A retail shelf presence can genertate significant revenue for your product.
When you have a product you are trying to sell on your own it can be difficult to get consumer attention. Getting your product on retail shelves can help bring name recognition to your product and boost sales. Retail stores can make it easier for you to direct customers to your product through your advertising. Getting your product on retail shelves can help boost product revenue.
Instructions
1. Research the different retail stores in your area to find the one that would best be suited to sell your product. Visit the stores and analyze the kinds of products they sell, how they display them, and what kind of customers they attract. If you feel your product would do better at a specialty retail store with a more upscale clientele, then make note of those kinds of stores in your area.
2. Ask the manager on duty at each store how you would go about getting your product on the store's shelves. The manager may give you a buyer's name at the company's headquarters, or she may give you the contact information for an independent representative that screens products for the store.
3. Contact the person who makes the buying decisions for the store and arrange a meeting. Try to make the meeting at least one month away to give yourself time to prepare. Ask that all decision makers attend the meeting, request at least an hour to make your presentation and get permission to arrive 15 minutes early to set up.
4. Create a complete presentation of your product to give to the purchasing agent. Include the retail-ready version of the product in working order, the completed packaging materials you will be using to box and display the product, marketing materials, such as promotional sheets and product information sheets; display materials; and shelving information, such as the amount of shelving space each unit requires. You should also have a pricing sheet based on quantities ready to present to the buyer. The buyer will more than likely want to negotiate a final rate, but you can use a price sheet as a starting point to give her some idea of the price you are asking.
5. Call to confirm your meeting two days in advance. Find out if all the decision makers still plan on attending. If someone's schedule has changed, ask to move the meeting to a time when everyone can be there.
Tags: your product, decision makers, Getting your, product retail, product retail shelves, retail shelves, retail shelves help