Personal experience of a buyer: tricks of selling your goods to retail chains. How to get into a large retail chain with your product? Product promotion in retail chains

If a competing product is located in the direction of travel, then there is a possibility that the consumer will purchase it without ever reaching his favorite brand.

Features of consumption

Today, many items in the store fall under the category of impulse goods.

This category of goods includes chocolate, chocolate candies, chocolate bars, all kinds of muesli, nuts, seeds, chips, chewing gum, as well as coffee, tea, alcohol (non-premium brands) and many other products.

The market for impulse goods is constantly evolving. At the same time, the crisis, which affected many aspects of our lives, practically did not affect this market at all.

The principle of unplanned consumption of goods of impulse demand is very actively exploited by the manufacturer, which introduces new brands to the market.

Great diversity gives a wide scope of activity in the field of advertising. After all, the specifics of consumer behavior and consumer properties Impulse demand goods are dictated by tough competition conditions: if there is no favorite brand on the shelf, the consumer will take another preferred one.

The level of spontaneity of purchases in our country is 82%; it is this percentage of buyers who decide what to buy at the most last moment(in Europe this figure is 64%).

Promotion methods

Impulse purchases constitute the most attractive group in terms of the possibilities of applied merchandising and BTL technologies.

Particularly important for unplanned (impulse) purchases is exposition (exhibition, display of assortment items) at the point of sale. According to the theory of psychology, 70% of decisions a person makes are influenced by reasons that almost exclude the participation of logical thinking. Making an impulse purchase is a process of clear dominance of desire over reason, when a decision is made instantly, without understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the product.

VTL technologies are being adopted by more and more food manufacturers, and their number will grow as competition grows. The growth of BTL is also facilitated by the increasing level of professionalism of agencies offering their services in this area.

For retail, impulse purchases are of no small importance today. The number of goods in impulse demand in minimarket chains can be up to 50% of turnover, in super- and hypermarkets - up to 20%. Therefore, retail chains should be interested in collaborating with product manufacturers in carrying out promotion-related activities.

Working in retail

Work in a retail chain to promote impulse goods begins with merchandising. The first to apply merchandising techniques in our country were marketers from large transnational corporations such as Wrigley, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, whose products fall into the category of impulse demand goods. It was these companies that brought into use the idea that has prevailed all over the world that two-thirds of consumers make purchasing decisions in the sales area, at the counter. At the same time, if the required brand is not available in the store, an alternative will be purchased with greater opportunity.

Western experts have come to the conclusion that correct display alone increases turnover by 12-18%.

Optimal use of space is important trading floor:

• 80-90% of buyers bypass all points of sale located along the perimeter of the sales area, 40-50% of buyers bypass the internal rows;
• The most “in demand” from the point of view of attracting the attention of buyers are the entrance area and the cash register area.

Zoning

The desire to buy something unplanned is especially strong at the beginning of the buyer’s movement through the store. If a competing product is located earlier in the direction of travel, then there is a very high probability that the consumer will purchase it without ever reaching his favorite brand.

Buyer's funds are limited. How more products in the cart, the less money he has left for purchases and, if the product is located further away, there is a chance that the buyer will not buy it, because he will not be sure that he will have enough money after purchasing the planned purchases.

The buyer spends most of his time near the cash registers. The checkout is an ideal place for goods that are purchased under the influence of impulse. The buyer, while in line at the checkout, is not busy with anything and is more exposed to advertising materials.

The main criterion for allocating space on the sales floor is to increase income per unit of space on the sales floor.

Display

Placing a product in the right area is not the key to success. In relation to goods of impulse demand, the golden principle of merchandising is felt very keenly: when moving a product from floor level to eye level, sales increase by 78%, from hand level to eye level - by 63%.

In addition to the cash register, the end parts of the shelves, which are clearly visible as you move, serve as an attractive place for spontaneous purchases and advertising. It is recommended to place additional sales points, promotional products or product information here.

