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Strategy On How To Sell To The Large Retailers?
Posted By: keith* on 1/2/2007 3:48 PM (CST) 375 Points
We are a portable storage company; our primary markets are contractors and homeowners that are doing renovations....they will store either all or part of the contents of the house in the container during the renovation or the contractor will store their supplies and tools in the container while on the job site. We deliver a container to their site and they fill it up, we can either leave it on their site or bring it back to our site.... very similar to what Pods.com does except our containers are made of steel, not wood like theirs and our containers are larger.

We have only been in business for about 1.5 years but next Christmas/holiday season I would like to target some of the larger retailers to rent our containers so that they can store their extra inventory that they carry during the holiday season(s).

Someone suggested that we hire an advertising company to market to the larger retailers but that isn't really feasible right now, I want to see if there is a market out there before we dish out the money to fully market to retailers.

The real reason that I want to get into the Retailers market is that they have some really good high traffic real estate with thousands of people driving by, I want their customers to see our containers in-use and give us a call for their projects but I would also like to get some rental money from the retailers at the same time.

Any strategies or suggestions on how to sell to local large retailers.

Thanks
Keith

Posted by: Barcelona* Member Response
1/2/2007 6:28 PM (CST)
Ketih, I think you guys have a great concept!!! Take a look at how the storage businesses in your target market are reaching their clientele. I would focss on cross promos with the retail giants like Home Depot and Lowes!
Good Luck and let me know how everything turns out ;)
 
Posted by: CarolBlaha Accepted Answer
1/2/2007 6:49 PM (CST)
I have worked with several large retailers-- the best way is to call, set an appointment and make an old fashioned sales call. You could also target some of the trade shows they attend. I don't see any value of hiring an advertising firm for this kind of business. Don't limit your self to Christmas-- call on their in house design and construction departments. You can help them as they renovate, build or move stores.

Good Luck
Carol
Sell Well and Prosper tm
 
Posted by: Frank Hurtte Accepted Answer
1/2/2007 8:07 PM (CST)
I would pick and choose your opportunities. If you want visiblity you need to look for retailers with their back up against a high traffic route.

This is not something you will sell at the headquarters, rather something to offer locally. Also, don't forget to focus on the local and smaller regional firms. You may be able to get into the relocation side of their business.
 
Posted by: charles.stannard Accepted Answer
1/2/2007 10:08 PM (CST)
I heard a lot of what YOU want from the large retailer partnership (added visibility / rental income), but I'd focus on what the retailer gets from the partnership. They currently have ways to deal with the extra inventory, and your idea has to have better value in it. There will be questions about security of the storage, does it take away parking spots and room for loading trucks to manuever? Is it an eyesore? Is it cost-effective. Suppose something happens to the inventory in the storage? Who is responsible? Are you willing to let one branch/location try it for free and if the results are good, advocate it to Corporate on your behalf?

Once I was ready for my pitch, I'd purse both Corporate and Store Level managers to make my pitch. They are bombarded by sales people, so tactful persistence will be key.
 
Posted by: shghosh Accepted Answer
1/3/2007 2:30 AM (CST)
All good suggestions- I will just add to it and say that have a Direct Mailer ready and have it sent to the decision makers before you make your cold call. Always helps in recall and aids the introduction.
Also your existing customers of contractors can help you in getting foothold with retailers- some of these contractors will have contacts with large retailers- ask for introductions to the right person in purchase- will help your cold call prospecting tremendously.
 
Posted by: keith* Author Response
1/3/2007 10:23 AM (CST)
Thanks Barcelona-- Cross Promotions is on my road map but I want to grow our business internally first and gaining some more insight into our industry before approaching HD or Lowes for some Cross-promotions....I think you only get one shot with these guys and I don't want to screw it up.
 
Posted by: keith* Author Response
1/3/2007 10:35 AM (CST)
Carol--

Thanks for the suggestions...I like the trade show idea, I'll definitely see what's around in our area.

The reason that I mentioned the Christmas season is that it is our slowest time of year....and that is when the retailers usually take delivery of containers for their extra Holiday inventory.

--Keith
 
Posted by: keith* Author Response
1/3/2007 10:55 AM (CST)
Charles--

I made some notes last night and that was one of the things that I wanted to cover in questions to Marketing profs....

What are the most important things to the larger retailers when making a purchasing decision? Price, availability, service & reliability, number of years in business, the product itself, prior established relationships with their company, etc... I know what it is for residential customers and contractors, it's mainly pricing and delivery times.

