When you’ve got a product you’re ready to sell, the next step is finding an outlet to get your idea out there. Depending on what kind of product you have, and what kind of audience you’re looking for, you can find a great deal of places to market your product to that will benefit you greatly. If it’s something that would benefit from sitting on the shelves of a convenience store, then you’re already most of the way there.
For many, jumping from having an idea to getting that idea on the store shelves is a really difficult process. They have a hard time knowing who to turn to, where to go to have their product marketed to the stores, or how to tell which way is best in order to reach their chosen audience. One way to get your product on the shelf is to purchase a directory www.cstoredistributors.com, www.cstoredirectory.com and market your product yourself. The problem with this approach is unless you have a connection within the convenience store world, you may not know where to turn or which kinds of stores would provide you with the most revenue and best exposure to your audience. This will also most likely take a great deal of time and money for you to achieve, and while this is the easiest way to ensure that all of your profits remain your own, it will also come at hard work.
Instead, you could turn to a convenience store broker, to help you navigate through the large amount of choices available to you in terms of which kinds of stores you should target. Hearing the word “broker” scares a lot of people because they think of real estate brokers. In this case, we are often in the situation where we are forced to pay someone a great deal of money just to find us a listing of available places. The word also comes with the negative connotation of being taken advantage of, such as the case with some stock brokers and investment brokers. The news is filled with horrible stories of people losing money to liars in these positions, so it’s only natural to associate all brokers with this negative persona.
Convenience store brokers are not the same as these brokers. In this case, they are most beneficial to the seller of goods. The way they work is they work different convenience stores as clients, who rely on them to find goods and products that would sell well on their shelves, and also provide them with a variety of different options for things they could sell. Because their client is the stores, those who are trying to get their ideas out there are most benefited by this kind of relationship. Brokers are actively trying to get your product out to the stores because the better the stores do, the better they will do as brokers.
So how do you connect with a broker? The best thing to do is some research. Choosing a broker is just as important as choosing a strong, well-versed directory www.cstoredistributors.com who sells a list of 2,000 convenience store brokers along with over 1,800 convenience store distributors. This is worth your time and energy because if you are able to find a great broker, then you’ll make in money what you put into your idea in effort. If you find a broker and aren’t sure if you want to become involved with them, you can ask for references or do further research online into their successes. A strong broker will spell success in the future.
A broker also takes a lot of the pressure off of having to find the kind of stores your product would do the best in. This happens because the process has been reversed. Instead of you trying to find a place for your product, the places that want your product are finding you. Not only does it give you less to worry about, it also ensures that wherever your product ends up, it was wanted there. Stores know what kind of people shop there, and what they want to buy—if they’re seeking your product, then they know they’ll make money off of having your idea occupy their shelves. Once you prove them right, then you’re set for a while. They’ll continue to bring your product into their stores, and once someone has success with your things, word will spread and others stores will also request your item.
The best tool you could have in your arsenal is research. Knowing the best options for you and your product will help you succeed in the market and do the best. Working with a broker will provide more resources and materials you’ll need to ensure that you not only do really well in the convenience store world, but that stores get exactly the kind of product they need, meaning that there will definitely be an audience to buy your idea and bring you the kind of profits you deserve. The first step to success is getting your idea out there and proving that you’re a force to be taken seriously and put on shelves. Once stores see how well your product will sell, you’ve not only got your foot in the door—you’re mostly on your way to a great future in this industry.
A great resource to get your products into convenience stores is the “Checkstand Program”. This program allows you to get your product into anywhere from 200 to 5,000 convenience stores instantly. Not only that, but they act as a broker after the launch.
Sources
http://c-storespecialists.com/
http://onestopinventionshop.net/AboutUs/ArticlesByDon/conveniencedistribution.html
By Anthony Bautista
Connect with me on Google Plus at +Anthony Bautista