When displaying goods on the sales floor, it is important to take into account the principle of seasonal rotation, which also allows for optimal use of the retail space.
For example, honey on the top shelf in the summer can be replaced with juices, sweet carbonated water or kvass.

Cash register

The checkout area is a tasty morsel for impulse goods, but not every product is appropriate to be placed here. Many retailers, in pursuit of excess profits, forget about this and greatly overload checkout racks, thereby creating inconvenience for customers.

Ideal products for placement in this zone are chewing gum, chocolate bars, small sweets, and cigarettes. But often there are boxes of chocolates, shaving accessories, books. There was one retailer who actually managed to place a rack with juice in the checkout area.

Placing CDs with movies and music in this area is also not very convenient. The consumer likes to take a long time to choose from what is offered, creating an additional crowd of people in addition to the queue at the cash register.

Ignorance of the specifics of the product and the merchandiser’s conviction that anything can be sold here leads to the fact that the assortment in this zone is very chaotic.

There is a struggle among suppliers for a shelf in the checkout area, and retailers are actively taking advantage of this, setting appropriate conditions for suppliers to place their products.

This is almost the most expensive area in the supermarket. The “shelf fee” here is the highest, which will not necessarily be reflected in ruble equivalent. In order to be located in the checkout area, the supplier must offer the retailer the maximum favorable conditions: bonuses, discounts on goods, budgets for product promotion, and so on. The final decision is made by the retailer.

“Everyone forms their checkout assortment in their own way. Ideally, it should be as precise as possible: the optimal number of product groups, products of impulse demand only and, most importantly, the absence of oversupply. If there is oversaturation, the efficiency of this zone is greatly reduced. And the money that manufacturers paid for placing goods near the cash register loses its meaning,” says Anton Bychenko, business development manager in Russia at Spectrum Brands.

Seasonality plays a significant role in the formation of the checkout area: hearts for Valentine’s Day, chocolate gifts for the New Year, etc.

The assortment needs to be constantly updated, warming up the buyer’s interest, but top sellers should always be present.

Dead zone

In everyday life, retailers can often hear the term “cold” or “dead” zone. These are the shelves that are least visible to customers, which means they are very unprofitable for displaying goods. These include:

• Entrance areas that remain behind the consumer’s back;
• The farthest part of the store (according to statistics, only 40-50% of consumers enter the farthest self-service zone);
• Bottom left corner of the rack;
• The beginning and end of a shelf or rack;
• Nooks and corners;
• Narrow passages and dead ends, isolated from the main customer flow.

The turnover of goods located in these zones is much lower than the store average. This is bad both for the retailer, who loses profits, and for the manufacturer, whose product turnover is very low.

It turns out to be a very interesting situation. In fact, it is not profitable for a store to give “bad” shelves with low turnover to consumer leaders. This means that these places go to goods for which the demand is low. Such products are doomed to a miserable existence or even to be removed from the store’s assortment matrix.

To solve such problems, there is a standard set of methods, such as placing in the back of the store and in the corners “anchor” goods of mass demand that buyers consciously look for (milk, bread, groceries), or goods of special demand (expensive alcohol, baby food, animal feed, etc.).

“These “Anchors” will definitely be found. For their sake, the buyer is ready to do the most long haul, and on the way he will add impulse demand goods to the basket,” says Albina Mikalova, merchandising specialist at the Magnolia chain of stores.

You can try to get rid of “dead” zones at the store planning stage. “The location of some product groups and the redirection of the store’s customer flow to the city of Vidnoye made it possible to increase trade turnover,” states Larisa Dumanskaya, chief specialist by organization retail food products of the 12 months chain.

The disadvantages of the “dead” zone cannot be completely eliminated. Some manufacturers spend money on additional means of communication: POS materials, signs, wobblers, signs, or promotions.

In Europe, for example, retail chains allocate problem areas not for shelving, but as a permanent point for promotions of various manufacturers. This is what the 12 Months network does, which has successfully adopted the experience of its foreign colleagues.

