Sell Into Retail: Supporting Midmarket Product Companies

Sell-in support is crucial for midmarket product manufacturers who struggle with the competitive retail purchasing process.

Don’t Sweat the Line Review!

Many companies lack the resources to create and package products that win line reviews with picky buyers. We help manufacturers strategize the 30 minutes they have with these buyers to get the shelf space they want. See how we supported Jarden Group’s Pine Mountain to successfully sell in and generate almost $5 million at twice the average gross margin.

We’ve done the same for Sanford/Expo, Juvo Products, Killerspin, Jim Beam, Wilson Sports and others.

Lead with the P&L, NOT the Creative.

(A Sexy P&L Wins Over Sexy Creative Every Time)

Yes, buyers want new and exciting, but it’s the transaction that drives your P&L. We love pulling cool marketing levers, but what we’re truly passionate about is seeing your revenue grow because a buyer placed your product.

Play to Win!

Buyers expect products born of consumer insight. However, a big research deck only applies when a buyer wants to go deep. What’s truly powerful are 5 compelling slides that cut to the chase – “the money slides” – and we’ll build those for you.

The Power of Packaging.

We’ve seen packaging, branding, feature and benefit messaging become a rushed exercise because you don’t have the resources necessary for a long process. That’s where we come in.

We call it our “cut-the-crap” process. And we can do it in as few as 60-70 days. Imagine having a validated selling story two months from now. Then imagine winning the line review.

Here's How: Our Seven Step Process:

Step 1: Immersion. Not weeks interviewing employees; just a day with you asking hard questions about your business. We’ll ask for your P&L, your understanding of the competition, and your research. We know the answers to many of the challenges are hidden in your documents.

Step 2: Discovery. We review your consumer with one question in mind: What are their unmet needs?

Step 3: Ideate. We facilitate ideation and our team contributes in measurable ways.

Step 4: Validate. We have the utmost respect for consumers, so we’ll spend most of our time with them. We’ll conduct qualitative research to ensure more informed decisions about product design, package design, messaging strategy and marketing support programs.

Step 5: Quantify. Buyers want to know that your product is going to sell, and they want to know this in quantitative kinds of ways. We’ll manage the quantitative research for you. Oh, and we always test our solutions against the competition.

Step 6: The Money Slides. Using the work from the prior five steps, we’ll build the money slides for the line review. You won’t have to do a thing with them. They’re ready. You’re ready.

Step 7: Develop the marketing solution.Buyers want their brands marketed. That begins with product naming, logo, and packaging. Marketing support also includes POS, as well as campaigns like engagement and activation programs, CRM / email marketing, digital content, social media, PR, and display advertising. We’ll outfit your sales presentation with a plan and demonstrations to drive home the point.