How To Sell To Wal-Mart Interview #6 Free Recording Reveal 11-New Ways To Make Huge Amounts Of Cash Selling To Wal-Mart… Even During A Recession! Wal-Mart is the world’s largest retailer and I’ve secured an exclusive interview with one of the foremost experts on Wal-Mart. His name is Michael. Michael is an international speaker, author, and writer. He’s worked in Bentonville, Arkansas for Wal-Mart as the director of people for the headquarters office where he worked daily with Sam Walton. Previously to Wal-Mart, he worked for PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division in the sales organization and headquarters staff assignments. He has experience as a turnaround specialist who’s participated in several business turnarounds. He has appeared on CCN, CNBC, FN, CBS, National Radio, Bloomberg’s TV. He is considered the authority on Wal-Mart. The giant retailer’s own public relation department has referred Bird Dog to interviewers who are interested in gaining insight into this massive company. He recently completed his second book entitled, The Ten Rules Of Sam Walton: Success Secrets From Remarkable Results. This two hour interview is going to give you an edge over your competition to show you ways to understand Wal-Mart, to give you a competitive advantage on pricing strategies and marketing strategies in selling into Wal-Mart. I hope you enjoy it. We’ve got a lot to listen to. Let’s get going.   PDF transcript download mp3     download mp3

How To Sell To Wal-Mart Interview #7 The Only Web Site And Resource You’ll Need To Get Your Products Sourced, Manufactured, Imported and Sold Into America’s Largest Retail Stores. The Federation of International Trade Associations (FITA) was founded in 1984.  Its mission is to foster international business by strengthening the role of local, regional, and national associations.  In this interview with Barney, FITA’s web master and advertising expert, you will learn about how the FITA web site is the Number One portal for both export and import . Barney and I begin by discussing how to use the FITA web site (www.fita.org). The site contains over 500 different links to different items and services to help American manufacturers to safely export their to any country in the world.  Additionally, if yours is an international company wanting to import into the United States, the web site is the source for questions, answers, and logistics on bring your product to the United States. One important term that Barney introduces is the “T-lead.” Or we'll just call it a trade lead. These t-leads were started in 1993 by the United Nations to get the word out about products that third-world countries had for sale.  At that time, the Internet was still in its infancy and was not used.  Rather, there were offices called  T-Points set up in strategic cities of the world where a person could go to obtain the latest list of leads. Now, with the advent of the Internet, the T-Point offices have been bypassed and everything is handled online.  Further, now anyone can post a t-lead and Barney and I discuss how there are a lot of t-lead scams online and what to look for to identify a scam. There are currently approximately 700 web sites that contain leads.  In China, it’s really become a big business.  The two main Chinese lead sites are AliBaba and Global Sources and they basically do what the UN used to do.  However, instead of their services being free, they charge factories to list their t-leads. The FITA web site has 500 associations having to do with international business as members.  You will hear Barney give examples of some of the associations that are members of FITA.  FITA’s web site is free for people to browse but only members who pay a small fee get access to their database of respected trade systems.  This is one way the FITA qualifies its trade association members, such as AliBaba, Global Sources, and Trade India. Barney gives us a hypothetical example of how a US manufacturer can use FITA to get into Business to Business exporting.  First, the manufacturer would put his trade lead information into the databases of several trade associations.  Within a few weeks, the manufacturer would begin getting emails from interested parties around the world and you may begin negotiating with them.  Barney warns that you have to make sure that the buyer can and will pay you.  There are many complications with international trade and in fact, most transactions don’t get completed because of these complications. We discuss how international trade, especially in Asia, is very different than doing business only in the US due to the cultural aspects of the country of the person you are dealing with.  It’s all about building relationships and trust.  Barney advises that the most important thing a new importer or exporter must learn is patience.  Additionally, it would behoove an importer or exporter to learn all of the “hidden” obstacles that he may be faced with in different countries. FITA’s web site has lots of information about doing business internationally.  When you look at www.fita.org, you will be amazed with the amount of useful information in addition to the trade association links that you will find such as: Detailed international market research reports. FITA’s Really Useful Sites email newsletter. How Export Management Companies will perform all of the tasks necessary to export your product.  FITA’s web site has a list of Export Management Companies. Detailed reports of the business environments of most countries. Links to export training. Links to sites that will help to get into another country. Lists of Foreign T Zones, how they are useful and can save you money. Different kinds of software to assist with logistics Links to companies who deal exclusively with international travel. Books promoted by FITA  Government security issues …and tons of other great resources! Barney and I discuss many other topics, such as outsourcing and how it can be dangerous to US companies.  You’ll want to listen to the entire interview so as not to miss any crucial details. The bottom line is that, in our growing Global Economy, US manufacturers cannot afford to only sell in the US.  Exporting products to other countries will soon be a necessity. Everything you need to do importing and exporting can be found on www.fita.org.  It could be time for you to investigate what other companies are doing in the way of trade and how you, too, can get involved.  PDF transcripts download  mp3

