What Is Inside Sales vs. Outside Sales in the CPG Space?
ONE THROAT TO CHOKE!
Depending on what you’re selling, how much you are selling at a time, and how you’re selling it, you will have different approaches to how the sale is made. You may also have different approaches to how the initial sale is made vs. how the subsequent...
7 Sales Strategy Tips to Increase Your CPG Sales Territory
WORKING BACKWARD
Effective CPG sales strategy planning requires a knowledge of, and respect for, the harsh realities of the retail marketplace. It’s a multifaceted landscape into which your product must fit, survive, and thrive. Due to the physical nature of the distribution system, there is a ridged process...
HR Can Be A Blessing and a Curse for a CPG Startup
USE ONLY AS DIRECTED!
A wise old entrepreneur once told us, “The second person you hire will be your HR Director!” When we said, “Why is that?” he said, “By that time, the first one will have personnel problems!” Although he was being facetious, his point was well taken. The...
5 Tips to Get Your Product on the Retail Shelf …And keep it There!
SUCCESS OR CHALLENGE?
Having actually built a national bestselling brand, we know from painful personal experience what it really takes to get your product on the shelf and, more importantly, keep it there. We didn’t just study the subject, come up with a new word, or debate what works...
4 Pillars of Organic Growth
IT TAKES PULL!
Organic growth requires a demand for your products that pulls them through the distribution system. Inorganic growth is fundamentally trying to push your products through the system. Organic growth takes place primarily as a result of word-of-mouth, quality, value, and third-party endorsements. Examples of inorganic growth...
Driving Sales of CPG Products Requires a Multifaceted Approach
THE WHOLE NINE YARDS!
People often ask us, “What was the one thing that made Barefoot Wine successful?” Our answer, “It was multifaceted!” Sorry, it’s usually not just “the one thing” that makes any CPG brand successful. However, we guess if you really want to boil it down to just...
Business Incubators Offer a Variety of Choices
LET’S GET STARTED!
We started our business, Barefoot Wines, in a 1922 farmhouse we rented in the west Sonoma County hills. We had extra space in the laundry room for an “office” because we couldn’t afford a washer and a dryer at the time. We couldn’t afford a desk...
5 Ways to Keep your CPG Product on the Retail Shelf
THEY CAN’T BUY IT IF IT AIN’T THERE!
Too often we hear CPG brand builders bragging about how they have finally achieved shelf placement at some big box or chain store. But, broadly distributed CPG brands are only as good as their ability to maintain and expand their retail shelf presence. With our experience...
Consumer Packaged Goods Brand Building – You Found It!
EXPERIENCE IS THE GREATEST TEACHER
If you are looking for actionable information on building a Consumer Packaged Goods brand, also known as a CPG brand, you have come to the right place. We don’t just talk about it, we actually did it. We took a CPG brand all the way from...
5 Positioning Tools to Target Your Brand
BULL’S EYE!
A recent survey we conducted polling 14 international accelerators concluded that one of the top three reasons for business failure was a poor product-market fit. The owners of these accelerators make it their business to recognize and know when this problem emerges among their clients. They...
7 Rebranding Tips
NOT SO FAST!
Are you having trouble with sales? Has your distribution run into a wall? There’s a boatload of rebranding experts telling you, “It’s time to rebrand!” They have a vested interest in your decision to do so. They get paid whether or not their rebranding strategy plans...
The 8 Characteristics of a Quality Salesperson
IT’S A TWO-WAY STREET!
With our experience in sales and building a first-class business, our clients often ask us, “What are the characteristics you look for in a quality salesperson?” Our answer surprises them because it’s not just the characteristics of the salesperson - it’s the characteristics of your business...
5 Ways Consumer Brand Builders Can Sell from the Bottom Shelf
NOBODY LOOKS DOWN!
We used to laugh over how the bread salespeople would fight over the eye level shelf position in the stores - that is until we had a branded product of our own. Suddenly we realized how important shelf position was to building a consumer brand. So...
Do You Deserve Success if You Follow a Process?
“SIX FIGURES IN SIX MONTHS!” – NOT!
Now-a-days it seems like everybody wants to work from home and make six figures in six months! The internet marketing folks are quick to pander to those who are believers. They are also quick to take advantage of impatient and inexperienced views of what it really...
UGG Makes a Beachhead – An Unlikely Brand in an Unlikely Place
“I JUST SERVICED THE HELL OUT OF MY ACCOUNTS!”
We have been fortunate to speak on the same stage and become acquainted with Brian Smith, the creator and founder of UGG footwear. Brian’s brand building success story has all the thrills and chills you can expect from a startup that never quit. When Brian found...
Startup Brand Builders Need to Take the Retail Sales Process Seriously
“WILL BE SOLD AT RETAIL”
Too many business plans over simplify the sales process. We have seen some that state under the sales section, “Will be sold at retail.” Good luck with that! As a society, we constantly underestimate the sales process. This popular “shopper’s” view of sales has no place...
3 Good Reasons to Give Your Distributor to Carry Your CPG Brand
IT’S NOT THE PRICE OR THE QUALITY!
You may think that distributors will carry your consumer package goods (CPG) brand because your price is so low or your quality is so high. You may think that they will provide it to stores in their territory because the packaging is so cool or the...
Brand Building Decisions Require More Than Process Knowledge
CHECKMATE!
Just knowing how the chess pieces move won’t win you the game. In fact, learning the process is just the beginning. You must learn the strategies of the game to be more likely to win. When it comes to parlor games we all know this to...