For proper organization retail space uses POS materials that attract consumers' attention to products. These are dispensers, wobblers, stickers, trays for small items, light boxes.

In conditions of total overload of the place of sale with advertising materials, POS materials are engaged in a forced competitive struggle with each other, trying to win a place in the sun, instead of actually promoting trademarks and brands.

If we turn to mobile POS stands (Mobile display systems), we can note that they have a number of significant advantages compared to conventional POS materials: mobility and portability.

The mobility of stands makes it possible to solve such problems as highlighting branded products within a product category, ensuring the possibility of applying point marketing practices, and, consequently, increasing the frequency of impulse purchases.

Useful qualities of such stands:

• Cheapness;
• Quick assembly and disassembly;
• Durability;
• High presentability;
• Great design;
• Compactness;
• Invariance.

What can you achieve with mobile stands?

• Increasing sales volume without exceeding the number of POS materials used and without increasing the number of points of sale;
• Increasing the effectiveness of promotions by quickly repositioning promoted products on trading platform;
• Opportunities to integrate into changing customer flows by changing the topography of sales points on the sales floor. Optimal immobilization of impulse sales zones.

Package

When working with impulse goods, we must not forget that merchandising, as well as the quantity and quality of POS materials, will not help in any way if the product packaging is completely unattractive to the consumer. Catchy promotional packaging can increase sales by an average of 20%.

A product presented in good “correct” packaging is the face of the company, increases its image and the level of loyalty to it.

Merchandising wars

The larger the retail outlet, the more product positions are represented in it, the fiercer the competitive war, including the war of merchandisers.
In this war, many, especially start-up companies, do not behave quite correctly.

For example, they can, without the knowledge of the administration, move a competitor’s product from a favorable location to a warehouse, and in return supply their own. Or move a competitor’s products to another shelf, sometimes even into a “dead” zone. It’s even easier to push a competitor’s product to the back of the shelf, and fill the front row (facing) with your own products.

This behavior of merchandisers causes severe losses to networks. Therefore, they take appropriate measures.

Some require suppliers to provide a list of merchandisers who have access to the product. The time of their arrival and departure from the point is recorded in order to identify violators.

The Metro network does not allow merchandisers from suppliers whose products belong to the FMCG category to work on site. This product group includes category merchandisers, independent employees of merchandising agencies who display one category (for example, “beer, juices, waters”).

However, merchandiser battles are not so easy to stop.

Irina Ivanova,

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Business owners with their product for sale often dream of winning and being on the shelves of Auchan, X5 or Metro.
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Oleg Zhelenin, founder of a spice company, got his share of shelf space through in-store presentations.
Here are some tips from him:

Target product demonstrations in small local stores rather than large retail stores.

An offer to supply goods to a store on commission, rather than asking for immediate payment.

Find ways to stimulate demand and get the buyer to call you.

Find a Place to Exhibit.

Contact a non-profit association that represents manufacturers and offers a directory of sales agencies.

Many small business owners are very good at one or two aspects of running a business. Then they discover that there are dozens of other things that they should also know well.
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This is how Oleg Zhelenin first attracted the attention of the grocery chain, which currently has 118 stores. Mr. Zhelenin tried to convince the buyer from the network to allow him to demonstrate the spices in the store and prove that his seasonings would sell well.

During the four-hour demo event, 92 packages were sold. After that, the store held demonstrations every weekend, and after four weeks, the condiments were displayed in a second store. Within six months they were on the shelves in every store of the retail chain. Each time a product was listed, a free product was sent to the store for review. The seasonings are currently sold in more than 300 stores nationwide.

Take advantage of the experience gained by other owners who managed to get their products on the shelves of stores and supermarkets of large retailers:
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Start small.
You might be aiming big, but retail giants like Dixie, Lenta or Magnit want to see a track record. Online sales are one way to provide evidence that your product can sell. Another way is to supply it to small stores.