How To Sell To Wal-Mart Interview #8 How To Use Master Brokers To Get  Into Wal-Mart And Other Large Mass Retailers. In this interview with Bill, you’ll hear about an alternative tactic to get into Wal-Mart, Costco, Kroger, or any of the other mass merchandisers in the US.  Bill refers to himself as a “scout” but his expertise is in dealing with Master Brokers.  He scouts for product opportunities.  When he finds a good product, he contacts and hires a Master Broker to try to get the Master Broker to pick up the product as a project. A Master Broker represents you and lobbies mass merchandiser purchasing agents to get into their stores.  Bill explains that there are less than one hundred Master Brokers in the US at this time and that each Master Broker specializes in one category, such as dietary supplements, produce, etc. Bill explains that a common misconception of manufacturers is that they believe that their own product will, indeed, sell.  The truth is that, when approaching a single mass merchandiser, the supplier has a 1% chance to get into the store!  Bill goes on to explain that if you already has advertising AND you are being represented by a Master Broker, that you have a 90% chance of that initial 1% chance to get into the store.  Further, if you do not already have advertising and you do not have a Master Broker, you only have a 1% chance of that initial 1% chance to get into the store.  Yes, it’s a bit confusing but suffice to say that the chances are slim that you will be picked up by any mass retailer. So what does a Master Broker do once he accepts your item?  Master Brokers have sub-brokers all across the US in different regions.  These sub-brokers specialize in lobbying purchasing agents of mass retailers.  If your are approved by a retailer’s purchasing agent, the Master Broker makes a commission and pays each of his sub-brokers a commission. The advantages of using a Master Broker are many: The Master Broker and his sub-brokers do research and develop a marketing plan.  Since multiple sub-brokers under a single Master Broker are working on your behalf, the marketing plan is easier to maintain than if you hired many different brokers. Once a Master Broker approves a project, you get immediate exposure to every mass retail chain in the US. When a sub-broker deals with a purchasing agent, most often, the purchasing agent is already familiar with the sub-broker.  Thus, appointments to present products occur more quickly and are more organized because the purchasing agent knows that the sub-broker has done his homework and is ready to do business. To give a more complete picture of the process, Bill gives us a case study that he was able to get into the mass retailers – an energy bar.  It already had advertising but the manufacturer was having trouble selling them.  The manufacturer approached Bill and asked if he would pick up this line of energy bars.  They had an expiration date that was approaching and they needed to be sold.  Bill obtained samples and determined the margins because it must meet the pricing points. Bill goes on to give an example of what would happen next.  Bill would find a Master Broker to take on the product.  So, if the sales price is $1.99 and the wholesale price is $1.20, the Master Broker would buy the energy bars for 25% less than the wholesale price of $1.20.  Then the Master Broker would go to a mass retailer to sell each energy bat for $1.20 and tell the retailer that the sales price is $1.99.  Without the right pricing, the Master Broker and his sub-brokers don’t make anything and cannot be sold. Mass merchandisers such as Wal-Mart want your product to already have advertising because it will have recognition.  As Bill says, they don’t want you to get lost on the shelf.  Additionally, Wal-Mart gets free advertising when you are advertising on TV.  All Wal-Mart has to do is provide a tag to buy this product at Wal-Mart.  Bill refers to new products (new to the marketplace and not yet advertised) as “pioneers.”  He prefers to deal with established items and finds it very difficult and time-consuming to represent pioneer products.  Of course, Wal-Mart's buyers consider any opportunity so they will listen. Once your in just one of the major mass merchandisers stores, an Information Resources, Inc. (IRIS) report will exist for it.  An IRI report tracks your sales and other retailers will look at your IRI report.  The advantage of having an item with a good IRI report is that you can show that IRI report to purchasing agents of other mass merchandisers when trying to get into their stores. We go on to discuss how much capital is necessary to deal with one of these mass merchandisers.  Listen as Bill gives advice about going to a bank to finance the production of the large quantities that you will be expected to produce for a mass merchandiser and how a purchase order from Wal-Mart, Target or any mass merchandiser is as good as gold by the bank Bill recommends. PDF transcripts download mp3