Tim Forrest.com

Food Marketing Video Workshop from Tim Forrest 20 Minutes of Experienced Insight!

2012-01-25T14:22:00.000-05:00

Twenty minutes that can save you years in in the process of growing your food enterprise and will help you avoid many of the major gotcha's!

In this series of quick videos, Tim shares insight into the world of Food Marketing and Distribution Success with his experienced insight with Food Brokers, Channel Segments, Pricing Strategy, Local Growth, Club Stores, Co-Packers, and Approaching Food Brokers.

Building Business With the Right Questions!

2012-01-24T07:18:00.000-05:00

Leverage your success with direct and good questioning of your product, promotions, category and consumer. Do not do anything just because you feel the need to perform. Build plans and actions for your product success prior to implementation. Please find below several questions that are useful and part of my routine when examing food companies for growth.

• Product

• How viable is my product idea?

• How is my product performing by geography?

• What other products are my clients buying besides mine?

• What level of sales can I expect for my product?

• What is the right distribution channel for my product?

• Who are the right retailers for my product?

• Why are retailers de-listing our product?

• Promotion

• How did we tailor our promotion to our ideal consumer?

• How effective was my promotion?

• How does it compare to previous years or my competitors promotions?

• Why was my TPR less effective than expected?

• Category

• What major new item trends are occurring in my category?

• What new product characteristics or innovations could expand my category, drive new sales?

• Where am I losing distribution, a particular market, a retailer or a given store or stores?

• Are we offering consumers more value than others in the category?

• Do we receive a premium price point for our many benefits to the category?

• Consumer

• Who is our ideal consumer?

• How do I reach my target consumer?

• Where can I target my core consumers at the store level?

• Why are our product sales down?

Are You Asking the Right Food Questions?

2012-01-23T00:30:00.000-05:00

Great Questions for Food Product Performance

How viable is my product idea? How effective was my promotion? How does it compare to previous years or my competitors promotions? How do I reach my target consumer? How is my product performing by geography?

What major new items trends are happening in my category? What other products are my clients buying besides mine? What new product characteristics/innovations could expand my category, drive new sales? What level of sales can I expect for my product?

Where is the right distribution channel for my product? Where am I losing distribution, a particular market, a retailer or a given store(s)? Where can I target my core consumers at the store level?

Why was my TPR less effective than expected? Why are our sales changed? Why are retailers de-listing our products?

Who are my core consumers? Who are my competitor’s core consumers? Who are my loyal consumers and who are my least loyal?

Keep building on your learnings in these various areas of your food enterprise.

2012-01-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

My friend, Chef John Kalfayan, suggested I post this section of the book "Million Dollar Referrals" to my site for your insight. This highlights a portion of the value my efforts bring to bear on a clients situation. My hope is this provides you guidance in your efforts and growth success.

As Published in Million Dollar Referrals by Alan Weiss, PhD

Tim Forrest’s Greatest Referral

The Success of a Referral

My greatest referral resulted in more than a decade of business, millions in sales, trips to the beautiful Caribbean with an apartment overlooking the beach, and I gained a friend in the process.

It all started with a simple comment, “Tim, a friend is in the process of planning a new food enterprise in the Caribbean and needs help. Why don’t you call him?”

I was excited for many reasons regarding this conversation with Jim. He was then controller at a Borden facility and we were improving the business from losing more than a quarter a million dollars per month to finally making money.

Jim provided the initial phone introductions and gave me the contact information to Joe Melendez. It turned out that Joe and I had worked for the same company years before and hit it off immediately. We talked about his ideas and opportunity and he provided me full access to his situation and needs. We were able to achieve many things working together including landing the Kmart snack bar business and Chili’s Restaurant contract.

Trust, Relationship, and Value

Trust was the main ingredient in gaining this referral. Jim trusted that I might assist his friend in the Caribbean. Joe also had a feeling of trust that my involvement would somehow help his business prosper. These feelings of trust paved the way of our relationship and the exchange of information back and forth that resulted in success that did not come for several months after the initial introductions.

In this on-going exchange of information, we were able to find value in my offerings and after a period of many months shipped the first container of product to his food company. That first cargo container turned into another and then another as we grew the business together. The millions in business did not occur overnight and we had many issues to battle and resolve together. Fortunately, the trust and our relationship stayed intact as we worked to provide service to the Caribbean food enterprise and only my second client in my then very young company.

Learning’s

The most important component to gaining and then growing this piece of referral business was the trust and on-going relationship with all the contacts involved. The trust opened the door for Jim to refer me to his friend in the Caribbean. And the trust of Joe allowed me to demonstrate and add value to his food enterprise with new products and methods of doing business.

Develop relationships of trust and bring value to interested parties. This is the basis of great referral business and everyone has the ability to develop these basic skills if they so choose. It might seem too simple a formula but trust builds the path to success.

Tim Forrest

Tim Forrest Consulting

620 Sea Island Road

St. Simons Island, Georgia 31522

www.timforrest.com

AUDIO PODCAST: International Corporate Finance Consultant, John Colley discusses finding Cash!

2012-01-20T16:00:00.000-05:00

Listen as International Corporate Finance Consultant, John Colley, shares his expertise and the method with logical steps on raising funds for your any food enterprise.

Process Includes:

Business Plan

20 Minute Presentation

Proper Documentation

The Right Audience

He also shares the promise of social media in bridging the finance needs of food companies in the near future.

Listen to the insightful commentary now at this link.

My hope is this provides your business value in the process of growth! Please leave a note for John at this > LINK.

© Tim Forrest 2012. All rights reserved

Video Will Rock Your World!

2012-01-19T14:00:00.000-05:00

Video has arrived and is considered part of the internet experience today. Do you have any video on your site, blog, or facebook page today? If not, it is time to get started in this standard internet feature. This quick article will walk you through the value of video on your site, show several good examples, and get you started with your first video.

eMarketer’s chart above demonstrates usage of video online now reaches over 70% of all internet users. “About 70% of online merchants that have invested in video do not seem to be turning back,” said Paul Verna, eMarketer senior analyst. It is important you begin now to use video.

Why use Video on your site?

Video has helped my consulting business expand internationally and can help most companies that provide a service to business and/or consumers. The #1 reason video is a part of my site is it works! Three of my top four clients of 2011 mentioned watching my videos on youtube prior to signing agreements to move forward. Since youtube is the #2 search engine behind google (and I want to continue living on an island at the beach) video will continue to be a big portion of my efforts to attract and retain qualified clients. Video is the silent salesman that works day and night providing guidance and insight to interested consumers and leaders seeking solutions to their issues. If you visit my channel on youtube you will see my videos are approaching 5,000 views and my site just launched about a year ago. Every day, more than 10 potential clients are watching my consulting videos while learning about me as a qualified service provider for their growth and success needs.

Here are several examples of companies using Video:

Vides that work best offer a solution or provide information that the viewer is seeking. For example, these video examples provide a reference or show the viewer how to do something. They are instructional and insightful with demonstrations and helpful hints at success.

Georgia Olive Farms

Consumer product company Georgia Olive Farms is the leading provider of fresh Extra-Virgin Olive Oil in the Eastern United States. Their goal is to sell olive oil to consumers and in this video they walk potential clients through the process of planting and olive tree. This quick how-to video provides insight and ideas on proper planting and care of Georgia Olive Farms olive trees. Also, the branding and information is sure to get the attention of olive oil aficionados.

Tim Forrest Consulting

Consulting to businesses in the food channel, my youtube site is designed to assist food entrepreneurs to make it worthwhile to compete, grow, and enter new markets. Last year video became a big part of my site and allowed me to focus on supplying existing clients time and resources while my videos introduced my techniques and insights into a whole new direction. Also, it allows potential clients to get a feel what it is like to work with me and succeed under the terms of any agreement we will reach.

