And it’s a legitimate question! You want to know if you can afford to even with work with a distributor. Especially for companies who are already dealing with tight margins on the retail level.

So what’s my answer? Well, here’s a quick audio that explains how distributors typically charge. Just click on the following link:

Distributor Fees

To Your Success,

Karen Waksman

P.S. If you like this content or you have any questions, please comment below! I love feedback. Thanks!

And although I typically try and avoid working with distributors when selling to retailers, sometimes it’s a must! If a buyer tells me that I have to work with a distributor for instance, then I usually comply and find a distributor. What can I do? If I want to sell to that retailer then I have to follow protocol.

So how do I get a distributor to represent me? Well, I’ve actually outlined one of my favorite tricks in the audio recording below. It’s short and to the point and gives you advice that you can utilize today with your own product!

Just click on the following link to listen to the audio:

Getting a Distributor to Represent You

To Your Success,

Karen Waksman

P.S. If you’d like this information and would like to learn more about working with distributors and getting your products into retailers, then you might like the Retail MBA Program that we have developed on the subject.

Getting a product into a chain store can be a slow and frustrating process. It takes time, persistence and the right product. However, the good news is that if you get a test order from just one chain store, and that test order goes well, the return on investment can be huge!

So you will have to put in extra hours initially to get that first purchase order from a chain store and to ensure that your product sells well during that test. In the meantime, be prepared to be rejected by buyers. It’s just the way that it goes with chain stores. But the good news is that all you need is one chain store success story to catapult your business!

So going back to the original question…how long does it take to get your products into chain stores? It’s not an easy question to answer. Sometimes it takes months and months and even a year to get products into chain stores, sometimes it takes no time at all. The real questions you should be asking yourself are:

1) How committed am I to getting a chain store buyer to buy?
2) Am I willing to continue to reach out to chain stores until I get one of them to buy my product?
3) Am I willing to expand my reach and find other potential retail buyers to work with?
4) Am I willing to get support from an industry expert if I feel stuck along the way?
5) Am I willing to make adjustments to my product or packaging if this is the way a buyer will be willing to buy my product?

It’s just like everything else in life. If you are committed and believe in something, then things happen in your favor. If you do nothing, you get nothing. Therefore, if you say to yourself I will do whatever it takes to win, then you will! So go out and approach those chain store buyers! And quit worrying about time frames…all you should be focusing on is that you will do whatever it takes to win!

To Your Success,

Karen Waksman

The basic premise behind this strategy is that you have to stand out from your competition at these shows. You cannot sit on the sideline hoping business will come to you. I am constantly speaking at huge trade shows and so I have seen enough exhibitors to know that it can be a struggle to generate revenue. Anyhow, this is just one tip, but I hope it helps!

To listen to this podcast, just click on this link:

Getting Your Products Sold at Trade Shows

To Your Success.

Karen Waksman

Paul runs the Product Liability Insurance division at Sadler and Company, an insurance agency specializing in this type of insurance. The following are some of the questions I asked him in this interview:

1) What is product liability insurance and how does it relate to chain stores
2) What do chain stores expect from you in regards to insurance coverage
3) What does it typically cost to get product liability insurance
4) What small business owners need to know about getting coverage…and more!

Here’s the link to the interview. Hope it helps!

Product Liability Insurance Interview Link

To Your Success.

Karen Waksman

https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/920569295

Description:

Discover how ANYONE can sell their product or invention to the world’s largest retailers without any previous sales experience and without any existing buyer relationships.

This webcast, moderated by Karen Waksman, will enable all participants to learn and ask questions about how to get products sold at retail. Karen Waksman (www.retailmba.com) is a Manufacturer’s Rep turned Author, Consultant and Speaker. She has sold millions of units to the world’s largest retailers and now dedicates her time to providing valuable information to anyone interested in learning what it takes to get their products on the shelves of Major Retailers, Online Retailers, Catalogs and Small Retailers, too!

Participants will:

This unique roundtable webcast workshop will provide invaluable training on what you need to know about selling your products to major retailers, including how buying decisions are made, what buyer’s care about and what makes them more inclined to buy.

Included in the discussion is how to get a meeting with a major retail buyer and what you need to know once you get an order from these retailers!

Who should attend:

Anyone who is hoping to turn their product into profit through retail.

1) The successful product companies create a strategic plan with their end goal in mind.

In other words, they decide what they want for their business and then write out their plan of attack. They think through, research and strategize and THEN they take action steps. Too many people are all over the place, taking action prior to really sitting down and coming up with a systematic approach to achieving their end goal. The clearer you are about your goals, the better the outcome. The right people show up to give you the support you need when you are clear about what you want. It’s amazing how powerful and simple a clearly written plan can be.

By the way, for those of you who need additional support on creating a written plan, feel free check out a few of my favorite books on the subject: One Page Business Plan by Jim Horan or Goals by Brian Tracy. I’m not affiliated with these authors, I just think they are great!

2) Successful product companies don’t quit when times get tough AND they don’t let money get in the way of their goals.

It always amazes me how many product companies with great product ideas walk away from their dreams because of money. It’s hard to watch because I know so many product companies who are successful and they had financial challenges too! The only difference is the successful companies wouldn’t quit until they found a solution! Some had to start small…selling their products from one small retailer to another until they had enough money to fund their business. While others contacted experts and learned about other financial options available to them in the product industry.

To me the question always is….how bad do you want it? If you want it bad enough you will find a way. It may not be fun, or easy in any way, but anything is possible if you make a commitment to yourself that you will find a way no matter what.

3) Successful product company CEO’s are avid learners.

If I think back to the CEO’s I’ve met who were incredibly successful with their products, I would attribute it to the fact that they ask a lot of questions and are always on the lookout for information that will help them succeed. They dig around online, call experts in their product category and find as much information as they can on how to generate revenue with their products.

In order to set yourself for success, you have to do whatever you can to make intelligent decisions. And the best way to do that is to take ownership of your dream and to learn what it takes to become a success story. You don’t have to know everything, but you have to be at least willing to try!  It’s amazing how many CEO’s I meet who just assume that you can find someone else to do the dirty work for you without trying to understand the process. These are the same companies who wonder later on why their products aren’t generating the real revenue that they were hoping for.

And it’s the same for anything in business! For instance, if I want to create a new website, then yes I would hire a professional to do the work. However, if I want to truly succeed, I would probably research other websites in my industry that are doing well and try and emulate some of their strategies. I would then hand this information to the designer so that they can do what they do best.

Bottom line – you have to be consistently learning and growing in order to truly succeed. And you can’t do that if you are hoping that other people will do all of the work for you. Nobody cares about your business as much as you do. So find the most efficient and effective way to get the information you need in order to succeed and start making things happen!

Anyhow, I hope these insights provide value for you. Obviously there are additional distinctions in the realm of success vs. failure, but I thought these few points would at least get you thinking. So whenever you’re in a jam and you just feel like quitting, just ask yourself ‘how bad do you want it?’ And if the answer is that you want it bad, then never stop until you win!

To Your Success,

Karen Waksman