One of the things that has always fascinated me about my Retail MBA business is trying to figure out why some product companies get products into stores while others don’t.

It fascinates me because the product companies that are tremendously successful do NOT have any better or a more interesting product than the ones that are not getting into stores. Why is that?!

That is why I decided to reach out to as many of my Retail MBA students as possible to figure out why some product companies are getting into stores while others aren’t. My findings were pretty fascinating (well I think so ).

Anyhow, I decided to do a quick audio recording on my findings with the end goal of  motivating you to get your products into stores in 2013. I’m hoping this is the tipping point for all of you! If not, I hope you at least find it interesting!!

Either way, just CLICK HERE to listen to the audio.

To Your Success,

Karen Waksman

P.S. If you are finally ready to get your products into stores in 2013, Retail MBA can help! Absolutely no sales experience or existing buyer relationships required!

If you are having trouble selling a product to Walgreens, then watch this short training video on the subject!

And to learn more about how to get your products into stores, click here!

If you are having trouble getting a Manufacturer’s Rep to represent your product, then watch this short training video on the subject!

And to learn more about how to get your products into stores, click here!

Either way, I would love your comments and/or feedback below.

To Your Success,

Karen Waksman

Please leave your comments or questions below! Would love to hear from you!!

Also, if you’d like to learn exactly how to interact with an online retail buyer and ultimately how get them to buy your product, check out my Retail MBA Program! Absolutely no sales experience or existing buyer relationships required!

Even though I teach people how to get their products into retail stores, I still understand the importance of selling your products on a massive scale. So I’m always interested in sharing strategies that entrepreneurs can use to support themselves.

So here is what she did…

She sold her product on Groupon.com.  To listen to the audio recording I creating on the subject, click here:

Either way, here’s the basic breakdown of why she sold her product on Groupon and how she got started.

Groupon is a daily deal site that basically offers ‘group coupons.’ People come to Groupon to find amazing deals for good and services. They receive these amazing deals when a group of people buy the products/services in advance (learn more at Groupon.com).

The important thing to note about Groupon is that they have millions of eyeballs and subscribers who come to their site to purchase stuff. So if your product is chosen by Groupon, then you have the potential to get your product in front of millions of people who might buy your product!

The downfall however is that you have to provide a substantial discount for your product in order to entice people to buy on Groupon. And this obviously gets tricky with wholesale products. Plus, Groupon takes a cut of  every product sold on their site.

However, the idea is that you can make money on the volume of sales you receive from selling on Groupon and more importantly, you can expose your brand to people who might not have known about your product in the first place.

To learn more about how to submit your products to Groupon, Click Here.

Now selling on Groupon is not for every product. So I don’t advocate this option unless you have really thought it through. For instance, if you are not going to make any money on the deal, then maybe you shouldn’t do it? Up to you! As a sales professional, I always focus on generating revenue. But if exposure for your product is all you care about, then it might be the way to go.

One more thing to note – products that do better on Groupon are products that are either discounted heavily, great gift items and/or have a massive appeal. Just food for thought.

To Your Success,

Karen Waksman

P.S. If you want to learn more about how to sell your products on a massive scale to retailers, check out Retail MBA! Absolutely no sales experience or existing buyer relationships required!

First and foremost, I’ve received this question 100′s of times over the years, so just know that you are not alone in wondering if this is the right way to go. If you haven’t sold products to retailers for years like most retail sales professionals have then how would you know? Nobody explains this stuff.

Anyhow, here’s the short answer to the question about sending unsolicited samples to buyers – don’t bother. Let me explain…

Chain store buyers get inundated with product companies approaching them with products, all day every day. It’s just the way it goes with chain stores. And it makes sense! One chain store order can transform your business…

But here’s the deal with chain store buyers. Most don’t even open unsolicited packages and some even return the packages back to you. Why? Because it’s a weird pushy way of getting a chain store buyer to pay attention to you. Plus chain stores have so many restrictions with what a buyer can accept as a ‘gift’ or something in the mail, so sometimes it’s not even up to the buyer as to whether they get that sample or not.

So if I can give you any advice it’s that you should learn how to effectively approach and pitch chain store buyers and send a sample to the buyer when they ask. Why waste money and risk irritating the buyer when you don’t have to?

Here’s something to think about – Maybe you are not getting any response from chain store buyers because you are not pitching them right? Sometimes you are just one tweak away from getting a buyer interested in your product and ultimately getting them to buy! I would rather focus on harnessing my pitch to them then wasting time randomly sending out samples.