Whole Foods Market

The numbers on consumer engagement with websites that incorporate video is astounding in the grocery industry. Emarketer, the leading research and analysis organization of digital marketing and media, offers numbers that demonstrate the use of video dramatically increases the traffic, hits, depth of reading into the site, and conversion.

Do you understand the value and importance of using video on your internet sites? With these three examples and your great ideas you can begin the process of creating your first video. Keep it simple, share something you know and understand, and then move forward with additional videos.

Hit the Record Button
Probably all you need to begin making quality video is to hit the record button on one of several video cameras you have around your home or office. Why not get the most from them? Even cameras nowadays have video record features that will provide good quality for youtube, vimeo, and your facebook site.

Get Video onto Your Site!

Set-up Your Free Video Site to Get Started

· YouTube: The most popular online source for sharing and watching videos for free.

Go to YouTube, and click on Sign Up in the top right corner.
Follow the basic instruction for creating your account.
You are now ready to upload your first video when ready. The ‘upload’ button is near the top of the page.
This link takes you to a great beginners guide on how to upload video to youtube. Starter Guide

Press ‘Record’ – creating your first video.

There are literally 100’s of cameras brands and options for recording video. You can even use your built-in laptop camera to record a video or cellphone. Regardless of camera, get your video footage off the camera and onto your computer for access and uploading. Regardless of option, get your idea started now in the world of video making. Also, you will probably want to edit your video and start your first project small and simple maybe less than a minute or two to get you acquainted with the various steps to video success.

Publish Movie

Once you have your movie file off the camera and onto your computer, you are ready to do some basic edits and get started publishing your movie. Publishing your movie is similar to creating that bound book that is ready for printing. You have to ‘publish’ the file for further uploading and sharing around the internet. After publishing your movie it will be time to upload to your file to youtube or facebook account. Hint: Make it easy to find this saved file when you are ready to upload to youtube.

Publish with Windows Live Movie Maker: Make and edit movies using photos and videos; add speciall effects, themes, soundtracks, transitions and more; and share videos online. Available as part of a free download for Windows 7 and Windows Vista.
Publish with iMovie: Mac users can organize, edit and watch videos, turn them into movie trailers and upload them to the web or use iTunes to sync them with Apple devices. In the Mac App Store for $15.

Upload Your Work

Now that you have your movie edited and published, sitting in an accessible file on your computer, you are ready to upload to your youtube page or other video site.

Bingo!

Congratulations, you have created and uploaded your first video onto the net. Now, you have many options for your continued growth and success with video.

· Customize the settings, tags, and video summary within your youtube settings.

· Share the video link on your blog, facebook page, or by email.

· Customize your youtube channel with branded background image.

· Add additional videos and expand the information provided to your viewers.

· Improve the graphics, transitions, and angles that make up your video.

Please send me your video channel and upload links, I would like to see your efforts in the world of video and communicating with your potential future clients using video.

Contact Tim now at this LINK.

Tim Forrest is Senior Advisor and CEO of Tim Forrest Consulting. His clients are featured on the Food Network, QVC Network, and in 1,000’s of retail and foodservice locations. Tim is fortunate to have clients worldwide that include the United States Government, European Agriculture Agencies, Hershey, and many of the largest branded food companies in the world while living on an island at the beach with his family. timforrest.com

Food Broker Conversation Overview

2012-01-17T22:50:00.000-05:00

Who are the other clients of the food brokerage and what is their business? What relationships does the brokerage have with various customers, retailers/foodservice? Who are the agency personnel? What programs are required by the customers of the firm? Be armed with your business case for success within the firm.

Pinterest Webinar this Wednesday 9:30am

2012-01-15T15:30:00.000-05:00

9:30am
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18TH, 2012

Pinterest Webinar - Pinterest 30 min discussion tomorrow, Wednesday at 9:30am for 30 minutes.

Our guest social media commentator is Jeff Sheehan of Sheehan Marketing Strategies.

Please find below call in numbers for Wednesdays Pinterest call at 9:30am Eastern Time.
Conference Dial-in Number: (605) 475-4850 Participant AccessCode, remember to dial the #: 1019022#

We are fortunate to have Jeff Sheehan share his inisghts into Pinterest and what we are suppose to do with a Pinterest account. You can hear more detail in this audio podcast.

Send a note for the Pinterest Webinar call in number to Tim, also follow me on Twitter

© Tim Forrest 2012. All rights reserved

Tim's Food Website Objectives List

2012-01-14T15:30:00.000-05:00

Hersheys and Hain-Celestial both asked for my help on a couple of projects involving the design of packaging and leading the charge with the agency responsible for the production. This type of effort can include the website design team. My grading and review methods accelerate the improvement and benchmarking of website capabilities when compared to any comp the web designers might be pushing your way for your companies approval. Get online and find ‘best in class’ food and consumer product companies that are doing it right and see how you can incorporate their consumer communication findings into your site in a branded and useful method.

This is my actual list of objectives built over the course of several years that I use when working with clients on their site!

Tim's Food Website Objectives

1. User Friendly

2. Remove Complexity/Easy Navigation from main page.

3. Avoid use of Flash

4. Congruent with Main Platforms IE, Firefox, Chrome, and Safari.

5. Opt in Form – emphasis – collecting emails, newsletter signup, throughout site in smart and subtle ways.

6. Video Integration

7. Recipes – ease of viewing, reviewing, adding, and printing

8. Easy/Quick CMS. Updates with News, Articles, Events, and PR

9. Retail Store Locator and Online Sales

10. Social Media Integration with Facebook, Youtube/Vimeo, Photo Hosting Site, Twitter, and Other

11. Nutrition Data and Information

12. Online Store – products, T-shirts/Clothing Merchandise, and other

Good luck with your continued growth and improvement of your consumer connection methods.

© Tim Forrest 2012. All rights reserved

Boston Food Photography - My Exclusive Food Photographer

2012-01-14T00:01:00.003-05:00

If you are looking for food photography, consider my talented and focused company - Boston Food Photography. Great food photography samples your food without the prep, expense, or effort of samplings and demonstrations. My clients are fortunate to work with many of my suppliers and Boston Food Photography does an unbelievable job for my clients year after year! We had the great fortune to use these guys on a shoot for a major retailer in the Northeast and was blown away with their service and picture quality. One of my favorite shoots involved an offsite farm location outside of Boston and they captured the essence of the processors brand and food items in an unbelievalble manner. Awe inspiring!

Boston Food Photography is offering a $200 discount voucher to all my clients and site viewers off any package. The introductory package includes 4 Professionally set-up, organized, shot, and digitally fixed photos of your food product. Your four shots will include a powerpoint ready shot, table shot, action, and unique postion shot with various lighting options with downloads available from the internet.

Introductory Package
Studio Set-up Fees Included
All Cameras and Equipment Included
4 Seperate Photographs
a. Powerpoint Ready Shot
b. Table Shot
c. Unique Position Shot
d. Other shot
Digital Review and Finishing
Available for Digital Download

Send a note for your voucher at my contact page.

Slide into Food Sales Success

2012-01-12T22:41:00.003-05:00

Unlike steps, the slide will propel you to your destination smoothly and with the greatest of speed!

My clients largest sales usually come after a smooth slide through the process of a major sales campaign. A million dollar initial order does not happen after one meeting or a great pitch, it has to happen over time and the process better be smooth or you can bet it will get derailed and not happen. The faster you know the process and how to use it to your advantage, the quicker you can slide into that successful sale. But how do you remove the speed bumps on your way to sliding into the order? Here is my slide method for smoothly getting that order from the account. There is no way to do this without prior knowledge of the account, methods of acquisition, and being a trusted peer. There are methods to obtain all the necessary information even if you are a newcomer to the picture.

The Slide Steps: Approach, Meeting, Solid Plan, Account Roadmap, and Know your Next Action. But how do you follow these steps if you have never sold to the account before? You will have to find the information from others, insiders, or third-party sales agencies.

