Drop off, ship or blind deliver?
Why do buyers want samples in the first place? And, what do they wish you knew about dropping off samples?
Is there a strategy for getting samples to wholesale accounts before they place the first order?
Here’s the scenario:
You pack up sample with sell sheet and your card stapled to the bag…you go to the store, the buyer isn’t available, so you drop it with a clerk.
Or do you blind ship to a buyer?
DO NOT DROP BUY
Also, DO NOT LEAVE SAMPLES WITH ANYONE BUY YOUR CATEGORY MANAGER
And finally, DO NOT BLIND SHIP BEFORE DOING A SALES PITCH TO THE BUYER…IT’S A WASTE OF TIME, MONEY, AND SAMPLES. IT LEAVES A POOR FIRST IMPRESSION. THESE ARE ROOKIE MISTAKES AND THEY’RE AVOIDABLE.
If you drop off your samples with anyone other than the category manager, the chances of your product reaching them is very small.
What likely happens when you leave your samples with someone other than the buyer:
- You drop off the sample with a cashier. Maybe the cashier is going to dinner with her boyfriend’s parents. Your product goes with her. The buyer has no idea you were there at all.
- The buyer just went on vacation, so you leave product with a stocker. Most often, the sample goes to the break room. The buyer has no idea you were ever there.
- You leave product with a staff member. They can’t find buyer (maybe she’s at lunch) so they put product in the “sample box” for that buyer to get to later.
(Sample Box: All retailers have one, but no one talks about it. It’s near the buyer’s desk. Maybe once a month, they try all the products in the box. Maybe it’s only once or twice each year, and that’s usually because the box is overflowing. Your sample can get damaged, separated from the sell sheet, it may be past its expiration date, it may have been out of refrigeration for a month. This is not how you want your product viewed by the buyer for the first time.)
In any of the above examples, you have no idea what happened to the samples you dropped off or if they ever got into the hands of the buyer. That means that you don’t know how to properly follow up.
So what do you do?
Change pattern:
Buyers need to see your sample before placing the first order.
It’s not because the buyer wants to taste the product. (And if that’s what you think, you’re still trying to compete on taste). Buyers bring in new products to help them meet their goals. They select new products that are likely to improve the category sales or margins. Why? Because the buyer is judged by the financial health of the category they manage. Your product has to help them reach at least one of their goals. So don’t just drop off your samples!
It’s not about taste. If you think it is, your pitch isn’t of much interest to the retail buyer. Once you get to the shelf, it’s assumed your product is delicious.
If they’re not judging by taste, why do they want to see the product? It’s to evaluate your physical product. The buyer uses their intuition to determine if it’ll sell off the shelves in relation to the sheer volume of the products in the category.
Buyers will make snap judgements. It’s not always fair, but it’s the fact.
Look at your product and ask yourself:
- Do your labels look professional?
- Does the packaging match the price point I need to charge?
- Does the product appear nice?
- Physical packaging…does it fit on the shelf? Is it sturdy? Is it beat up just by shipping?
They make decisions based on if they think it’s a good fit for their shelf. Dropping off samples makes you a questionable fit.
The lesson:
Present the best first impression possible. Always.
Want to talk about your small food business? We’re all ears! Schedule a call today. Hungry for more? Besides renting flexible commercial kitchen space in Los Angeles, we offer tons of free resources, including a free eBook “Pricing Fundamentals for Foodpreneurs”.
Crafted Kitchen is a shared use commercial kitchen in the Arts District of Los Angeles. As a matter of fact, we offer flexible kitchen rentals to small food businesses. Rent a kitchen today!
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