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“Mary” called my Sacramento office after being referred by an article someone else had written about my marketing. She had a great product that she felt was marketable but was having huge issues getting it in front of some of the larger box stores she wanted to carry it.
She scheduled a telephone marketing session and told me about her product and gave me all the information on it including retail pricing, her present costs, and how many units she would need to sell each month in order to turn a profit that would allow her to quit her job and pursue it full time. Mary had done her homework but was still unable to get her idea in front of the larger box stores such as Wal-Mart, Target, K-Mart, and others.
This is a common problem for many small entrepreneurs. You have a great product that you know would go like hot cakes if you could get the chance, but it seems like those who would stand to profit the most from it are also the hardest to get in front of. It’s like having the cure for cancer, but not being able to present to the American Medical Association.
Mary was quite literally at the end of her rope. How could she get in front of someone if they wouldn’t even return her e-mails?
In marketing, as with life, it is easier to see a broader picture when you are on the outside looking in. The fish in the aquarium will never be able to see the whole tank as easily as someone who is outside of it looking at the little scuba diver and the bubbling chest. And the ceramic castle at the same time.
I looked at Mary’s cost analysis and called her supplier. I found that she would receive a significant price break, like nearly 40% if she doubled her order. This meant that her actual financial goal was less than she was aware of. The problem still became getting in front of her prospective suppliers.
There was a smaller box store that Mary had overlooked who would often stock items that you could commonly find on infomercials. I approached these people with a request to put a few of her items in some select stores. Seemingly unfortunate though, I had to put the items into their location at cost allowing the full profit to go to the retailer. At first, Mary was befuddled but had learned to trust me in my decisions.
Most marketers are paid on an hourly basis, and depending on their involvement, some kind of tie to the final profit of an item. So not only was Mary not making money on this round of product, but neither was I. Sometimes you have to make smaller sacrifices, which may not seem small in the short run, to achieve your end results.
Mary’s products sold out quickly and the retailer e-mailed her within just a few weeks requesting more. Mary, at my direction then e-mailed the larger box stores, dropping the smaller retailer’s name and informing them that her product had sold X number of units within 18 days. Mary quickly got several phone calls and her product hit every single Target in the continental 48 states. With a rapid increase in her production, her costs were reduced by nearly 50% and she was able to quit her job with a solid amount of revenue coming in on a monthly basis.
By having made a small sacrifice and selling out on her items quickly in a brand name store; Mary was able to show a value in her product without disclosing how she managed to sell out so quickly. She was able to use this as leverage to procure an order that made both her and her manufacturer very happy. In hind sight, Mary was very happy to have not lost money, marketed her company, and got not only her foot in the door, but a welcome invitation to the dinner table.
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