Your approach has to happen in a manner that is consistent with your offer and the power of your product. How did you meet? What was the call? Did he know you ahead of time? Does he trust you or your company to supply his chain? Why should he see you? and How are you going help him improve his business?

The meeting will be a continuation fo this initial approach and you will demonstrate your knowledge of his buying system, methods of purchase, and how your product will be a successful entry into his operations. You must do this with speed, brevity of time, and use visuals that punch through the mass of information your buyer will see on a daily basis and ask for the order.

The roadmap will be very clear for any account once you have sold them a few times, If they are new to you, you will benefit from the clear understanding of what is expected and when. Be prepared to offer their needs at a moments notice and have it all prepared ahead of time and make reference in your initial documentation in such a way that they understand you are ready to accept their order.

As you progress, do you know what is expected next and do you understand this process will last a minimum of 12 months with the big accounts and often for the largest it will take upwards of 18 months for that large order? How are you going to stay on track and what are you going to do along the road to success to smoothly slide into a winning result? Get answers, provide smooth responses, and avoid breaking the momentum and you will slide into some incredibly large sales with greater speed than ever before!

Ten Food Growth Strategies for 2012 with Tim Forrest

2012-01-04T23:44:00.000-05:00

It is another year and what actions are you taking to grow your food business? Coke, Nestle, and Kraft, are faced with the same decisions and are concerned about the same consumers, markets, and return on their investments. Find below 10 ideas and links that will help you in your efforts in growing and making your business the best it can be.

Here are my 10 tips and strategies for food growth now and throughout the year.

1. Promotions

Branded Impactful promotions that resonate with your consumers and connect your product offering to them will make things click.

There is an art and science to making this happen. You are seeking trial, fun, and experiences for your consumers with promotions in methods that make sense to them in a branded format. How can you connect their activities, interests, lifestyle with your brand? Article Link

2. Sample

When are you going to hit 50,000 samples and are you building this into your product planning? This is the food business and the single most effective method to gain new customers is by sampling your products to them. Eat up! Article Link

3. Map Your Market – Geography

Grab a map and circle your offices and plant, now build a list of all the cities in that fall within the radius of 120 to 400 miles around your facility. Forget about that giant big account across country; make it happen in your neighborhood, state, and region. Article Link

4. Index Your Potential Clients

Get my list of food channels and retailers; source the information in the yellow pages, online, or at your library for all the companies that fall into each category and begin the sales and marketing process. Article Link

5. Know Your Ideal Consumer

Where do they Live? Who loves your product and buys it in largest amounts? Why and who are they? What is different about them than every other customer you run into in the course of your day? Get to work on building an ideal consumer for your business and then finding out about them. This one area is often the weakest link of small entrepreneur food companies in establishing credibility and success with larger retailers and food brokers. When you cannot afford outside agencies to build these consumer models, you have to build them yourself. Almost every time, food entrepreneurs do not understand they are missing the boat in this area with retailers and foodservice operations. If you are missing this section in your presentation you look small, very small.

6. Find Help!

There are tons of folks ready and able to assist you on your journey of growth. Seek great partners on your growth towards success. My 25 years of food growth experience and programs for food entrepreneurs will help you grow smart and quickly. Also, I have a great initial introduction to us working together at this LINK.

7. Prepare Your Package

Communication and integration with customer needs in sourcing, supplying, and getting PO’s into their warehouse begins with a polished and straightforward product marketing sheet. Your documentation must answer the questions and present your product in an effective manner that shares you know and can fit the operator’s need. For a copy, Send me a Note.

8. Get Out There – trade, media, and web

You cannot grow your food business exclusively on the web or with social media. It will require travel and getting out into the trade and into people’s lives. How are you planting your stake in the lives of your target consumers?

9. Make it Easy

Is it easy to get your company on the phone? If buyers want to spend money with your company, are you available now with samples and information or do they have to await your return from seeing another customer because you are just too small to be everywhere all the time?

Are you convenient? Open? Do you have simple and easy terms? Are you presenting and being a part of business on their terms? Do you know what the buyer is seeking and how to fit your product into their calendar and needs? Also, are you speaking their language? Get it right and get the cash flow.

10. Price Leadership

Offer exceptional value and price it accordingly. If you are going to be the highest retail item in the category set, you will have to offer exceptional value with quality and perceived value to your target consumer.

My hope is this insight provides you value and assistance on growing your business this year. Be sure to get all my valuable action oriented updates by signing-up at this LINK. Also my experience and expertise is available now to help you grow.

Prepare Like You Know Them! Inside a Food Buyers Viewpoint.

2012-01-03T15:29:00.000-05:00

Early in my career I worked for three solid days on a big marketing pitch, my efforts were on creating and building a presentation that would WOW him, the category director, to take my company's product offering. He eventually did purchase items and in the millions! Unfortunately, he took my presentation and threw it across the desk and shared he did not have time to go through my material and asked me to do the following:

“Visit my stores and tell me what to put on the shelf in this section.”

“What are the best prioritized opportunities?”

“Create a program to help me nationally with an ‘area of concern.”

“Help me add products at this specific price point.”

Fortunately, I listened to his requests and followed-up with him based on his needs and interest. You can use this information without visiting a buyer. Learn from this interaction.

Before your call visit the retailers stores and study their category.

How are you going to help them improve the category?

What will you do to offer pricing leadership?

What is your highest volume item and who shops for it?

Which stores are most likely to have your products ‘ideal consumer?’

How are you going to help the retailer with his goals?

The company secured the initial new distribution and order. From there, we were able to sell him millions in new products into various departments. You can have the same success with a little luck and proper planning.

Click Envelop and Send Me a Note!

Tim’s Million Dollar Referral Mentor

2012-01-02T16:20:00.001-05:00

New here? Subscribe to my Articles, Videos, and Updates. Catch the wave of growth!

Just completed my registration for the March workshop with my mentor Alan Weiss, PhD and the author of McGraw-Hill book that mentions my 'greatest million dollar referral.'

Alan has written over 500 articles and 44 books, including his best-seller, Million Dollar Consulting (from McGraw-Hill). His newest is The Consulting Bible (Wiley), and Million Dollar Referrals ((McGraw-Hill, which includes almost three full pages on me!). His books have been on the curricula at Villanova, Temple University, and the Wharton School of Business, and have been translated into German, Italian, Arabic, Spanish, Russian, Korean, Portuguese, and Chinese.

Happy Holidays from timforrest.com! Video: Many Blessings in the New Year.

2011-12-25T10:13:00.000-05:00

New here? Subscribe to my Articles, Videos, and Updates. Catch the wave of growth in 2012!

Merry Christmas from the Beach!

2011-12-23T10:43:00.001-05:00

This image came from the site ‘hiker in heels.’ Merry Christmas from the Beach!

Food Distribution Channels–A Quick View of the Biggest Channels

2011-12-18T08:39:00.001-05:00

New here? Subscribe to my Articles, Videos, and Updates. Catch the wave of growth!

Find your 'sweet spot' of new customers! Speed deployment of your food distribution and marketing success with focus and program development based on channels. You can build products, programs, and appropriate channel pricing by reviewing the primary needs of each and moving forward by channel. I can attribute tremendous success to this method and it works for my clients. © Tim Forrest 2011. All rights reserved

Selling in a Tough Environment!

2011-12-06T06:16:00.000-05:00

New here? Subscribe to my Articles, Videos, and Updates. Catch the wave of growth!

It might be economy today, competition for your item tomorrow, or the commoditization of your companies products - you will face a tough market as I have over the years. These key ideas will save your butt when going for additional sales opportunities and closing deals. Check out my more than 15 ideas to help you rock and roll and gain new product distribution, sales, authorizations, and distributors.