I love your post, lots of great stuff in it.

Thanks
Keith
 
Posted by: keith* Author Response
1/3/2007 12:18 PM (CST)
shghosh--

I want to do direct mail first but I can't seem to find the decision makers names'.... A few years ago you could find many of their names on their company's websites but now you can't.

Does anyone know of lists that can be purchased with the decision makers' names and addresses? I'm sure that I can call each store and get the manager's name and address, but I would prefer to have a comprehensive list to start with.

--Keith
 
Posted by: charles.stannard Member Response
1/3/2007 11:14 PM (CST)
Large retailers are like a single end user - what's the value to them?

I'd say that large retailers don't like doing one-offs, they roll things out that will have legs in all their stores across the country, ideally.

They are also protective of their brand - they've invested a lot to get to where they are.

Value, cost, service, and availability.
 
Posted by: necornell Accepted Answer
1/4/2007 12:14 PM (CST)
Keith -

For names of store managers and corporate buyers, try the trade associations: National Retail Federation, National Hardware Retail Association etc.

If your goal is awareness building for contractors and people about to renovate their homes, then concentrate on Home Depot, Lowes and other building materials retailers. If the goal is to expand the market into temporary storage for retailers during peak seasons, that's a different strategy all together.

My experience with large retail chains like Home Depot is that they like regional programs (minimum - mostly they prefer national ones). Most store managers have little discretion to do their own thing.

It's different for Ace and Tru-Value Hardware stores. They are co-ops where each store is individually owned and the corporate office pools orders, advertising programs and shipping to reduce costs for each owner. In exchange the owner pays a membership fee. These owners have much more discretion about adding a service like yours, plus the stores tend to be smaller and might need more flexible storage options. The down side is that few of these small stores are where home owners or contractors shop when renovating - except for emergency supplies.

Charles is right that you have to focus on the benefits to the retailer. With daily drop-ship programs to stores during peak seasons, many retailers don't need extra storage - they need good inventory management systems that tell them what and when to re-order. Not all of them have this, and bad weather can interrupt the most most efficient supply chain, so many do keep a little extra on hand.

To do the market research you need you should attend the various Hardware and Building Materials shows - although most are in the summer. Or contact the retail associations representing the group you want to reach. The National Association of Home Builders has an extensive research department (they track housing starts weekly) that also covers re-modeling spending. Maybe the best option is a supply chain or inventory management association as they will have the handle on who is doing what for surge capacity across a variety of industries.

Wish I could think of one easy answer for you.

Natalie
 
Posted by: bigstarnow Member Response
1/4/2007 5:17 PM (CST)
I'd go to the property managers and developers of the retail locations
like: RED, MidAmerica, etc.

They are most often the ones financing the rennovations
They may want to use you as part of an ease of construction policy offered to the impacted retailers

This is sort of a back door introduction. After things start rolling retailers will hopefully begin to contact you directly for other locations
 
Posted by: rjohnni Member Response
1/5/2007 9:17 AM (CST)
Try a dry run of all the ideas suggested with 5 each retailer...look at the most effective mktg programme...implement.

If you park on thier site, offer to put ads on the sides of the trailer. Do an ROI for the clients...send a mailer with the casestudy of someone they all know of.

KUDOS
 
Posted by: Kamran Accepted Answer
1/8/2007 2:11 AM (CST)
Keith,

Two aspects to this question:

a. promotion of your company, use of your assets during slow season and low cost promotion

b. what do the retailers get out of it? as charles & natalie have highlighted. why should they hire extra storage, when they can get daily drops.

I suggest, that ask retailers, how much does it cost them to do daily delivery and then offer them a solution, which is cheaper than delivery with the catch that the container would have your name / ad on it. You might also like to think about putting up the containers at their warehouses (that is where most of the inventory is stored). You might lose a little money on it, but think of it as promotional expense.

Regards
 
Posted by: keith* Author Response
1/8/2007 12:40 PM (CST)
They all ready have these storage containers at the local Walmarts, Bestbuys, Sears, etc... during the holiday season, so these retailers do have a need for the containers, I see them there right now but it's my competitors that have their storage containers at these retail sites. I want to get my containers in some of these locations next year.

So my question is how to get to the retailers, what motivates them to buy and what are they looking for when working with a supplier (especially local one).

thank you everyone for your previous suggestions, I would like to leave this open for a couple more days.

Thanks
Keith
 


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