Pitching Your Business
to Retailers
Anne has worked in entrepreneurship
for the past 30 years. She has set up
and grown successful ecommerce
businesses, including a trip into the UK
Dragons’ Den with her iconic Gift in a
Tin business. She has also held board
level positions in a number of dynamic
organizations in the United Kingdom.
Anne is currently guest lecturing at
three universities, providing 1-2-1
business coaching to entrepreneurs
and group training, specializing
in marketing.
© Business Expert Press 978-1-94819-831-8 (2018)
www.businessexpertpress.com
Anne Livesey
Abstract: In a survey conducted by The Times, second
in the list of most frightening things we could possibly
be afraid of was speaking in public. Unless you do it
for your profession, speaking to complete strangers is
not something many people would select as enjoyable.
Pitching therefore doesn’t come naturally to many, but
with a few tips and tricks, pitching your business and its
products and services can be less of a chore and more of
a successful string to your bow for your business. This
article takes you through the crucial elements of a great
pitch to winning business.
Keywords: Pitching, Presenting, Retailing, Selling,
Wholesaling
Introduction
Owning your own business can be an exhilarating ride.
All the planning and research that goes into launching
just the right product or service, one you’re truly proud
of and something you hope that every customer will be
delighted with.
But how do you reach the right customer? Which is
the best route to market? This article looks at taking your
business to retailers, opening your wholesale ­market for
your business.
Pitching to retailers can be a daunting prospect, but
this article provides you with some insider tips to make
your pitch hit the spot. It covers the research required
before you pitch, how to pitch, and what to do after your
pitch.
Pre-pitch
You
When you meet buyers for the very first time, the first
­impression they have is of you, the business owner. They
will want to know if they can trust you. Can you deliver on
time? Do you have the business expertise? Are you and your
Expert Insights
1
 Pitching Your Business to Retailers
business someone they feel is ­reliable enough
to introduce to their ­customers? Think about
the relevant business ­expertise you have and
write it into your pitch so that buyers can get
an understanding of the ­person they will be
dealing with.
Always dress the part. It’s quite likely
that the buyers may be dressed relatively
casually, but that doesn’t mean you can
turn up in tatty, creased clothing. First
impressions count. It doesn’t mean either
that you have to present in a full business
suit, but consider what you will wear. You
need to be comfortable but look profes-
sional and trustworthy, so select your attire
with care. If you’re in the fashion industry,
wear something from your range; if you’re
selling a product that people use, such as
make-up or scarves, demonstrate the prod-
uct by showing it to its best advantage.
One of the main elements in a ­buyer’s mind
is whether you, as a complete stranger, are
trustworthy. They want to feel and know that
you will deliver on time, to a high standard,
every single time they o ­ rder. If you turn up
late, it will leave doubt in their mind as to
how reliable you are, for example. If your
pitch is flaky, they will wonder exactly how
efficiently and effectively you run your
business.
You are pitching not just your business,
but you as the business owner. It’s the same
thing. You might have the best new product
ever, but if you don’t pitch it professionally,
they will walk away because they wonder
if you’ll ever deliver what they want.
More about this in the later section, “The
Pitch.”
Your Product
You’ve probably spent many months ­developing
your product, researching and n ­ egotiating
with your supply chains to make sure they
are secure. You’ve dabbled a bit with pricing,
testing it out perhaps on your website, or an
online store like Etsy or Amazon. You may
have had a stand or table at a fair, which is a
great way to gain feedback in the early days,
about both your product and your pricing.
2 © Business Expert Press 978-1-94819-831-8 (2018)
www.businessexpertpress.com
Or perhaps you’ve been to an international
trade fair, and met and discussed with poten-
tial buyers what they’re looking for.
The business is starting to go well, and
your processes are reliable and working
efficiently. It may well be time to think
about taking things a bit further and grow-
ing your business through being stocked by
a high-street chain. Being stocked on the
high street not only drives cash through
your business, it raises brand visibility and
opens your product up to a much wider
audience.
But pitching to a retailer can be a daunt-
ing prospect, perhaps something you’ve
never had to think about before, and it’s
not something that comes naturally—some
people say pitching is an art. It certainly
takes knowledge, practice, and confidence.
So, let’s look at the most important points.