Form Relationships based on Trust

Who are you calling on to sell your product? Do they trust you or even know you? If not, you can improve your odds of success significantly by bringing someone else to the table that has the trust of the buyer or let that person or company present your product offering. Food Brokers can provide this service along with other suppliers to the Category Manager for the specific product. Get trust and build trust for your products success. This is the first tip for a reason - neglect trust and everything else is moot with the best retailers, operators, and distributors.

Create Vertical Client Relationships

With the customers you already have in your portfolio go deep! Introduce various members of your organization to the appropriate managers at the client. Get them working and interacting on your companies product behalf. Connect for success. Your distribution people direct with their team; your accounting folks with their AP staff; and your President attends the event or outing that introduces him to their President. These contacts are for action and should be in context their function within the organization and your products success.

Tell Them before they tell you

Don't allow your competitors to inform your buyers of any bad news or problem. Problems and hiccups can be the foundation of an impressive manufacturer-client relationship. In many situations, the response and repair of the problem results in a much stronger client relationship than prior to the issue. Problems provide evidence of the value and after-sale power you bring to the table that other suppliers cannot. See problems as your opportunity to shine and deepen your connection and value to the client.

Practice Ambassador Techniques

Help your clients grow business beyond the area of product support and supply. For example, volunteer to support their efforts internally at their meetings, support the company Christmas party, involve yourself in their charity events, get in their and support the initiatives and values of the client organization that does not directly connect to your product offering. You know the companies that do this ongoing, Coke sponsors the refreshment tent at the golf tournament, Kraft provides gifts for the charity auction, you can be just as supportive with your time and visibility regardless of your company size.

Eliminate Negative Thoughts

You have to drop any negative thinking. Food growth is about action, aiming for goals, and making things happen. My first million dollar order did not happen overnight and along the way were many obstacles that could have prevented it from happening. If my concerns and negative thinking impacted my actions I would not have dialed that next phone call, sent the additional sample, or traveled again to the offices for the final meeting. It requires effort, action, and activity to achieve new distribution. There is no guarantee in any particular avenue and by definition it has to be done with a hope of success. You are building new business, not refilling orders.

Inform your Circle of Influence and Referral Sources

When you find success, make sure you inform your circle of contacts in an intelligent and ongoing manner. You would be smart to build a list and add to it as you move forward in your business Build a database and distribution list of company team members, salespeople and organizations, client team, other interested parties to include investors, potential investors, and friends and family.

Quality New Business

I learned the hard way to ignore some business and began super-qualifying new business opportunities. Today, there are more potential clients that will not fit my qualification test than those that will. Once you understand your ideal client, every golf club has a sweet spot, you can provide more value, help them much more quickly, and your capacity to serve is broadened. Also, the process of qualifying will strengthen the relationships and speed the trust with the clients you do decide to support and add value with your product offering.

Help your clients lower their overall cost of doing business.

How can your product, processes involved in distributing and paying, people involved, retail effort lower the overall costs of oind business with your company? For example, can you package your retail offering in a shelf ready tray that does not require the store to stock your shelf in more than one motion? What other areas can you bring to bear on the account to lower their overall cost of doing business with your firm?

Commit to your client.

Go ahead, stake your claim with your customer. Run ads in the market only for the account, build special displays and packaging that help your client succeed against his competition. Bring special packs and bonus offers to the account and help him find success within his channel and consumer base. How are you committing to the client or you just girping they are too demanding? Money does not buy love and your clients will send more business if they see the commitment.

Prepare for the unexpected.

Orders will be refused, product will damage and spoil, packaging will be printed wrong, purchase orders will be delayed for some holiday event, drivers will fall asleep and miss the door time, retail pricing will be in error, your new authorization will b set-up in the system as discontinued, and you might receive an order 10x what was expected. How are you prepared for the unexpected. Your response and ability o move quickly will make the difference between your next order, new item authorization, or getting that end-cap with the client.

Pay Close Attention to the Trends

How are consumers using your product and what is happening in your market? Products experience natural life cycles and consumers move through various stages of trial, use, and consumption with your product. Your consumers often follow trends in the marketplace that will impact your product offering, category, and customers. Get ahead of the trends and seek competitive advantage and success for the category by riding the wave of success on new trends. Also, you can gain more PR, authorizations, and distribution when you are connected to a new favorite trend of large groups of consumers.

Become the Expert.

If you are in the cherry business, know everything about the cherry from planting to field preparation to harvest times, yields, packaging, consumption, recipes, and delivery to the customer. Your depth of knowledge will assist your efforts at retail and with distributors. Can you seek out experts, seminars, and online events to round out your skills with your product and category. If you are able to obtain Nielsen data then understand and use it for your customers success.

Hold Meaningful Sales Meetings.

When you meet with someone in this environment it imperative that you are serious about business. Do you have an agenda? What are your goals and are you working to move the business forward for your client? They are looking to you to provide them with ideas, solutions, and methods to move the business forward. What are you going to do? When is it going to happen and how?

New Product Introductions

New Promotions and Themed Events

Special Events and Marketing Efforts

Consumer insight to be more effective on shelf.

Keep Visible with Clients

If times are tough, you can bet the competition is even more fierce with keeping high visibility and making sure the existing business stays on course. It is harder than ever to secure new business and that means staying in touch and connected. How are you top of mind and highly visible without being a pest? How are you driving new business and making things happen for the client?

Email
Newsletters
Facebook
Social Media
Events
Phone
Meetings
Webinars
Store Openings
Charity, Trade, and Golf Events
Out of office meetings.
Restaurant Meetings
Other
Sell Small

Whenever it appears I might be in a slump with a situation I have found it is useful to back-up and log a few easy, smaller sales for a product. This will do several things for your benefit and for me it gets me on that roll to further and much larger sales success.

Opportunity Abounds

Some of my biggest opportunities arose from doing what I do day in and day out. Just working...they were not specifically planned to be million dollar opening orders or as successful as what occurred, it was just doing the work necessary for success and allowing luck to me and my clients. The more actions you can take and the better your attitude towards success, the more that will occur in your favor and on your behalf. Opportunity exists all around you every day and it is the action attitude that will create the results that you are seeking.

Hire Tim

If you are seeking growth and avenues to expand your food enterprise, Tim is available to assist your efforts with specific programs created to take your company to the next level and beyond. LINK

Why not Go out on a Limb? Isn't that Where All the Fruit Is? Mark Twain

2011-11-27T16:17:00.000-05:00

Photograph Courtesy of Boston Food Photographer Richard Sheehan. “Great Images for your Website, Labels, and Brochures.”

Customers, Consumers, and Shoppers: Who Needs What?

2011-11-25T22:18:00.001-05:00

Building a food business will require you support and meet the needs of multiple constituencies, entities, and organizations on the road to your products success. You must build into your product the needed attributes demanded by customers, shoppers, and consumers. Although similar, they will demand very different things from your food company.

This quick overview provides insight into customer, shopper, and consumer needs.

Customer – purchases something. We can trace it’s origin to the late 14^th century when the term was used in relations to a ‘customs official.’ A term used for trade and distribution, someone who you have dealings with like a shop, retailer, or distributor.

Needs:

· Buyer “How are you going to make us successful, action market plan?”

· Case Shipping Information and Specs

· Terms

· Programs

· Pricing

· Order Information

Video: Distributor Success with Tim Forrest

Shopper – visits at retail, in-store, or online. A shopper might purchase an item for the family and not consume the product.

Needs:

· Sample

· Nutrition Facts Panel

· Preparation Ideas

· Signage

· Display

· Marketing: Pre-Visit Shopper Engagement

Consumer – the person that finds utility or ‘consumes’ the product or service.

Needs:

· Convenience

· Taste

· Lifestyle

· Utility

· Nutrition

Consider the needs of each layer in your product planning and prepare for success.

Happy Thanksgiving! My gift to you this holiday season…

2011-11-24T10:48:00.001-05:00

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Happy Thanksgiving, whether you’re in the US celebrating the day, or otherwise around the globe. Hope you will enjoy my gift of this short film and it’s message.