When Tamara Makarova started a line of natural cleaning products for children, she saw this product on the shelves in pharmacy chains. Her repeated calls went unanswered, however, so she began trying out her products in small shops in the Mitino area of ​​Moscow.

“We went to a children's boutique where we were shopping ourselves, carrying a few groceries, and asked the owner to give us a chance,” Tamara said. There she received her first - Yes. “He gave us really good placement for the product because we were his customers and also moms who knew a lot of other moms.”
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LISTEN to customers sensitively! Visit stores where you want your product to be sold. Buyers want to know what makes your product different from what they already buy.

Tamara also wanted feedback from the buyer. “I talked to other local retailers and customers to make sure they were happy with the features they wanted, the color palette and the price,” she said.

Be prepared to hear “No.”
Alexey Belov tried to sell his nut butter to food stores in Samara. He made a batch and went to the offices trading companies. “We had good experience in sales, so we felt quite confident,” Alexey recalled. “We were stopped so quickly that we couldn't even get through reception. We just left samples.”

By email the next morning he was told that the sample could not be accepted because the product had no sales. “Most people who heard “no” would give up, but not me,” Alexey said.
With another small business owner, he learned about a local program that encourages businesses to sell food products directly from local stores. “I walked in with my cans, gave them a taste, and they put me on the shelves.” He then visited 17 of the 29 food stores in one area, opening countless jars of his pasta along the way for customers to try.
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Use Exhibitions
The exhibitions can be expensive but offer a wide range of retailers from Auchan, Perekrkstock or Metro who are looking for new products. It's special good way meet retailers. From his first exhibition in the industry, Alexey received 50 orders from small shops all over the country. It is very important, however, to choose the right exhibition.

Hire a consulting company.
If you cannot afford to hire a dedicated sales manager, you can contract with one broker or several in different regions to sell for you or with a consulting company.

Brokers are paid only when they make sales, typically paying 5 to 10 percent of the deal. And they typically have relationships with regional retail buyers in specific industries.

Send your product to bloggers and ask for feedback. If they recognize your product, they may write about it.

Everything about getting your product on store shelves involves building relationships with retailers, bloggers, brokers, buyers and, of course, clients.

In any case, call or write to us at ABX-Consulting and we will help you place your product on the shelves of the largest retailers.

The question “is it worth joining retail chains?” quite difficult. A wrong decision can have fatal consequences for your business. Therefore, before continuing to read this article, I recommend that you read the previous article on deciding whether to go online for your company.

If you have analyzed all the factors, conducted interviews with candidates and drawn up the approximate profitability of your work with the network, you can proceed directly to action.

The answer to the question: “how to enter the trading network?” look in this article. Below is an algorithm for entering the trading network that will help you perform this action correctly, with maximum benefit, and without extra costs.

Algorithm for entering the trading network:

