Tips on Reaching out to Retailers Directly

Ok, it’s easy for me to say “simply talk to your wholesale customers directly” but I know there is a lot more to it than that!

There are so many ways to reach your potential retailers.

EDM – Electronic Direct Mail campaigns.

Simply put you might reach out via email to advertise your products. Done properly this approach can be great, I will give you some tips in the coming weeks. BUT you do risk your messages getting lost in crowded inboxes or not reaching the right person to begin with.

Instead, you should try cold calling. Scary right?!

Obviously, this approach refers to phoning new customers as the first point of contact. This method can be intimidating and often has a bad reputation. However, you can use some tips to refine your approach.

• consider calling in the late morning or late afternoon when people are wrapping up their morning or afternoon tasks. Few people want interruptions during the most productive times of their workdays. This article by HubSpot indicates 10-11 AM or 4-5 PM on a Thursday or Friday is the ideal time for a cold call — it’s the sweet spot to connect with new prospects.
• Always address your recipients by their names. Before you pick up the phone, research your potential customer and their business. By doing so, you’ll likely get a better response.

Learning how to approach retail stores to sell your product is a great skill for wholesale distributors to have in their toolbelt. In 2021-2022, it’s even more important to know the right strategies for doing this.

Getting your products into the retail sector via traditional retailers can be a fantastic growth strategy.

It can also do wonders for your product, your business processes, and also for the health of your business as a whole.

There are a few things to consider as you navigate moving your products into retail stores;

1. You have to get more serious about your packaging!
2. You must have your wholesale pricing sorted out!
3. Your shipping and logistics processes need to be rock solid
4. GET READY – you need to have a plan to handle extremely large volumes!

Do you have any questions about reaching out to retailers? I’d love to hear from you – email me at sarah@sarahjcross.com

If 2022 is your year to scale your Product Business, book a complimentary 30-minute call with me here to see if The Creative Product Institute is right for you.