A supplier rep told retailers they visited how awesome a new product they were pitching was. There said other retailers had found it successful. retailers bought up. The product failed. The rep doubled down, suggesting that the retailers failed and not the product.
Retailers listened to the rep because of the origin story they always pitched on the first meeting – years of local small business retail experience.
I get it, supplier reps have one job to do to sell the products they represent. The thing is they will fail if they sell products that fail.
The rep in the story above did have retail experience, from more than twenty years earlier, for a couple of years when they were in high school. The way they told the story is sounded more recent, and more significant than part time counter sales.
Unless someone has current retail experience relevant to you, be skeptical about their advice. Do your research. Check their claims. get any promises in writing. And, if you encounter a rep giving bad advice, discretely tell fellow retailers so they don’t get caught.
Thoughtful Verification: Key Steps for Supplier Due Diligence
- Seek Peer Confirmation: Ask the representative for the names of a few other retailers who have been successfully selling the product for some time and have placed multiple restock orders.
- Request Performance Clarity: Request documented figures for the typical sell-through rate experienced by new customers in their first few months. This turns success stories into a predictable, quantifiable expectation.
- Establish a Protective Agreement: For a new product, formally agree upon a buy-back or stock credit option for a portion of initial inventory if the item does not move as projected within the first six months.
- Confirm Commitments: Ensure that any agreed-upon details, including promised support or performance metrics, are confirmed in writing (an email is sufficient) to provide clarity and mutual understanding.
Now I know what I’ve written here is vague. That’s deliberate. I am not in the mood for a legal letter or worse. It’s happened before. I have a theory, those misbehaving tend to be quick to fire legal shots.