• 1. Calculation of approximate turnover per one conventional retail outlet or retail meter. As we have already said, the calculation can be made on the basis of sales in non-chain retail and correlated with similar products present in stores and chains.
• 2. Calculation of the cost of entering the network and setting the minimum possible markup. You have the cost of production at today's volume; you need to calculate the cost at the volumes that you calculated per outlet, multiplied by the number of points in the network. So, you have the volumes that you are counting on, you have the cost for these volumes, you have a minimum margin that is interesting to you. And you get the lower price level. Never enter into negotiations with a network without calculating your price options for different volumes. You will not have the main tool for negotiations.
• 3. Fixing the budget for entry to the shelf. You need to be aware of what the costs of entering each retailer will be, whether it's a formal setup fee or a kickback or both. You should fix the amount and have it in your budget before entering the network.
• 4. Recruiting an employee for entry online or researching networking conditions during an interview. If you decide to go online on your own, without involving an experienced specialist, you need to be patient and have the ability to build relationships. You will need the skill of establishing personal relationships from a store clerk to a chain manager. The ability to “take a punch” is required, because they will test your strength.
• 5. Determination of priority players the most suitable assortment, pricing policy, entry conditions. Each retail chain has its own rules of the game, its own assortment, and its own matrix. Therefore, it is necessary to study the conditions and decide on the highest priority networks. But work needs to start on all fronts, since the initial research may not work. You need to understand who will be the main focus of efforts in finding entry points and achieving results. Because some negotiations can take more than a year. Moreover, these are positive negotiations when interest has already been indicated.
• 6. Identification and access to the Decision Maker (DM). The more entry points there are into a company, the greater the likelihood of success. Feel free to network with marketers, store managers and general sales staff. To understand the chain’s priorities, sometimes you can talk to a representative of one store, and although decisions are most often not made locally, you will receive valuable information about who actually makes the decision on how best to enter the network, what are the purchasing priorities, what are the sales figures for similar products. You can contact buyers, purchasing managers, commercial directors and managers. There is no need to hesitate to contact the very top about your product if all the paths below are blocked. You won't lose anything. Sometimes go out commercial director easier than for a regular buyer. It is also necessary to take into account the characteristics of the network itself. For example, in MediaMarkt, decisions are made by the store managers themselves; of course, they need to sign an agreement at the central office, but what volumes of purchases may be, the length of the line and the conditions will be determined on the spot.
• 7. Determination of the position in the distribution network for similar goods. The most in a simple way entering the network is closing a hole in the company’s assortment matrix. But “a holy place is never empty,” so personal contacts with people close to this information will be very useful if it was not possible to enter on a whim.
• 8. Negotiations with decision makers. The typical behavior with players trying to get online is pressing. Most non-brand companies are ready to make any concessions just to get on the shelves. This is the biggest mistake that networks use for their own purposes. Therefore, there are two main categories of suppliers for them. The first ones are long-term partners with interesting hot commodity. The second are those who dream that their goods will be available in the networks and are ready to give them away for next to nothing. The first ones stand on the shelves for years, the second ones actually stand up at their own expense and give all the profits to the network, then financial resources are depleted and the product leaves the shelves naturally. Of course, you can get from the second category to the first, but changes in supply conditions are not very welcome by the network.
• 9. Pressure on retail chains. It is necessary to clearly understand that any network is a huge mechanism where there is no single decision-making center. There are always different interests of different departments and different people. If the buyer said that your product is interesting, this means absolutely nothing; a lot of factors may arise that will prevent entry. The same is true and vice versa, if you were told that the product will never appear on the shelves of this store, then look for other entrances, perhaps through other product items, perhaps through wholesalers who already have an entry point into the network, perhaps through the company’s management. If you know the purchase price of competitors and know what you can offer best conditions, while the product is not inferior in terms of consumer characteristics, make every effort on different fronts, and you will get on the shelf, although this may take a long time.
• 10. Start of work. And finally it happened. Your product has been placed on the shelf. Now you can cross your legs and just count your profits. No matter how it is. Now comes the hard part. Both you and the network need sales, otherwise the work could come to an end very quickly. At the first stage, you need to make every effort to ensure that the goods go. Do not spare money on promoters, red price tags, participation in promotions. You need the network’s buyers to remember your product, try it and begin to make a turnover that generates income and allows you to save space on the shelf, otherwise you have done all the previous points of entry into the retail network in vain.

Good luck to you in achieving your cherished goal. And if any questions arise during the implementation of the algorithm, we will always be happy to solve another problem to conquer the shelves of online retail - call

Business consultant and specialist with current experience in management and negotiations, Sergei Ilyukha, gave a proven scenario for negotiations on the introduction of new products into the assortment, turning a loss-making deal into a profitable one.

Why do suppliers overpay networks?

I would conditionally divide all suppliers into three groups:

• Beginners. Such companies offer 5-15 types of “incomprehensible” goods, do not explain to the network why they need it, and want to get on the shelf at any cost (sometimes literally!)
• Experienced. Manufacturers who are already working with the network, are represented in several product categories, know the rules, know their economy, behave “with dignity, but not arrogantly”
• Monsters. Market or product category leaders with strong negotiating positions.