Knowledge
You know your product inside out, like it’s
your child. You know its personality, its
pros, and its cons. But the person or panel
you’re pitching to has never heard of or
seen it or you. The number one important
focus of a pitch is to be able to vocalize the
knowledge and experience you have about
your product and in your business to make
your potential buyer trust you and buy into
you and your product.
Your passion for your product should
shine through. Enthusiasm is infectious,
and if you’re presenting your product in
­really positive terms then you’ll take the
buyers with you. If your pitch is boring, flat,
and downright unenthusiastic, the buyers
will be looking at their watches and won-
dering what time their next meeting is due.
You need to capture their ­attention, and
you can do this with enthusiastic knowl-
edge of your product, which you a­ rticulate
clearly.
You need to know your product inside
out. This includes the target customer and
what differentiates it from competitors—its
unique selling point (USP). Your USP may
be that your product is sustainably sourced,
Expert Insights
 Pitching Your Business to Retailers
handmade, or organic. If it is, make sure
you let the buyers know. Information like
this is something you may have become
accustomed to and take for granted, but
­ an understanding of their customers and
your buyers know nothing about it.
You need to get across that you under-
stand your customers’ needs and how your
product fulfills these needs. You need to let
the buyers know that you also understand
their customers’ needs and identify a gap
in their current offering that your product
can fulfill.
You need to know your numbers too, as
retailers will want to know cost prices and
discounts for volume. They may well look
for figures to back up your claims that your
product is popular. These figures could
­include the number of products sold e ­ very
week and the margins made from e ­very
unit sold. If you already sell into other
retailers, tell the buyers of the successes
you’ve had with others, the numbers of
units sold, how quickly they’ve been reor-
dered, and the feedback your other retail-
ers have provided as to the success of your
products.
The Retailer/Buyer
There’s no doubt that buyers and retailers
are averse to risk taking. They know that
high-profile products from well-known
manufacturers will sell. Introducing a com-
pletely new range into their stores might be
the next big thing, or it could end up in the
bargain basement at the end of the season.
Breaking down these barriers is not easy.
You will need to be able to explain how
your product could fit into the retailer’s
current selection and why it is different
­ spending? Also look at the competitors’
from other items they already have on sale.
It’s a common mistake to make to pitch
your product and ask the retailer what they
can do for you. In reality, it has to be the
other way around.
You have to prove to the retailer what
you can do for them. They have ­thousands
of sample products coming in front of
their buyers on a daily basis. Their office
desk (and floor) is likely to be littered with
© Business Expert Press 978-1-94819-831-8 (2018)
www.businessexpertpress.com
hundreds of recent samples sent in by
hopeful businesses. Your product needs to
stand out, but if you can also demonstrate
their needs as a retailer (delivery, margins)
and pitch from an understanding of their
side, not only will your pitch be a lot bet-
ter than that of the majority of others, it
will open them to you and your business
products.
But don’t be a know-it-all. Don’t tell the
buyer you know and understand their busi-
ness better than they do. Show that you’ve
done your research and that you under-
stand their needs, but leave it at that.
It’s that fine balance about knowing your
product inside out and having some knowl-
edge of their needs too. This will be key to a
successful pitch. Demonstrate your knowl-
edge and enthusiasm about your own prod-
uct and share some love and praise of their
current range and the store in general to
give them that warm, fuzzy feeling.
As well as the cost price, you need to
­understand where the product would sit within
the retailer’s current pricing structure. So,
for example, a shop will be ­unlikely to stock
something for £500 if their existing similar
products come in at under £50. It’s impor-
tant to think about what kind of c­ ustomer
would buy your product and whether that
type of customer would shop at the store
you’re pitching to. ­Well-thought-out, tailored
pitches are much more likely to succeed than
a ­blanket email.
Make several visits to the store and eval-
uate the type of customers buying there.
What age are they? How much are they
products in the store. Are yours better/
nicer/cheaper? In some stores, junior buy-
ers are working on the shop floor, chat to
them, ask them what sells well, ask about
pricing, special offers, displays. The more
information you gather, the more success-
ful your pitch will be.
Have a really good look at their ­website.
You can gain an excellent understand-
ing of the type of products they offer, the
Expert Insights
3