There are many key moments in setting up a business, but one of the most rewarding is seeing your products on sale in a shop for the first time. Although it's by no means the end of your journey, it's immensely satisfying to see your products on the shelves after all your hard work. And one of the toughest tasks is securing a deal with a retailer.
If you’re at the stage where you’ve developed your business idea sufficiently to pitch your products to retailers, here are some tips on clinching the deal.
### Take care of the details
Before you approach retailers, it’s important to get your product right – and that includes branding and packaging. Everything needs to be in place and ready for a deal to go ahead.
### Find out who to speak to
It’s important you know the best person to pitch to or you could be wasting your efforts. If it’s a very small shop you’re targeting, there might only be one person anyway but at many retailers there will be someone responsible for buying in stock – you need to talk to them directly to arrange a meeting.
### Prepare two pitches
First you need a short pitch for getting the buyer’s interest and securing an appointment. Then you need a longer pitch for your meeting where you can go into greater detail about your business plan, your target market and why the shop should stock your product.
### Don’t rely on email or post
Retail is a busy environment. If you try to make contact in writing alone then you could find yourself waiting a long time for a reply. By all means introduce yourself with an email or letter, but follow up by trying to speak to the right person on the phone or by visiting the shop in person. Also use networking sites such as LinkedIn.
### Be persistent
Don’t lose heart if you initially have problems getting through to a retailer or persuading them to meet you in person. Keep trying, changing tack if necessary.
### Push your product’s USP
Whether trying to secure a meeting for your main pitch or presenting your product and plan to the retail buyer, make sure you emphasise the unique selling point (USP) of your offering. Focus on the solutions your product provides for customers and what differentiates it from its competitors. Stress how innovative and commercially viable your offering is.
### Don’t be overambitious
You need to be realistic about your levels of production. Don’t make promises you can’t keep regarding supplies and order numbers. Make sure you have the capabilities to fulfil any orders you get.
### Be flexible
Keep a range of figures in mind. They might not be the prices you have written down, but sometimes you need to show flexibility in order to secure a deal. Don’t sell yourself short, though – only do the deal if it makes financial sense.
### Help them to sell your product
Getting your product into a shop is only half the battle – it needs to sell. With that in mind, suggest ways the retailer can help your product appeal to their customers – come up with ideas for in-store promotion and marketing. Offer to supply marketing material – that way, you also manage to retain some control of the image of your brand.