I’ll make a reservation right away. Any buyer will explain to you quite reasonably that there are no irreplaceable suppliers or products. There are only suppliers who are difficult to replace. And there are networks that the supplier is not afraid to lose. This is where “monsters” appear. Negotiations on an annual contract with them are difficult, the buyer has to make mutual concessions. Contract profitability is sometimes low. Therefore, working in a retail chain, I always looked forward to the moment when the “monsters” would have new products.

The day when my long-time opponent appeared on the threshold of my office with the words: “Hello, we have released a new product and would like to put it on the shelves of your supermarkets” promised me a quick solution to all current issues and a general improvement in the terms of cooperation. Why is the manufacturer so defenseless at this moment?

• He comes with an unknown product
• It has no sales statistics
• He needs the decision to be made urgently
• A new product must be entered into the matrix
• He offers the product at the moment when all agreements have already been reached
• The buyer does not know about the product and is initially not interested in entering it into the matrix.

Due to these circumstances, regardless of whether this product is needed or not, I included the “I don’t want anything” manipulation. It was clear to me that, unlike negotiations on concluding an annual contract, the manufacturer offering a new product has no resource maneuver. It must either give the network something truly valuable. Or something to scare the buyer. As a rule, it is impossible to scare, because the network operates within the framework of the contract. And the supplier has no choice but to “pay for entry” in one form or another.

How not to offer new products

In order to overcome the buyer’s manipulations and convince him to introduce the product into the range on mutually beneficial terms, the supplier must have compelling arguments. First, let's look at what arguments the supplier usually comes to the network with, offering new product.

• The sales manager and his managers have faith in their product
• Discount in price for new product
• Additional premium or trade credit (deferred payment) for a new product
• Program for bringing a new product to market from the manufacturer
• Added value.

There are no sales statistics. There are arguments from the field of marketing, branding, loyalty and enthusiasm. And these are quite controversial arguments when discussing economic issues. A fair price for the new product has not yet been formed. Arguments such as “This product costs 500 rubles. But you are a very important sales channel for us, and we will give you the first batch for three hundred,” they work only in the eastern bazaar.

A large premium and deferment are beneficial to the retailer only when sales are high. With zero sales, the amount of the premium and the benefit from the additional deferment will be zero. In addition, for food products, the amount of deferment and premium is strictly limited by the Trade Law. And if a new product does not have sales potential, then the program for introducing it to the market simply will not work.

But the goods must be put on the shelves! If it is important for a manufacturer’s manager to promote a new product at any cost, he will give the network everything he has, as long as he doesn’t have to pay anything for it. I especially remember one example from my practice.

Came to the negotiations regional manager one of the leading importers of alcohol and proposed introducing a new premium segment cognac into the assortment of our chain, which was developed by the owner of the company himself. He placed several bottles on the table and began his presentation. The presentation contained a standard set of arguments:

• Unique product
• Beautiful bottle
• Best plant
• Special price
• Additional deferment
• Prize
• Budget for promotion
• Promotion 2+1 for the first month.

It would seem that it couldn’t be better! I did not carry out the standard “The shelf is not rubber” manipulation. I saw the prospect of improving the contract as a whole. So I went the other way and asked:

How many bottles per month do you plan to sell?

Maybe two or three in each point of sale, was the answer.

At this level of sales, introducing your cognac into the assortment is unprofitable. Come back when he becomes recognizable and in demand.

But we need to start selling as quickly as possible...

The supplier spoke the language of his needs and needs. Common mistake. Even before the negotiations began, it was clear to me: the manufacturer needs the cognac to get into our network at any cost. But the manager who represented the supplier did not have enough authority to provide the conditions that would suit me. Therefore, the task of the first stage was to take the negotiations to a higher level. To do this, I used a technique that I call “false alternative” and offered the manager two options:

1) We can sell cognac, but there is a very high probability that they will not buy it. Therefore, in order to compensate for losses, we will have to remove four other low-liquidity positions of your company from the assortment and introduce additional two positions from another manufacturer that show good sales.

