SALES CONSULTING
for Manufacturers
YOUR PATH TO GREATER SALES POTENTIAL
Sales Success in Retail – Making the Most of Your Opportunities
For many manufacturers, the grocery retail sector is a key sales channel. However, not every product or brand is a good fit for this environment. A clear sales strategy is essential to finding the right market entry and achieving long-term success.
Before entering the retail market, you should critically assess your strategy:
- Is grocery retail the optimal sales channel for my product?
- Does my assortment meet the retailer’s requirements?
Additionally, manufacturers face daily challenges in their collaboration with retailers.
Are You Prepared for These Key Questions?
- How do I convince buyers to list my product?
- How do I secure my listing and avoid delisting?
- How do I prepare professionally for negotiations?
- How does my (international) product have to be designed in order to find acceptance in the German market?
I help you understand and successfully navigate the requirements of the retail sector. With years of experience from numerous negotiations, I provide valuable insights and concrete strategies for building a strong market presence.
Your Advantage
I support you in positioning your assortment economically and sustainably in retail. Learn the fundamentals of grocery retail with me and maximize your sales potential!
Arrange a free and non-binding initial meeting for your sales consultation now.
FOCUS ON SALES CONSULTING
Which Sales Channel Is Right for My Business?
The choice of the right sales channel is crucial to your success and depends on various factors, such as your product portfolio, brand awareness, target audience in the respective market, and available resources (e.g., production capacity, logistics, marketing budget).
Potential sales channels include:
- Grocery retail and wholesale markets
- Further distinction: independent supermarkets (owner-operated) vs. corporate-run stores (centrally managed branches)
- Specialty stores, gastronomy, sports & leisure facilities
- Online shops / platforms
The largest customer reach is achieved through grocery retail chains. Whether this is the right choice for your business is something I analyze with you based on factual data.
Arrange a free and non-binding initial meeting for your sales consultation now.
Listing – How Do I Get My Products on the Shelf?
Securing a listing in grocery retail (LEH) remains the most significant gateway to consumers, making shelf space highly desirable.
You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Our shelves aren’t made of rubber” before. That’s why you need the right arguments on your side.
Knowing your products and numbers is a given. But how well do you know your buyer and their decision-making criteria? Put yourself in their shoes and consider the negotiation from a different perspective.
Key Questions for Your Buyer Meeting:
- What makes your product unique?
- Does your target audience align with the retailer’s customers?
- What is the product’s revenue potential (in €, the retailer’s key unit)?
- What added value does your listing offer the retailer?
To help you prepare professionally for your next listing meeting and negotiate on equal footing, I offer you the opportunity to shift perspectives with me.
Arrange a free and non-binding initial meeting for your sales consultation now.
Negotiations – Preparing for Annual Meetings
Collaboration with retailers is based on mutual agreements, which are formalized in contracts during annual meetings. These negotiations, usually held once a year, are crucial in determining the level of investments and, consequently, the profitability of a sales channel for the manufacturer.
Therefore, nothing should be left to chance in those negotiations. Manufacturers should also keep the following topics in mind:
- USP of their product assortment (both for the retailer and their customers)
- Alignment between the manufacturer’s strategy and the retailer’s strategy
- Retailer integration in the marketing plan – Is the retailer sufficiently considered in the launch of new products?
- Investment readiness – How much am I willing to invest?
- Clear definition of “must-haves” and “nice-to-haves”
- Plan B: What compromises are acceptable, and which are not?
Here too, the key to success lies in thorough preparation. Benefit from my insider knowledge to make your next negotiation even more successful.
Arrange a free and non-binding initial meeting for your sales consultation now.
Internationalization – Does My Product Fit the Target Market?
Language barriers and unfamiliar business practices should not deter you from considering international expansion.
This applies to German manufacturers looking to market their products in other European countries, as well as international manufacturers aiming to leverage the economies of scale offered by the German market.
Key Aspects to Analyze in Advance:
- Local/regional customer needs
- Product and packaging acceptance in the target market
- Sales potential and competitive landscape
- Sales channels and distribution management
Before thinking about exports, you should assess your assortment’s compatibility with the target market.
I am happy to analyze the opportunities and potential of your product range—whether abroad or in Germany—together with you.
Arrange a free and non-binding initial meeting for your sales consultation now.
STARTUPs – Hurdles to successful market entry and what you should bear in mind!
Food STARTUPs and their enthusiastic founders regularly encounter a different world when they make contact with food retailers. Accordingly, a variety of new challenges arise on the way to scaling their product portfolio, especially via the central purchasing department of a retail organisation:
How …
… does the retail trade tick?
… do I prepare myself professionally for a dialogue with a buyer?
… do I negotiate at eye level?
… do I keep successfully my products on shelf?
If you are facing these challenges, I can offer you my many years of practical experience in the form of food retail coaching. These insights will help you achieve your goals more effectively.
Listing
Listing – how do I get my products on the shelf?
Listing in food retailing still represents the greatest access to the consumer and thus justifies the covetousness for available shelf space. You have certainly heard the saying, “our shelves are not made of rubber” many times. Accordingly, you should have the right arguments on your side.
Among other things, you should have an answer to this question in a conversation with the buyer of a retail company:
- What are the special features of your product?
- How does the target group look like?
- What sales potential (in €, the retailer’s unit) is planned?
Here too, the right preparation is the be-all and end-all. Use my sales consulting to be prepared on your way to a successful listing.
Negotiations
Negotiations – the buyer is the key to success
The cooperation with the retailer is based on mutual agreements, which are fixed in the form of contracts. These negotiations, which usually take place annually, are decisive in determining the level of investment and thus the continued success of the manufacturer.
A successful negotiation must be well prepared. It goes without saying that you know your products and figures. But how well do you know your buyer and his decision criteria? Put yourself in his position and look at the negotiation from a different perspective.
To make your next negotiation even more successful, I offer you to change your perspective with me.
Promotions
Sales promotion – what measures can be used to increase your sales in a targeted manner?
Retailers offer their suppliers numerous opportunities to draw attention to their products by means of promotions and marketing activities. In stationary retail, these are often the handout and secondary placements while in e-commerce, banner advertising and newsletters are prioritized.
What counts is converting the customer at the POS into a shopper, whether in the store or in the online shop.
I will be happy to work out with you which sales promotion measures are suitable for your brand and thus achieve maximum attention from your customers. In the end, it’s all about the satisfied customer and your return on investment!
International
International – Do you want to expand your sales outside your home market?
What is your opinion of Germany, which is considered the most important industrialized country in Europe? The attractiveness of this central market in Europe is also related to its large population of 82 million. Have you already examined your potential there?
The foreign language as well as the customs of the target country should not keep you from considering the step of internationalization. It is essential to deal with the market, the customer needs as well as the competition in advance.
I will be happy to examine with you which opportunities and potentials your product range has abroad.
STARTUPs
STARTUPs – Hurdles to successful market entry and what you should bear in mind!
Food STARTUPs and their enthusiastic founders regularly encounter a different world when they make contact with food retailers. Accordingly, a variety of new challenges arise on the way to scaling their product portfolio, especially via the central purchasing department of a retail organisation:
How …
… does the retail trade tick?
… do I prepare myself professionally?
… do I negotiate at eye level?
… do I keep my products on shelf?
If you are facing these challenges, I can offer you my many years of practical experience in the form of food retail coaching. These insights will help you achieve your goals more effectively.
Projects
