how you tell your story or simply sharing information?

Another way value propositions get lost on the way to market is when they get simplified into just the facts.  Some marketers just list the features of the product expecting that customers will read the list and buy the product. They expect this information alone to allow the product to win in market. 

As fewer brands can afford significant advertising budgets, they rely more heavily on their packaging to sell their product.  Others rely on word of mouth.  For these products and services, developing a simple, easy-to-understand value proposition will do much more than just listing product features on your package.

Tell your story on your package, in social media and other forms of communication.  Tell what makes your product a compelling one to buy – and why customers should buy it from you.  Then make sure your product delivers the value promised, and does so in a way that supports your story.

Are you speaking with one voice in the market?

Too many brands suffer from schizophrenia.  They talk with different messages, tones and character in different channels. If you use different messages or different copywriters across different advertising, PR, social media and other communication channels, your value proposition can become confused or diffused in the market.  To be most effective, you need to have a consistent brand message, look and feel across all channels.  How your message is communicated will vary by channel – so your brand team needs to review each communication channel to ensure that your branding and value proposition is consistently communicated across all consumer touchpoints.

What are your internal roadblocks?

Sometimes, even the most effective companies can get in their own way.  Internal roadblocks or constraints will reduce the effectiveness of a great team.  This can happen through a reorganization that results in a fracturing of a communication team.  It can come from a growing lack of alignment in a senior leadership team over the defined value proposition for the company.  It can come from an agency that believes it knows better than a company’s brand team about what should be communicated.  It can come from a company that does not invest the time to develop strong communication strategies or align its message across media channels.  When a marketing team gets too busy, communication of a clear value proposition can be a casualty.  Don’t let this happen to you.  Keep sight of potential roadblocks and work to remove them before they disrupt your effectiveness.

I am hopeful the above list will be helpful to you.  Remember, having a weakly defined value proposition may not stop you from doing good business in a market, but it will limit you from achieving as much as you could with a strong value proposition.

This blog was originally posted by GrowthSpring Group on the MENG Blend website.

GrowthSpring Group is a unique a strategic growth and marketing innovation firm that works with clients to accelerate success by helping them identify and launch new opportunities to profitably grow sales. www.GrowthSpringGroup.com

Your Value Proposition: Stop talking about you. What’s in it for me?

How well is your value proposition working for you?

The elevator ride challenge

I have been listening to a lot of business pitches recently.  Between working with clients, a startup accelerator and recent networking meetings, I have heard a lot of people introduce themselves and their business. And…it is boring.

Too often we communicate our businesses in terms of our functional capabilities or industry verticals.  We do not introduce our businesses in a way that is engaging, compelling and meaningful to our current and prospective customers.  I talked with a gentleman this past week and asked him to tell me about his business.  He introduced his business as “we do IT”.  It took two minutes of asking pointed questions for me to uncover their unique point of difference in the IT world. He had not been taught how to sell his business in a way that clearly defines the value they offer.

I have been listening to a lot of entrepreneurial business pitches this year.  One of the biggest challenges for an entrepreneur is to simplify his/her business pitch to a single sentence or at least a compelling 30-second elevator pitch.  After three to five minutes, many entrepreneurs still struggle to explain their business concept clearly.  If the value proposition is not clear, the opportunity for to secure investment in a new business is highly diminished.

I recently took one person for a ride in an actual elevator to pitch her concept, and she did fairly well to simply tell what they do while traveling just four floors. Could you do this?  Can you describe your business in an engaging and compelling way to explain the key benefit to your customers in a 20 to 30 second elevator ride?  Can all the members of your leadership team do this?

Identifying your value proposition

Many companies do a nice job of defining a clear value proposition and compelling reasons to believe it.  Having clear reasons to believe (or RTBs) is also important.  The combination of the value proposition and RTBs help a target customer decide if you provide interesting value to them – the What’s In It For Me factor or (WIIFM).

It does take work to identify and clearly define your value proposition.  Many companies struggle with this. It takes practice and training to do this well.  Here are a couple thoughts to assist you in thinking through how to better define your value proposition.  You and your team may be great at this, but it is surprising how many companies still need work in this area.

Let’s start with what you are not.  If you can identify the products and services you do not provide, you will avoid the temptation of defining your scope and value proposition too broadly.  You may be in IT, but you do not work on hardware.  By defining yourself as not a hardware company, it makes it quicker to define your strengths in the realm of software and/or application development.

What is the one product or service benefit you provide that your customers value from you over your competitors? Articulate what you uniquely offer. Do you make fishing lures or fishing lures that are highly effective because of they way they light up underwater?  Do you run an Italian restaurant or do you run the Italian restaurant with unique family recipes from Northern Italy where all the servers make you feel like family?  Do you sell coffee or do you sell coffee from organic coffee growers whom you work with to help develop sustainable practices in their community and farms?  Do you create websites or do you create websites that effectively engage and sell target customers through an ecommerce platform that is highly customizable?

Make sure your value proposition is relevant and meaningful to your target customers.  Is your value proposition both valuable and differentiated from your competition?  How many restaurants do you know that sell chicken sandwiches?  How many of them have a clearly differentiated chicken sandwich?  What makes it different? 

If you are willing to drive farther to buy something, there is a clearly differentiated value proposition that has engaged you.

Does your communication clearly communicate your value proposition such that a customer would drive further or pay more to get your product or service vs. your competition?  If your answer is no, you have work to do.

If you can afford research, conduct research with your current and target customers to help you understand what they value.  This will help you define and communicate a compelling value proposition.

Why should we believe you?

Once you have a value proposition, you need to support it.  What are your RTBs?

I was recently in the Florida Keys.  Almost every restaurant we saw has an “award winning” key lime pie.  That’s a lot of awards.  Many companies claim to be the best at what they do.  What the winning companies do is define how they uniquely provide a specialized product and service.  They provide clear reasons to believe why they are a better choice for this solution than others.  The restaurant that displays the awards and offers a money-back guarantee if you do not love their pie will stand above those who just claim to be award winning.

Is your company environmentally friendly because you say so (and then buy carbon offsets in exchange for how you conduct day-to-day business)? Or, do you work in a LEED certified building with a net zero use of energy and recycle over 90% of all waste? Which of these two sound more environmentally friendly to you?

Providing clear, powerful and relevant reasons to believe will support your value proposition and make your story authentic and differentiating. 

Write your story

You need to write your own story.  Combine your value proposition and reasons to believe into a 20-30 second story.  Create your own authentic differentiating story as to why customers should do business with you – not why you are great, but why you offer a unique, valuable benefit to them.  Then explain why they should believe that benefit.

When you have this right, it should become the foundation for your communication brief for your brand communication.  Your leadership team should all be able to tell your story.  And, your sales team should also be trained in how to sell with this story. 

This short story about your value proposition is the core of what will differentiate you in the market.  It should not change year to year.  If you consider changing your go-to-market strategy in a way that will change your value proposition, do your homework first.  Make sure your proposed change offers a potential reward that is worth risking and/or disrupting your customer loyalty and business.

For now, make sure your current story is the strongest story you can tell to differentiate and build your business.  Don’t be boring!

This blog was originally posted by GrowthSpring Group on the MENG Blend website 

GrowthSpring Group is a unique a strategic growth and marketing innovation firm that works with clients to accelerate success by helping them identify and launch new opportunities to profitably grow sales. www.GrowthSpringGroup.com