2) Your new product interested me, but our network has strict standards for profitability of sales and return per meter of shelf space. If you take on commercial risks and guarantee the required rate of return for the portfolio and category, I will try to quickly resolve the issue.

The first of the options I proposed was obviously unacceptable. So I started selling the vendor a solution to their problem myself. The manager asked for time to think, and a week later he came to me “ high leader" Together with him, we began to look for ways to solve the problem (or, more precisely, budgets), and very quickly we were able to agree.

• Cognac was introduced into assortment matrix, but removed two illiquid positions from it (kept the number of manufacturer SKUs on the shelf and did not put a competitor’s product on it)
• The network premium across the entire portfolio of this manufacturer was increased by a percentage (compensating for a possible loss of profitability)
• We agreed to hold several promotions for top positions that are important to me (to guarantee profitability)
• Decided in favor of the network controversial issues cooperation (I met the manufacturer halfway)
• The cognac on our shelves became “golden” for the manufacturer, but everyone was happy!

How to talk to buyers

What should a manufacturer do to convince a buyer to take a new product without harming its own economic interests?

• Pre-test sales. Come online with statistics, reviews from customers and other retailers.
• Do not forget that the retailer does not need a “unique product”, but a product that will allow him to make money. When presenting, it is necessary to talk not about the characteristics of the product, but about how it can be useful to the network, or even better, about what problems it will help solve.
• Give the sales manager more authority, the ability to maneuver resources and benefits in order to create an attractive package offer for the retailer.
• Grant the manager the right to introduce new products not to all stores, but only to those where they will show the highest sales during the test period.
• Negotiate correctly with the buyer.
• When signing an annual contract, leave yourself an “ace up your sleeve” in case new arguments may be needed to solve the problem.
• If the issue cannot be resolved immediately, you have the opportunity to postpone the introduction of goods into the assortment until a new contract is agreed upon.

The negotiations on the supply of cognac that I described could have gone in a completely different scenario if I had heard from the manager something like the following: “Our product showed high sales in test stores. Surveys say that the buyer compares it with French cognacs, and the price is 30% lower. At the same time, you earn even more per bottle. We guarantee that when placed in hypermarkets with the right product range, our cognac will ensure sales of at least X units per month. At the same time, it will not delay sales of other products, but will attract new customers.”

• It is important to try to combine negotiations on the introduction of a new product with the moment when the buyer invites you to resolve an issue that is important for the network.
• It is important to take the initiative and not allow the buyer to change roles with you. It is your product that will help the network earn a lot of money, and it is not the buyer who will help you personally solve the problem of logging into the network and not get thrown out of work.

If the moment is chosen correctly, when discussing the supply of cognac, the manager could say to the buyer: “I understand that you invited me to negotiate an unscheduled promotion. But my managers made it very clear to me that until I put my product on the shelves, promotions were not even discussed. On the other hand, if we introduce a product into the assortment, you will receive additional income from the sales of this cognac. And I guarantee you that after this I will quickly approve the action.”

An additional argument in favor of the deal could be: “We have been discussing with you for a long time the issue of switching to deliveries through a distribution center. I think introducing this cognac will solve it as quickly as possible.” Or this argument: “There are products left in your network from last year that were not included in the new contract. It sells poorly and just takes up space on the shelf. If the problem of free shelf space is so critical, we can discuss buying out the remaining balances.”

If the supplier manager had used these recommendations, the issue of introducing new products could have been resolved much easier. But there is no single solution. These recommendations do not work if the new product has no sales potential or the supplier is new to the network and does not yet have voting rights. In addition, each network and each buyer needs an individual approach. You just need to be aware that introducing new products is actually concluding a new contract for entering the network. And you need to prepare for negotiations just as carefully as you would for negotiations on an annual contract.