LINK

– Tim

Wave Sales System with Food Retailers

2011-11-21T06:40:00.000-05:00

Selling the world’s largest food retailers is best managed through the lens of a wave process with predictable stages and methods. It is amazing how similar the sales process is from retailer to retailer in the world of food. The basic stages of a major sale are Contact, Interview, Present, Negotiate, and Buy. Each stage reflects a certain need and position of the retailer prior to moving onto the next stage. The penalty for not following the process is failure and removal from the sales cycle and category review. How you approach, communicate value, and respond to requests will carry the day for your waves of success in this process.

Contact

Trust must be an ingredient in your initial approach to working with food retailers. If you do not have a trusting relationship prior to the initial sales call, get someone on your side that engenders this trust, or a third-party that is trusted by the category manager, your position and success with the retail category buyer will be hampered, slowed, and probably stopped without trust. Do not think your product potential out ranks this issue of trust. You must be in a trusting position or you will pay the price for authorization within the account.

Timing at this stage is paramount to your activity. The category manager will have no interest in meeting with you if the category review is being executed at retail and they do this action on a yearly basis. Insure your timing is near perfect or be prepared for a long sales period to gain authorization in the account. There are a few products that will demand action and success on their own timetable and this is a costly method of growth.

Interview

If you make it past the initial contact phase, you will enter into the interview and fact finding area of your relationship with the retailer. The retailer will begin to understand the aspects of your company and what qualities that you bring to bear onto his pertinent food category. He wants to know if you will assist his plans for success in the coming years. He will quickly give you a passing grade or a fail based on limited information and limited time invested in your opportunity. If this is your first sku and you are hoping for distribution in a major retailer- think again. They can promote a category #1 item one additional week and possibly increase sales volume by as much as your company will yield in their first year of sales with the retailer. How are you going to bring category leadership with your product offering and how will you quickly convey this message to the buyer?

Present

Once you have made it past the interview stage, you will begin to enter into the presentation of your product attributes, benefits, purchase facts, and expected success with the retailers consumers. How are you going to prepare yourself to present in the best possible light against the other entrenched players with literally 100’s of items and decasdes of success with the specific retailer? What about your product will make the category manager sit up and take notice, think about showing to his new item committee and get the your product authorized and placed into a shelf planogram?

Negotiate

After you have presented your product and program, the negotiation will begin for your support of the retailer and the trading area along with a discussion of special pricing and needed measures for success. Are you prepared with the details of this negotiation? Will you have the answers before approaching the buyer and on top of your responses to the chains demands? If they were to offer you 24 hours to answer a request to purchase your item, would you pass the contest? What will you say when they compare your pricing to several other vendors with similar offerings? Understand, they will interview and organize your offering on a spreadsheet in comparison to other similar manufacturing and distributing vendors in your category. Grocery Chains well understand the power of this negotiation and will only meet with all the major vendors at the same time of year to aid in this competitive situation.

Buy

At some point, you will win and receive the purchase order for your product. This is when the work really begins with the retailer. You must keep accurate pricing records in their system and yours. Your company must service their purchase orders with almost a perfect fill rate to maintain and grow the business. Everything will be slow and you will desire much to happen much more quickly and then when the order is complete and the reorders begin happening their will be no slow speed or limit to the communication you will receive from the retailers. They have people organized to demand their product for resale and to see to it that the trucks are received in a timely and guaranteed method. You miss supplying their needs, when requested, your company will be a prior supplier finding it difficult to ever sell to the chain again.

Selling the largest retailers can be very easy from a certain perspective considering they buy in a very similar format and with predictable methods. Generally, there is not much difference from one retailer to the next and with this insight you can plan accordingly. This planning provides consistency to your approach and occasionally predictable results over the course of business action planning. This process has assisted me and my clients in the millions for sales success. Also, this summer we will be reviewing this process in my weekend Food Growth Seminar.

My Wave Selling System based on this approach can be found at this link.
© Tim Forrest 2011. All rights reserved

Sunrise, Surf, and Sand

2011-11-20T08:34:00.001-05:00

Tim’s CP² Quad Growth Chart! Sprinkles in Hollywood

2011-11-19T00:25:00.001-05:00

After school, pulling orders and loading food trucks 25 years ago provided the building blocks of my growth success. It was exciting to see things happen and luckily my efforts were rewarded and I became part of the team running food companies and growing them by the many millions. Success was not confined to soliciting new customers but growing our ability to service and supply a growing customer base within limited resources and time. Now my system of growing food enterprises usually begins with key customers and their needs including end-users or consumers. The most logical place to start is with your existing customer base for growth and then work from there to new customers, product distribution and internal capacity and methods or process to address these needs..My name for this organized system is the CP² Method of Growth based on four connected quadrants: Customer, Product, Capacity, and Process.

After you have satisfied and examined the needs of the customer base and started to reach out to new customers, you should examine the product portfolio and for opportunities and new products. Often companies will get ahead of the process and become enthusiastic over new products without consideration to markets or customers. Your technology or new product is probably very awesome but it must fit a need of a customer segment and meet the demands of consumers.

My days of loading trucks assisted my understanding of the importance of Process and Capacity to the day to day sales effort. We could only load a limited quantity of product onto our trucks each day. If our computer system went down, it would slow our sales process regardless of the necessary backups. Later on as I approached new opportunities, it became apparent that certain aspects of an operation would could not meet the demands of the market. For one client, we had to develop a new ordering system since they could not handle some of the tremendous new account opportunities that were presented. For example, their order system would not accommodate a multi-truckload purchase order. We fixed that simple detail and went on to successfully sell millions of dollars to the new channel and account.

Each client is different and every opportunity is unique. The above chart marks my view of a simple Quadrant System to Growth. My experience coupled with 100’s of millions in company growth provide clients a scope of awareness that few can see much less offer to client food companies. 2012 is full of opportunity and work. It will be an exciting time. Photo Credit: My visit to Sprinkles Cupcakes in Hollywood. I have had the opportunity to have products and clients on the Food Network, QVC Television, and a major motion picture out next year.

Print or Download the CP² Method of Growth Document at this LINK:

Enjoy!

Free Download: Food Broker Market Planning for Growth!

2011-11-14T10:47:00.001-05:00

Click the Food Broker Image above or this LINK to access my Food Broker Market Planning document for Growth! Food Brokers can offer unbelievable insight and speed of connection with retailers and foodservice operators. They have specific characteristics, strengths, and areas that require your consideration and action. This document will assist your food growth success.

Video: Now Is the Time to Grow!

2011-11-07T13:29:00.001-05:00

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What is ACV?

2011-11-05T21:04:00.001-04:00

Years ago, my desk was one of three in the company with direct access to Nielsen Scan Data for a major packaged goods company. We used an index called ACV (All Commodity Volume) to examine and understand our products distribution in the marketplace. This number provided a benchmark to understand our success and performance in various chains. We sourced data from IRI/Nielsen as syndicated data.

Our company’s product %ACV represented that portion of the overall market that our brand was scanning through the registers. ACV is weighted according to a chains overall sales and in relation to the overall market. If we marketed a sku in a retailer with the most traffic (Chain C.) it would reflect a greater %ACV than the same item in the smallest chain (Chain A). This helped us to be successful in the largest and most trafficked chains.

In the example above, ACV is equivalent to $600MM computed by adding the annual revenue of all four grocery store chain’s annual total revenue. Within the total market, Chain C represents 50% of the overall market with annual sales of $300 Million. If we only had one item in distribution in this Chain C then our ACV% would be 50%.

Focus on Your Market Area

You might think %ACV is for the big national and international food companies. You are wrong! The benefits they find working with ACV will work for your regional success. It is not fair to measure your distribution for your regional brands at the national level as it will cause them to look unfairly weak. Your success is in a particular market area and you can view %ACV in terms of your local or regional market, even city if your company is focused at that level.

