{"id":667,"date":"2016-02-11T19:36:51","date_gmt":"2016-02-11T19:36:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/condimentmarketing.com\/?p=667"},"modified":"2017-01-22T21:26:37","modified_gmt":"2017-01-22T21:26:37","slug":"how-to-get-your-first-retailer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/condimentmarketing.com\/how-to-get-your-first-retailer\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Get Your First Retailer or &#8220;Knocking on the Door of a Brick and Mortar&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You have the world\u2019s best hot sauce. Your customers are loyal and enthusiastic, and you\u2019re ready to see it on the shelves of a retail store. Retailers will eventually seek you out, but for now, it\u2019s up to you to find and convince them to buy your product. The secret to getting your first retailer is to do your research and be prepared.<\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Meet Tom. Tom also makes a pretty mean hot sauce. Tom is not prepared when he approaches his first retailer. He strolls in with just a bottle of his hot sauce and a smile. The buyer is busy, she\u2019s frequently approached with new products, and she already has four hot sauces on the shelf that are just fine. She\u2019s not interested. Don\u2019t be like Tom.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Do your research.<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Find the right store<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. You already know what store you\u2019d like to be in (you probably already shop there). Consider your brand\u2019s target market, and make sure the store you\u2019re considering has a similar target market. Ask other food producers what retailers they love. They might not want to divulge all of their retailers, but they might tell you which ones are easy to work with, move product, and pay their bills on time.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Display and packaging.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Does your desired store already carry similar products? Think about how you can differentiate yours. How do they have products displayed? Consider creating your own point of purchase display. Does your packaging need to have a UPC code? It might be necessary if your desired store is a bigger retailer.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Price.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> You need to make a profit, so does the retailer. Many retailers want a 50% markup. Don\u2019t sell yourself short, but don\u2019t price yourself out of the market either. Retailers know their customers, and they\u2019ll shy away when they realize your hot sauce will cost their customers $14 per bottle.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contact<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Who\u2019s the decision-maker? It might be the owner, manager, buyer, or if it\u2019s a bigger retailer there might be a local or regional buyer. Give a call to see who it is and, if possible, schedule a time to meet with them.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/condimentmarketing.com\/how-to-work-as-a-marketing-partner-with-your-retailers\/\" target=\"_blank\">How to Work as A Marketing Partner with Your Retailer<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Be prepared.<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sell sheet<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Proactively answer all of the buyer\u2019s questions and grab her attention with an attractive sell sheet. Print in color on high-quality paper and include your company name, logo, brand story (who you are, your mission, where you source ingredients, etc.), professional product photography, testimonials, and contact information. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wholesale pricelist. <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Include wholesale unit price, MSRP (suggested retail unit price), case size, minimum order, payment terms, call to action, and contact info.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bring samples<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for the buyer and other decision makers to taste your product.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>One more thing&#8230;<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Small, local retailers might have additional questions or concerns that you should be ready to address.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cDo you have other retailers in proximity to my store?\u201d<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Smaller retailers might lose interest if your product is found on every corner. They also might lose interest if you\u2019re pursuing national retailers. If this is an issue, you can consider offering exclusivity within a limited geographic area.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cDo you sell the same product on your website?\u201d<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Same issue. Retailers don\u2019t want to compete with your website. Avoid undercutting retailers with the prices on your website.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWill you do tasting events for my customers?\u201d<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> This is often required with bigger retailers, but it\u2019s also a great way to support sales and show goodwill toward your smaller retailers. Click here for more information on working as a marketing partner with your retailer.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tell us about what you did right (or wrong!) when you landed your first retailer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Additional Reading: <a href=\"https:\/\/gumroad.com\/l\/BQgLn\" target=\"_blank\">Make Your Startup Food Biz Look Big With These Special Tips<\/a><\/p>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \r\nvar ceb = document.getElementsByClassName(\"ceb\");\r\nfor (bec = 0; bec < ceb.length; bec++) {\r\n    ceb[bec].style.display = \"none\";\r\n}\r\n<\/script>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You have the world\u2019s best hot sauce. Your customers are loyal and enthusiastic, and you\u2019re ready to see it on the shelves of a retail store. Retailers will eventually seek you out, but for now, it\u2019s up to you to find and convince them to buy your product. The secret to getting your first retailer [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":18,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[129],"tags":[39,331,427],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Get Your First Retailer or &quot;Knocking on the Door of a Brick and Mortar&quot; - The Condiment Marketing Co.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/condimentmarketing.com\/how-to-get-your-first-retailer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Get Your First Retailer or &quot;Knocking on the Door of a Brick and Mortar&quot; - The Condiment Marketing Co.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"You have the world\u2019s best hot sauce. Your customers are loyal and enthusiastic, and you\u2019re ready to see it on the shelves of a retail store. Retailers will eventually seek you out, but for now, it\u2019s up to you to find and convince them to buy your product. The secret to getting your first retailer [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/condimentmarketing.com\/how-to-get-your-first-retailer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Condiment Marketing Co.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/condimentmarketingco\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-02-11T19:36:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-01-22T21:26:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/condimentmarketing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/error-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"714\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Julie Ciezadlo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@CondimentMktg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@CondimentMktg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Julie Ciezadlo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/condimentmarketing.com\/how-to-get-your-first-retailer\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/condimentmarketing.com\/how-to-get-your-first-retailer\/\",\"name\":\"How to Get Your First Retailer or \\\"Knocking on the Door of a Brick and Mortar\\\" - The Condiment Marketing Co.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/condimentmarketing.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/condimentmarketing.com\/how-to-get-your-first-retailer\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/condimentmarketing.com\/how-to-get-your-first-retailer\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/condimentmarketing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/error-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-02-11T19:36:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-01-22T21:26:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/condimentmarketing.com\/#\/schema\/person\/fe663de913c793649f01f90eb6be1fa8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/condimentmarketing.com\/how-to-get-your-first-retailer\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/condimentmarketing.com\/how-to-get-your-first-retailer\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/condimentmarketing.com\/how-to-get-your-first-retailer\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/condimentmarketing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/error-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/condimentmarketing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/error-1.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":714,\"caption\":\"one way road sign\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/condimentmarketing.com\/how-to-get-your-first-retailer\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/condimentmarketing.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Get Your First Retailer or &#8220;Knocking on the Door of a Brick and Mortar&#8221;\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/condimentmarketing.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/condimentmarketing.com\/\",\"name\":\"The Condiment Marketing Co.\",\"description\":\"Denver Marketing Agency for Food Businesses\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/condimentmarketing.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/condimentmarketing.com\/#\/schema\/person\/fe663de913c793649f01f90eb6be1fa8\",\"name\":\"Julie Ciezadlo\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/condimentmarketing.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3ed4359de01e67f54441eb5b2ed57d53?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3ed4359de01e67f54441eb5b2ed57d53?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Julie Ciezadlo\"},\"description\":\"Julie is a copywriter and social media manager at The Condiment Marketing Co. 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