How to sell products to stores
Selling Techniques - How do I get my product into mainstream stores?
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how do I get my product into mainstream
stores for a lot of entrepreneurs that
is the pinnacle of success they want
their product on the stores at Target
Walmart everywhere that's how they want
to get known they realize that you know
you don't have the distribution you know
you have a great product and you want to
get it out there how do you do it so
it's a great question I God came in from
one of my facebook readers Avery and
Avery is a 17 year old artist she's got
some mad skills and she wants her art to
be sold in stores like Target and be
seen in lobbies of stores and she wants
to know how do I get in how do I get
into the stores there's a few ways to do
it but hey I'll share some of the
experiences that I've had the first way
is you connect with a buyer okay all of
these stores have buyers and they are
out there looking for products to
feature on their shelves you can find
the buyers online if you use websites
like jigsaw or if you see that a the
buyers are commenting in a news articles
you're basically doing your research
online through Google and through
websites like jigsaw to find out who the
buyer is - you can go to trade shows and
events that are industry specific
because you'll have the buyers walking
the floors looking to find new products
and three a lot of times these buyers
will have open calls so you go to a
hotel room or their location and you
pitch them what your product is all
about I've been to one of those I had a
soft-sided DVD instructional salsa DVD
for one of the businesses that I've
invested in and there were I don't know
a thousand people there who lined up to
try to pitch their product it was a
crazy day and I got to speak to one of
the buyers who was in kind of a
lifestyle fitness category and he loved
it and the thing here is you want to be
prepared because most of the people who
pitch to these guys have no idea about
the business side they just say hey
here's a great product what do you I
think you have to have a story why did
you start this business what do you
stand for what are you all about and you
have to have done some market research
who is interested in this product and
why is it a good fit for that store
you're creating a little mini business
plan for them nobody does that
if you've done that and you sure you
understand
their target audience you're way ahead
of most of the people who are coming
you're going up against inventors and
artists who have a capacity to be
business people but it's not ingrained
with them they don't have any skills or
experience or training it's not how they
think and so you you give yourself an
edge but being more prepared so that's
the first way is going out in and
finding the buyers and connecting with
them to help get you in okay the second
way that you can do it is to find
somebody who's already done it and have
them help make introductions for you I
remember when I started my first
business I didn't know anybody I had no
no connections no network nothing it was
me and my business partners and and my
family wasn't in the entrepreneur you
know didn't have their own companies and
so I've talked to my bank as a way to
get started and they put me on to
somebody who put me on the somebody put
me on to somebody else and I eventually
found somebody who became one of my best
mentors and made a lot of introductions
for me and it's starting with the
intention of you want somebody to help
you get into these stores if that's your
goal you'll find a way to make it happen
everybody you talk to you're looking to
find someone who can help you do it
there are consultants who help rep
brands and help them get in they may
take either a fee or they may take a
percentage of the sales that are coming
in basically a hired gun and again if
you're going to talk to these guys and
you can find some other online you can
also find them by just starting to talk
to people in your community you still
need to do the same research because
these guys are getting approached all
the time too by artists and inventors
who want to get in but have not done any
of the research or background
information on how your product is going
to help that target store how that's
going to help target you got to have
that information you have to be prepared
it makes all the difference in the world
and if you have some momentum
any momentum you need to bring that to
the table if you've been in any kind of
media if you've made any kind of sales
right a lot of people have made zero
sales they just have a concept right
show that you've made sales show that
you can ramp up if target comes in and
says I want fifty thousand of these
pieces how are you going to ramp that up
are you making everything by hand or do
you have a process that can be
replicated right these are the important
questions you need to be able to answer
and answer quickly and have thought out
because if you're unprepared the buyer
is going to say no and the person who
can help make introductions for you is
going to say no to so how it thought-out
show some momentum show that you've made
some sales show that people are
following you on Twitter and YouTube and
Facebook you have some momentum we've
got something because that's how you
need to stand out against your
competition when I was in the venture
capital world people were pitching me
their business plans most of them again
just had an idea they had nothing they
had no track record they just gave me a
business plan that wasn't well thought
out they couldn't back up any of their
numbers they had no management team they
had no advisors on board they had no
media they had no customers they had
nothing but an idea and that's what
these guys are used to getting pitched
so you have to come to the table with
more than an idea you have to have some
momentum that's going to help make you
stand out and bring that right front and
center so they know from the beginning
this person is professional this person
is a business person this person is
thought this thing out they have a
product that fits my market and I want
to do business with them that's going to
help you stand out believe those you're
watching liked the video give it a
thumbs up below it always makes me want
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really make my morning everyday when I'm
eating my lentils and checking out
what's going on leave a comment if you
have a question leave it below I'm a
good video response just like I did
today for Avery thank you so much and
I'll see you soon
you