For regional brands, compare %ACV at the regional level (NOT national level) where products are in distribution.

ACV is not an average of store locations, it is the percentage of exposure to consumer spending in the class of trade being reported for specific products and sku's during the time period covered by the report. ACV is far more meaningful than a straight percentage represented by store locations or chains. It quickly provides a comparative number for a variety of insights, understanding, and analysis of your success and sales. "Fishing where the fish are!”

Serving the Largest Food Brands since 1987

2011-11-04T22:07:00.001-04:00

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It was unimaginable... I had no idea loading food trucks would ever lead to the many adventures, domestic travels and abroad, new opportunities, and business growth for the many clients, customers, and retailers over the past 24 years. My efforts include working with Disney, placing folks and products onto QVC and Food Network Television, into the largest and best retailers in the world, programs with Major League Baseball, the NFL, and Nascar Racing. I am thankful for all of the support and guidance so many have provided over the years and the opportunity to bring ideas to life from the beach. Many thanks!

Video: Retail Authorization Success with Tim Forrest

2011-10-31T23:57:00.001-04:00

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Tim Forrest shares his insight selling and marketing to America's Retailers in this quick video. You will gain inside tips to gain new product distribution in various retailers and the necessity of an adequate success plan with the buyer or category manager. Also, Tim will discuss the key points retailers are seeking in new product distribution and planning.

Beach this morning moments before sunrise.

2011-10-23T12:09:00.001-04:00

Read how Tim assists clients in building business by the Millions in ‘Million Dollar Referrals.’

2011-10-13T23:21:00.001-04:00

My food business building exploits in the Caribbean for a client made it into the new McGraw-Hill book "Million Dollar Referrals." Very Exciting! I just received one of the first printed and signed copies today by the acclaimed author Alan Weiss, Ph. D.

It was eye-opening and fun to work briefly with my mentor. The book elaborates on my ‘Greatest Referral’ that resulted in Millions in new business for a client. Alan sent me a nice note and a free copy. I had hopes my efforts would make it through the final edits and when I provided permission to McGraw Hill for publication and promotion it seemed very possible.

The author, Alan Weiss, Ph.D. has written more than 500 articles and 40 books, which have been translated into nine languages, including his bestseller, Million Dollar Consulting. Also, it was fun to look in the index and find my name listed along with a description of my segment.

On sale now in major retailers nationwide with a release date of November 10th in Europe and Australia. Borders, Barnes & Noble, Chapters in Canada, and Amazon.com now carry the book.

Are You Ready for Club Stores?

2011-10-08T00:12:00.001-04:00

Are You Ready for Club Stores?
Date: November 10, 2011
Time: 4:30 AM to 5:30 PM EST
Live Online Webinar If you miss the live online webinar, immediately following you will be emailed the recorded session for your review at your convenience.
Overview

Getting a product into the buildings of Costco Wholesale, Sam’s Club, or BJ’s could be the biggest thing to ever happen to your business. But with so much at stake, it's important for you to understand if you are really ready, before investing the time and money in this relationship.

Our "Are You Ready for Club Stores?" workshop is designed to help companies measure their readiness to do business with the world's largest retailers, then develop a plan.

In addition to instruction from Tim Forrest who has tremendous experience readying suppliers for Costco, Sam’s, and BJ’s, participants will spend time exchanging ideas and information during the question & answer session following the webinar.

In this course, you will learn:

Costco Wholesale, BJ's, and Sam’s Club at a glance
What is expected of Clubstore suppliers
Organizational readiness
What you need to know before making the call
Meeting tips
Keys to Success
Pallet Ready Retailing for Club - Checklist

Audience
This course is designed for companies that are not currently doing business with Costco Wholesale or Sam's.
© Tim Forrest 2011. All rights reserved

Casting Call: Food Entrepreneurs wanted for Food Network series!

2011-10-05T21:51:00.001-04:00

Sony Pictures Television and the Food Network are looking for FOOD ENTREPRENEURS preferably in, but not limited to, the greater NYC area (NY, NJ, CT). Currently casting the NYC pilot, but will be casting nationally after this initial effort.

They are seeking Food Entrepreneurs who have left their previous career and have little-to-no prior professional food experience, but are taking a risk to pursue their passion of launching their own food business. You must be planning to open a brick-and-mortar space (restaurant or singular food ideas welcome) before the end of 2011. Those chosen will receive culinary & business coaching from a major celebrity chef and restaurateur, as well as invaluable national publicity.

If you fit the criteria and have an interest, please complete the information at this LINK with a brief note. Good Luck and Thanks! I will forward your information for the upcoming show.

50,000 Consumer Samples–Plan Today!

2011-10-05T11:31:00.001-04:00

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How will you sample 50,000 consumers with your food samples?

When are you planning for this to happen? If you are going to be successful, much larger than your current size, and serving lots of happy consumers your food enterprise will have to get your item into the mouths of potential customers.

This is not a one-time event or something that has to happen quickly. It does have to happen if you seek growth. The large companies can afford to invest in high profile single day or event promotions that giveaway 50,000 samples. You can do it in a year or 5 years, but you have to do it. Keep notes of every sampling event on the number given out and have goals for the coming month and year for your enterprise.

Mars Chocolate Giveaway (50,000) samples 1 day

Orville Redenbachers Pop Up Bowl – 50,000 samples

Loreal Paris Matte Morphose Foundation

Taylor Made Penta 5-layer Golf Balls 50,000 balls

Avoid sampling and you avoid growth for food enterprises. Need more examples? Ask Cathy http://www.bodaciousfoods.com/ or Sue http://thehotsqueeze.com/ if they could have grown without sampling. The companies that are still around and growing sample consumers.

Unsolicited endorsements always make me smile. Thanks, Maralyn!

2011-09-27T08:41:00.001-04:00

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Question from Reader, “How do I choose the right food broker?”

2011-09-25T21:01:00.001-04:00

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While traveling this past week for a client, Mary sent a note and asked about choosing the ‘right’ food broker for her company’s product. Her big concern was choosing the right food broker from several that desired representing her item and all suggested special relationships and speed of access along with purchase orders.

Generally, Food Brokers do not make or break a product relationship. If you are solely dependent on their actions for your products success then you have too much riding on their shoulders.

In general, brokers provide -

1. Access to the buyer and the meeting

2. Prepare documentation and flow of process through to distribution.

3. Solve and follow-up on distribution and management of purchase orders.

4. Possible retail and operator coverage.

Your product has to carry the day with any sizeable accounts and they are dependent on the category, competition, and buyers timing for orders.

To better assist this decision and ease any dilemma, do the following:

1. Develop and have a specific market plan for your product.

2. Interview and question the brokers involved in the selection process.

3. Select the broker that offers the following and most likely assists your market plan.

Enthusiasm and interest

Comfortable with their communication and organization

Access to the buyers in your plan and with most likely coverage.

Experience

Competition

Ask all of them my list of questions in conversational style – LINK

http://goodfoodsales.blogspot.com/2008/06/questions-to-ask-your-food-broker.html

What is their response?

You should know after talking with them if you should choose one of them over another. Also, there are specific brokers best for certain channels. Avoid providing geography to a broker and consider accounts that you can organize and note in your planning.

Also, our meetings were a resounding success and it was a very special time for all involved.

Implementing the Food Safety Modernization Act: The 9-Month Update

2011-09-17T22:15:00.006-04:00

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Webinar
Wednesday September 21, 2011

Register now

Implementing the Food Safety Modernization Act: The 9-Month Update

Nine months into implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2010 (FSMA) and businesses, foreign and domestic, are beginning to feel the effects. FDA’s rolling implementation of the new law has, to date, put into effect regulations and industry guidances regarding administrative detentions, prior notice, New Dietary Ingredients (NDIs) and smuggled foods. Starting this October, FDA will begin charging food facilities fees for re-inspections, import re-examinations, review of petitions related to Import Alerts and recall activities performed by FDA.

