How To Approach Retail Stores To Sell Your Product

Greetings from Sarah,

My hometown of Melbourne has officially been named the ‘longest lockdown City in the World’…not exactly the title we all want to be known for. 

Our tough government restrictions have been mentally challenging and I’m craving to connect in person with our friends and family and be able to dine in our favourite cafes and restaurants.

It also means we’re not able to physically go into retail stores and develop relationships in person which can put hold on getting your products into stores.

How to approach retail stores to sell your product is something that I get asked A LOT!

Getting your products into retail stores can be the boost you need to grow your wholesale product business. So learning how to approach retail stores to sell your product is an important part of your wholesale journey and a crucial skill to scale your business. 

Wholesaling creates consistency with recurring orders, it’s scalable and you have greater buying power. It also helps to build more brand awareness and visibility than ever before.

Here are my 3 steps to getting your product in stores. 

Identify

As some of us are experiencing in Australia right now, we’re not able to travel or visit stores in person due to lockdowns so using social media tools like LinkedIn or Instagram are a fantastic way to identify and get in touch with your target stockists. 

Reverse engineering plays a huge role in this process and I have a great hack to finding potential stockists. Find a similar product to your own and head to their website. They will have a list of all of the fabulous stockists that they supply to. These stockists may be a product market match fit for you to be able to approach, saving you time by giving you a shortcut.

Nurture

Now that you have a list of stockists in mind, LinkedIn and instagram are really fabulous ways to start breaking the ice and starting nurturing the relationship.

Once you’ve built an organic relationship, you can then provide the stockist with your digital look book or wholesale line sheet.

Touch Points

Once you’ve built the know, like and trust you can then send a small size sample pack directly to the decision maker. Identifying who the decision maker is early in this process will save you time and get results faster. 

Hot Tip: The fortune is in the follow up. 

You will need to follow up with the store owner or buyer to discuss the opportunity to be stocked in their stores. The best time to do this is at the beginning of the week, Monday or Tuesday between 10am and 1pm. 

These are processes that I teach in my Products to Profits 4 Step Product Marketing System. The program includes proven strategies that have allowed me and so many of my members to deliver real value to their clients, earn their trust and increase their revenue. 

If you’re ready to step into wholesaling with clarity, ease & support, click here to find out more about my Products to Profits Program.