Mitigate risk. You're asking a store manager to dedicate space that costs money (and must generate revenue) to an experimental (unproven) product.
I've seen some cottage industry food sellers here in Detroit work out deals to set up and sell their products at local stores. They get a day or two to show the stores what they can do. If customers respond and buy a lot of the product, it opens the door for more shelf space. If not, the store lost nothing in giving it a try.
How do you set this up?
Free stuff. Give the decision-maker free samples of your product. If he or she likes it, you're on to the next step.
Enjoy making your good luck for yourself! I'm happy to discuss further by phone.
Start by researching the business. How long have they been in business? What types of products do they typically carry? Are your competitors already in that store? Once you've done that you can begin to develop a strategy to approach your targeted business or businesses. I highly suggest compiling a list of potential businesses to sell to or partner with. Organize the list by how much your potential partners appeal to your business. This is an important step. Having a list not only keeps your organized but shows you that even if you do not succeed at first you can always move on to the next business on the list. Having a strategy such as this also can boost your confidence and give you leverage to negotiate if things do go your way. Now another strategy I suggest is not starting with your most appealing target. Give yourself the ability to fail a few times and understand that failing gives you the ability to refine your message and pitch so when you do get around to approaching your top targets you'll be ready for them. My final suggestion and this is an important one is to whenever possible approach the business in person. Phone calls give the other business an easy out to blow you off. You standing in their store or office makes it significantly harder. Even if they don't bite at first they'll remember you and your business increasing the chances that they'll think of working with you in the future.
Best of luck with your business and sales. If you want an ear to bounce some ideas off of don't hesitate to reach out that's what I'm here for.
First do your research. Create a customer profile from this research. Who is this person? What is their goal? What challenges are they going through? Then, when you know this, how can your product or service help them? What do they get out of it? Now you have a reason for them to start talking with you. When you do your intro, frame it as something they benefit from, not something they'd just do as a favor for you. For example, if you have a customer relations platform for dental offices you might find out that one has a lot of negative yelp reviews about their staff being unresponsive and poor communicators. For this business, you don't say "hi, I want to talk to you about my software which does CRM for your company. Can I take a few minutes of your time to talk with you?" I
nstead you might say "hi, I have a solution for you that will not only make your current customers more happy with your office but also give you more customers as well. Can I take a few minutes of your time to show you how?". See the difference? You now aren't just some random cold caller, but someone who can help with that office's current problem.
In a nutshell, quickly and clearly show the benefit for your potential customer. Do the work for them so it's not even a matter of them trying to figure out how you can help you, but a much more simple matter of them saying yes.