Are your prepared to comply?!

Please join us for a timely and informative webinar which will analyze the new requirements imposed by the FSMA to date and discuss how your company can navigate this new regulatory landscape to ensure compliance even as more provisions continue to be implemented. The following are among the topics that will be addressed:

Hazard analysis, evaluation of potential contamination;
Written safety plans;
Verification of controls & certification of imports;
New fees imposed on food facilities
FDA's ability to suspend or revoke registration;
Safety standards for certain food categories; and
FDA penalties and mandatory recalls, and imposition of criminal and civil penalties.

This webinar will be presented by Edgar Asebey-Birkholm, Esq., Edward Steiner and James O'Reilly, Esq.

Mr. Asebey-Birkholm is Director of the Food & Drug Practice Group at ST&R and resides in the Miami office. He advises and assists clients with technical FDA matters, including food, drug, device and cosmetics registration and compliance issues.

Mr. Steiner is Senior Director of ST&R's Trade and Legislative Affairs and resides in the Washington, D.C. office. He advises a diverse client base of private industry, trade associations and foreign governments on food safety and other trade compliance issues.

Mr. O'Reilly, Of Counsel with ST&R, resident in the Washington, D.C. office, is recognized as a leading, international expert on food law. He concentrates his practice in the area of life sciences, including biotechnology, Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Administration regulatory matters. Mr. O'Reilly is the author of the recently published "Executive's Guide to the New Food Safety Law Impacts" (Thomson Reuters/West Publishing).

IMPORTANT REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Please note that payment must be received upon registration.

AS IS NOTED ON OUR FLYERS, TO MAINTAIN OUR LOW WEBINAR FEES WE NO LONGER ACCEPT MANUAL REGISTRATIONS. YOU MUST REGISTER AND PAY ONLINE TO PARTICIPATE.

You will be asked to complete one last step upon receipt of payment and registration, where you will be asked to enter your first/last name and email address to confirm. An email with the final step will be sent, please be sure to read in its entirety. Once your final registration has been approved (approval is contingent upon payment acceptance by the merchant or PayPal system), you will receive login details within one business day.

Paid participants receive (1) a link to the live webinar, (2) a copy of the webinar recording is made available for up to one week after the webinar has occurred and (3) a copy of the slide presentation after the conclusion of the webinar.

REGISTRATION CLOSES AT 5PM EDT THE DAY BEFORE THE WEBINAR IS SCHEDULED.

Computer speakers and a minimum of 200kbps for streaming audio are required to hear the webinar without incident (this is an internet based seminar with computer audio, VoIP). Check with your system administrator to ensure you have the capabilities required to view and hear the webinar.

Any dial-in numbers provided are NOT toll-free, any and all standard rates will apply.

You may test your connection to the internet and the GoToWebinar application by using the GoToWebinar/GoToMeeting connection wizard. Link as follows: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/wizard?Portal=www.gotowebinar.com.

What actions are you taking to grow your business? Send a note or comments to Tim, also follow me on Twitter and see my retail photo notebook.. I want to hear about your success!

© Tim Forrest 2010. All rights reserved

Selling Distributors Now!

2011-09-01T07:02:00.000-04:00

Tim shares Distributor Success insight and ideas on how to get distributors to carry your product. For one client, Tim helped them add 50 new distributors in a matter of 24 months time. His success with distributors can aid your efforts and help you grow your food or product business. You can watch additional videos by Tim at this LINK.

AUDIO PODCAST: 7-Eleven, An Insiders View for Success!

2011-08-27T01:10:00.003-04:00

Convenience Store Consultant and former Category Manager with 7-Eleven, Rick Wilshe, shares with Tim Forrest his experience and strategies leading vendors to success in the intricate world of Convenience. Rick is CEO and Founder of Consulting and Brokerage firm Wilshe Enterprises for the Convenience Store industry. His insight, experience, and contacts within 7-Eleven and the C-Store industry provide resources not readily available to many companies seeking to do business with the chain and other Convenience Retailers. Rick can be reached at info@wilsheenterprises.com and is a friend of Tims having met as colleagues in the late 80's.

AUDIO INTERVIEW:

Download MP3 HERE

Co-Packing Success!

2011-08-25T06:55:00.000-04:00

Contract Manufacturing for Food Companies does not have to be a cloudy and secret process. There are methods and concepts that assist food companies to find, contract, and produce food products for your company. Tim shares one of the basics to working with co-packers and how to best manage the process of utilizing outside production capability. Other videos by Tim link HERE.

Outselling the Best!

2011-08-22T06:59:00.001-04:00

I love the taste and ease of prep for these burgers and happy to report my new client is outselling them in the freezer case in our initial 2,000 stores. How did we do it and so quickly? Our success was built on consumer need and retailers existing rules of engagement.

We started without a retail package and conducted retail audits and product research along with the national association to develop a ‘performing retail package concept’ and in a format that the consumer was looking for in the case that did not currently exist. Our applied innovation is paying off for the client as we continue to grow our distribution and product success. The package and design only happened after the ideal consumer, strategy, and concept were fully developed.

Are you building products that look and taste great? Consider building great tasting products that fill the needs of your consumers and retail channel.

Speak the Language

2011-08-19T10:50:00.001-04:00

My client was delighted with the news that the major USA Home Merchandise Store and member of S&P 500/Fortune 500 would be purchasing their innovative and category defining product. Also, another client is looking forward to an initial first-time order from a major retailer of $ 350,000. They are finding success and driving new distribution within the systems of these separate retail environments.

What sets my two clients apart from many others is the attention to language and communication with the customer. They are intent and focused on what the client is seeking from a product manufacturer and working hard to deliver that value in a format that is suitable, understood, and organized around the retailers needs. Of course, the item provides super value to the consumer with many new benefits.

Many entrepreneurs and product creators invest all of their effort in developing a great new product only to consider the marketing and communication as an afterthought to the creative concept of the product. Retailers and distributors seek value in new products AND they must speak their language, time it correctly, and work within the systems that retailers have developed to distribute, retail, and introduce 100’s of new items yearly.

Speak the retailers language, provide the information prior to demand, and see success for your company as you manage the growth process from start to consumers cart.

Category Sales in the Largest Grocery Chains!

2011-08-17T08:57:00.001-04:00

How do you determine success and probable sales in a specific retailer for your product introduction without any sales numbers from the account? It is very difficult! My Category Calculator provides sales answers and it becomes much easier to build plans and proformas for your products success. Visit the calculator and give it a try at this LINK.

The Category Calculator is simple to complete with drop-down menus for the various retailers and categories. Also, please comment on the product you are bringing to market and any other information that might be pertinent to the introduction of this item in the USA Grocery marketplace. Once the information is added and a report is generated, it will be sent to you.

If you are seeking Category Sales dollars info for a specific retailer, My Category Calculator will provide you estimates of sales in the largest USA retailer categories.

Much continued success with your growth efforts. Link Category Calculator HERE.

Approaching Food Brokers

2011-08-11T22:38:00.002-04:00

This quick how-to guide will share with you Tim's experience approaching and working with food brokers. How you approach a food broker will make a difference in how your product is contracted, negotiated, and sold to the broker’s clients. You can prepare and succeed while approaching food brokers with your great new item using this how-to guide. Approach food brokers with a success plan. This video supplements the Food Broker overview and can be viewed at this link. http://youtu.be/oYy8ZTCHiC8

Serenity is not freedom from the storm, but peace amid the storm. - Anon

2011-07-29T23:00:00.001-04:00

Easy EDI

2011-07-18T08:17:00.000-04:00

You retailer assumes you have EDI (electronic data interchange) for your ordering and possibly payment process for your food products. If you do not have EDI, don’t worry there are plenty of companies that can easily and effectively have you up and running to service the needs of your customer.