Entrepreneurs often complain that it is extremely difficult to get their products onto the shelves of large retail chains. In fact, it’s easy to get into the network, it’s much more difficult to get into the buyer’s cart

What is needed is not bribes, but product

In all negotiations, I immediately say that my company is transparent and works only in accordance with Russian laws. I studied in the USA and am a citizen of this country, so I do not accept any bribes. If during negotiations the conversation comes up about “ entrance ticket", then I switch to English language and I pretend that I don’t understand what I’m talking about we're talking about. This is my principled position, from which I do not intend to deviate. Having paid once, I will not be able to refuse such payments to other networks in the future: rumors spread quickly throughout the market. In addition, it is possible that unscrupulous managers of the retail chain to which I pay for entry will blackmail me in the future with the threat of removing our goods from the shelves.

I took a different path - I created an interesting and attractive product. At my first meeting with managers at the Tsvetnoy shopping center, I just brought cookies in a bag and explained what was special about them. Having become interested, they invited me to a second meeting, to which I had already brought cookies and a packaging prototype. Interest was confirmed. For the third meeting there were full commercial offer with presentation and 3D model of packaging. As a result, we signed a supply contract.

Get personal meetings

To get on the shelves of ABC of Taste, I wrote a letter to the relevant category manager. On the ABC of Taste website, in the “For Suppliers” section, there are contacts for the entire commercial management of the company. I sent a simple, clear, three-page presentation with more pictures than words. But it conveyed the emotion of my product. The department was interested in cookies confectionery both the tasting committee and the chain gave it the green light to the chain's first 50 stores. Only after that I began to purchase raw materials, rented a room and started baking “Marc 100% natural” in my own workshop.

Unfortunately, most retail chains have a high turnover of category managers, so an email may not be enough. My experience suggests that a few calls to friends and you will find a way to the person you need. Seek personal meetings if you are a good communicator. If not, find someone to hold a meeting who can bribe you with charm and the ability to listen/hear/sell.

Have you been refused? My principle: if you believe in the product, use the approach “if the door is not opened, climb through the window.” Find email/phone numbers/names of people at a higher level. I usually go straight to the CEO or shareholder. However, before that, you always need to have proof that you sought, but were ignored or rejected. Therefore, save correspondence and chats in social networks etc.

If you managed to get through the window or a friend opened it for you, decisions will be made much faster. For example, with Andrey Gusev [ general manager pharmacy chain A5] I was introduced to them completely by accident. It turned out that we had a mutual friend who helped me. I sent Andrey a presentation. Within a few days, we met in their office and found points of synergy, although previously pharmacy chains were not part of our plans at all. A week later there was a cooperation agreement.

Use a distribution company

But personal acquaintances and an interesting product do not always attract category managers and management of retail chains. I tried several times to get on the shelves of Dixie stores, the product was tested, but so far without success. But since I don’t take no for an answer, at Dixie and others retail networks, which I was not able to enter directly (Lenta, O’Key), our products will be represented by distribution companies. This is not as profitable as selling directly, since I will have to share my margin with distributors, giving them up to 40%, but for now I have no other way to get on the shelves of these stores. We will wait, collect sales statistics in other stores and through the distributor, and return with our product again.

Finally, there is another way to get on the shelf - go online for a short period using the in-out system. They can hire you for a three-month period and see how sales go. I’m not sure that it’s possible to reach a high level of sales in three months, so I don’t use this method. In addition, retail chains themselves are not very keen on agreeing to this format, realizing that at the end of the period suffering will begin: the manufacturer will begin to persuade to extend the experiment, sales will most likely be low at first, and the internal administrative efforts for the chain will be equal to the introduction of a new supplier.

Alexandra Shaforost Owner of the company “Society with Natural Taste No. 1” (brands “Marc100% natural” and “Marc & Fisa”)