Now I’m sure there are a few of you who will say that this worked for you – and I’m happy to hear it! But if it were me, I wouldn’t go that route. I would focus on developing a quality relationship with that buyer based on interest and trust. And the only way I know how to do that is if the buyer actually WANTS to review my product!

Now, for those of you who believe your product will sell better if buyers had a chance to touch and feel your product, then one thing I would do is consider checking out trade shows! Buyers can stop by your booth and experience your product in person. That’s the appeal of trade shows. Yes, they cost money but buyers attend trade shows looking for new products to buy! So definitely something to consider…

Either way, I hope this article shed some light as to when to send a sample out to a chain store buyer.

To Your Success,

Karen Waksman

If you are convinced that your product should be sold at chain store retailers, then you must check out my Retail MBA Program! It will give you a step-by-step plan as to how to get a buyer to pay attention to your product and ultimately getting them to buy.

Here’s what I focus on…

I focus on why my product will make that retailer money. You can hand me any product and I will not do anything with that product until I come up with a story for that buyer that is so compelling that the buyer will have no choice as to buy my product from me. And it’s all about making them money. Let me explain…

Having a new product and pitching it to a chain store buyer can be frustrating. And I’m sure there are plenty of you that can attest to this – the frustrating feeling when a buyer rejects your product even though you have a superior product then what’s out in the marketplace. But I’ll tell you what – I bet you are getting rejected because you haven’t convinced that buyer that your product is going to be a slam dunk decision for them ie the buyer doesn’t really believe your product will sell well enough in their stores. If they really believed it, you would get more purchase orders!

And I see this all of the time. People who come to me with new products always show me their pitch and I can tell exactly why they aren’t making any real money with their product. Their story is not compelling enough. There is no emphasis on the money factor – just features and benefits of the product. A buyer wants to pick products that are going to sell well…they don’t care about your features and benefits. They want results. And so you have to prove to them that your product is going to provide them those results.

Now I know some of you are starting to panic because you don’t have a good story yet as to why your product will make that retailer money. Maybe you don’t have proof of sales or you have some other concern about your product. Well, don’t panic. There’s always a way to come up with that story. There’s an angle everywhere! You just have to focus on what matters to that buyer!

For instance, if you sold thousands of units of your product to smaller retailers over the last few years, tell the buyer! If women between the ages of 35-45 are buying your product and this matters to that retail buyer, tell them! Most people lose out on opportunities with chain stores not because they don’t have a good product, but because they are not saying the right thing to that buyer to get them to buy! There are so many ways to pitch a buyer and the good news is that pitching buyers is a completely learnable skill. Woohoo!

Either way, stop focusing on the features and benefits of your product and start focusing on how that product will generate revenue for that retailer! Generating revenue is the essence of all retail business – otherwise they wouldn’t be able to survive. So focus on what matters to that retail buyer and you will increase your chances of getting purchase orders from chain stores significantly!

To Your Success,

Karen Waksman

P.S. If you want to learn EXACTLY how to create a compelling pitch to chain store buyers, then you absolutely must check out my Retail MBA program! This program will shed years off of your learning curve in regards to selling your products to retailers.

Starting a business is not easy…trust me I know first hand. You start out with a vision and then you put your heart out there. And then all of a sudden opinions and insults show up everywhere! What is that?? All you want to do is actualize your dream of bringing your brilliant product idea to market, but then you start questioning yourself when issues come up.

Maybe the patent lawyer screws up with your patent application or your manufacturer sends you samples that are horrible or ‘experts’ are telling you that your products suck. Bringing a product to market can be scary and confusing and frustrating and I completely get why people quit. But if I can give you any advice its that you shouldn’t quit. Hold on. Even if people are not reacting the way you hoped about your product or you are not selling as much as you had hoped – hold on.

You know conceptually that people who don’t quit tend to win. Even when all of the odds are against them. Sometimes it’s really a matter of your state of mind. Maybe you are too close to the project? Maybe you have so much anger and frustration related to your product because of how difficult it’s been that you can’t see an angle that someone else can see? Sometimes you are just one tweak away from success…remember that!

The one commonality I see of people who are not doing well with their product is their mindset. They typically live in a state of fear. They are not clear and calm and that’s when people’s opinions start getting to them. On the other hand, I can usually tell who is going to do well with their product – these people are positive and focused and won’t give up no matter what. So the real question is…what are you doing to calm your mind during this process? Are you listening to positive self help cd’s or reading good books to help you center yourself? I’m telling you…the product is not just your issue…it’s probably your state of mind as well.

Don’t believe me? How many ridiculous products are on store shelves today? Products that you just laugh at when you see them. They are everywhere!! So don’t tell me that you don’t have a shot of putting your products in stores. People do it every day! And buyers are hungrier then ever for new products, so I can’t believe someone won’t give you a shot if you really believe in your product. The trick is to price and package and come up with a really good story as to why your product should be in stores. Or maybe you figure out that if you changed the product slightly people would buy. Who knows. Obviously there is other stuff you need to do to ensure success but I’m hoping you get my point. You’ve gone this far…finish what you started!

Let me ask you a question…How mad would you be if you quit and then someone got a similar product out to market soon after? I guarantee that would make you mad! The one thing I’ve learned in entrepreneurship is that people tend to quit one step short of success. Don’t be one of those people. Keep seeking answers and you will find a way. Inquire and ask for help and if you run across negative people just smile and walk away. I’ve talked to ‘Experts’ who admitted that they were wrong about a product later. So don’t take everything for face value. Your job is to focus on what you want and find people who can help you get there. That’s it. So bottom line – don’t give up no matter what opinions come your way!

To Your Success,

Karen Waksman

P.S. If you’d like a step-by-step process that will show you exactly how to get your products into stores, click here!

Chain stores are in the business of making money, so they are constantly looking for a balance between keeping products that sell consistently in their stores and finding new products that are interesting for their customer base. Their customers want access to new innovation, but the buyers would prefer to make their jobs easier by only purchasing products that they KNOW will sell.

So how does a buyer KNOW a product will sell? Well the easiest way is to show proven sales. Makes sense, right? If you’ve sold 20,000 units of your product to smaller retailers already you are probably less of a risk for a buyer then if they purchased a product that hasn’t sold anywhere before.

And its understandable! If being a buyer was your day job, wouldn’t you want to do well and only pick products that are going to do well in the stores that you are responsible for? Who wants to risk their job for picking a product that offer no guarantees? Now I’m completely simplifying the retail buying process and there are obviously other reasons a buyer chooses a product, but I’m hoping you get the point. It’s human nature – you pick the things that makes your life easier.

I guess at this point you are assuming what everyone else assumes when I tell them that buyers try and avoid risk related to purchasing products that have no proven sales. People instantly assume that you should start with small retailers. Well, here’s something else to think about… Buyers WILL test new products that have no proven sales if they think it will do well.

They do this because they still need to fulfill their customer’s need for new innovation. They can’t always just pick products based on their own needs. They have to keep testing new products in order to keep things interesting in their stores. So if you think the masses will buy your product, then going direct to chain stores is an option as well! If a buyer reviews your product, and they think it’s interesting, they will buy a small quantity of your product and will test it in some of their stores. The trick is to ensure that your product will sell in stores during the test. Either way, it’s absolutely possible to go direct to chain stores if you’ve never sold to small retailers before.

Now, professionals get mad at me for saying this to people. They think it’s wrong for me to tell people that you don’t have to have proven sales with your product before approaching chain stores because they think I am ruining your options of selling to chain stores in the future. They say you should do everything in your power to do things right…test, research, analyze, go slow, start small and grow. I get that completely but I also believe that you can’t ruin your option of selling to chain stores if you don’t do everything perfectly.

I believe this for several reasons. First of all, some products just do well once they are placed in front of the masses. Sometimes it’s such an interesting product that people will just buy. And anyhow, there are plenty of products that tanked at one retail chain and then did phenomenally well in another retailer. So there is no one particular way to go about bringing a new product to market.

Plus it really depends on your mindset. If you are committed to success and you are in a positive state of mind, you tend to explore all options and know it will all work out regardless of whether a chain store test went wrong.

Here’s another thing to consider, it takes time to sell to a large chain store retailer. It can take months or a year to get a product in their stores. Why? Because chain stores are large organizations and it takes time to get through all of the red tape. So why not go after large chain stores and small retailers all at the same time? My theory is…why can’t you have it all?

So I guess the bottom line is this…only you know what is comfortable for you and your product business. If you would rather be slow and methodical, then go after the smaller retailers first. But if you have the mindset that your product will do well regardless, then try it all! You never know! Either way, you will never truly ruin your chance of selling to a chain store if you messed up initially ie a bad test. All you have to do is be positive, be persistent, learn from your mistakes, go after another chain store, have a better test and show proof to the initial retailer that your product is now doing well. That’s the beautiful thing about persistence and a positive state of mind…you can get anything you want in life!

Food for thought…Either way, I hope this article helped!

To your success,

Karen Waksman