List of EDI companies at this Link

Also, be aware of charging methods and how your service will bill your orders.

http://www.retailedi.com/index.php/vendor-management/461

Reclamation Policy?

2011-07-17T07:07:00.010-04:00

When selling distributors and mid to large size retailers, you will be asked about your ‘reclamation policy’ and how your company will handle any unsalable items that you supply to the retailer. You will probably face charges for product that is damaged and unsaleable on the shelves of the retailer.

This must be planned and included in your products cost structure and negotiations. Several of these retailer demanded programs are outlined below for your information and they can be big issues if mishandled.

Scan and Dispose - Products will be scanned and packaged for immediate disposition in the most efficient manner possible, minimizing handling and storage expenses. This will appear as a 'transfer' on the reclamation invoice. Destroyed product will show on invoice as destroyed and deducted from your accounts receivable payments.

Scan and Donate - Products will be scanned, packaged, and stored at the Reclamation Center until transportation can be arranged to move the product to a local food bank. The additional expenses of cleaning and warehousing the product usually will result in additional charges deducted from your account sometimes less than a .25 per unit.

Hold for Vendor Review - Products will be scanned, sorted to a multi-vendor location, and held for a 21 day inspection period for review by a representative of your company. The vendor is responsible for pulling and shipping their product within 21 days from the date on the receiving paperwork. Any product remaining after the 21 days will be disposed of in the most efficient manner possible deemed by the retailers reclamation center manager. The additional handling and storage costs associated with this method result in higher charges.

Hold for Third Party Review – this will allow another party to review the damaged product and possibly purchase it recouping some of your monies in the items that are damaged or that end up in the reclamation center. Unfortunately, there are multiple reasons products will end up in the center that do not have anything to do with the condition of the product.

Scan and Destroy - Products are scanned and destroyed via dumpster. Destroyed product will often show on invoice as destroyed. This option can result in additional vendor charges separately invoiced due to fuel and/or landfill charges for the retailer.

Swell Program – this option allows you to set a pre-determined rebate or allowance on all products sold to a retailer and provide that as an ongoing allowance to more easily plan and maintain your business with the retailer.

Don’t let the your reclamation policy destroy your business and include it in your market costs.

Bridging to Success!

2011-07-15T22:22:00.005-04:00

Do you believe in solutions and positive answers to what might seem impossible? Are you building and finding the bridges across the difficulties and areas that so many folks say is impossible or even un-passable? When you believe you can do something, working and thinking along the route, many doors will open for you that remain shut for others.

I have seen this incredible technique happen again and again for folks that know, think, and believe in their ability to find a solution and keep working towards an answer. The answer is forthcoming and they just need to work to find that nugget that will take them across the line to the answer they are seeking. The great news is the harder and more difficult it is to make happen, oftentimes the rewards are that much greater and the success that much longer for you to enjoy.

How do you catch the attention and then convince America to purchase your food item when there already exist about 45,000 items on the shelf of an average grocery store and 10’s of thousands more available for distribution?

How do you find customers that want and need your product when there is so much already available for their review and purchase?

When you believe there exists a route to your success and you are on the road to finding that route, then the doors will open. You will find that resource, inspiration, or contact that will make things happen. Just this week, I heard an experienced food veteran ask a growing food entrepreneur ‘how did you do that?’ in amazement about his route to success. There exists a route to your success and leaders, mentors, and insiders that are available to help you navigate the path.

Imagine the path that Lauryn Chun, MILKimchi.com, is creating across the United States with her family’s Kimchi recipe. Americans are not generally familiar or immediately knowledgeable regarding Kimchi and its pickled vegetable taste. Lauryn is building the bridge for Americans to enjoy and savor the wonderful taste of Kimchi. Her journey started with packing Kimchi in her luggage for nine years to share with friends in New York from her home in California. Are you building and growing steps at a time? Are you working towards goals 5 and 10 years down the road for your food products? Your success will be the 20 year overnight success story. Are you willing to put in the two decades of effort?

Wally Amos, entrepreneur and founder of Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookies, considered a friend and colleague, opened the world’s FIRST Freestanding Cookie Store. This did not exist prior to his entry onto the cookie scene. Not only did it work, he eventually had more than 50 stores baking and selling cookies from freestanding stores and then eventually getting into the retail packaging of cookies that are now distributed around the world! He found a way to sell cookies when the market was supposedly closed to his innovation and ability.

Food Entrepreneurs who think big attract big people to them. If you want to achieve big things, you will be a positive thinker to achieve them. Big thinkers who make things happen also create possibilities for others. You cannot help but to become more confident, think bigger, and achieve grander success when you surround yourself with likeminded positive thinkers.

No matter what your product, no matter what your circumstances, no matter what your resources, positive thinking (bridge building) can broaden your horizons and encourage you onto finding your path to success and the road to your bigger dream. If you will embrace your dreams, you put yourself in a position to find that path and achieve them.

Positive thinking allows you to believe a path exists, an answer to your success. Positive thinking will allow you to see the invisible, feel the intangible, and achieve the impossible. Continue building your bridge, there exists a path forward to your success.

Fast Growth via Ideal Consumers

2011-07-12T07:14:00.007-04:00

Usually, the products I sample and taste are fantastic and would appeal to a very broad market. Also, often the creator of the product will share how the product appeals to everyone from the very young to the oldest of consumers. This is often the case and not a reliable method for building the early market and action plans of growing a particular product into a successful item with consumers. This fact is especially true if your company has limited resources.

There exists for most successful new item launches an ideal group of consumers that will most likely and quickly notice, purchase, and enjoy your new product offering. Identify your ideal consumers and you will save time, money, and effort in growing and achieving sales success for your company. Also, this group is much more likely to share with their friends the wonderful new product they ‘found' in conversations online and at work or play.

This exercise document will assist your process in understanding your ideal consumer and how to best approach them. Link here (download file or print)
After working with this document, you should have a better grasp and definition of your most likely consumers.
Where do your ideal consumers shop, work, sites they surf, and where do they spend their free time?
This document will best prepare your promotion messaging, packaging, social media, and product to meet their demands and seek their purchases more easily and efficiently.
Much continued success!

Category Sales in the Largest Retailers

2011-07-11T09:25:00.003-04:00

Are you seeking Category Sales dollars info for a specific retailer? The Category Calculator below will provide you estimates of sales in the largest USA retailer categories.

Much continued success with your product’s growth efforts.

Happy Fourth of July!

2011-07-03T17:18:00.001-04:00

We are enjoying a wonderful weekend celebration of fireworks, beach, surfing, airshow, and looking forward to a wonderful chilling watermelon. Hope this is an awesome holiday for you and your loved ones.

Behind the Scenes at a client’s Food Photoshoot.

2011-06-27T11:03:00.001-04:00

My photographer found this great spot to shoot the food photography for a client. Securing the rights to use the property, food styling, along with rain delays have been part of this clients photo effort. Once complete, we will be sharing some of the awesome finished product shots.

Tim Forrest receives award from Google Knol!

2011-06-22T01:01:00.004-04:00

Tim Forrest received recognition from Google for his food marketing and growth writing. The ‘Top Viewed Author Award’ was presented and will be noted on his Knol collection of articles. You can view Tim’s Knol articles at this link.

Knol is a Google project that aims to include user-written articles on a range of topics. The Google project was opened in to the public on July 23, 2008 with a few hundred articles mostly in the health and medical field. On January 16, 2009, Google announced that Knol had grown to 100,000 articles, and users from 197 countries visit Knol on an average day.

The term knol, which Google defines as a "unit of knowledge", refers to both the project and an article in the project.^[1]

Facebook Fan Pages–Biggest Food Brands

2011-06-17T07:21:00.002-04:00

Have you created or in the process of building a branded Facebook page and seeking guidance and inspiration for features, methods, tabs, and options to include as part of the site. This list will provide the largest Facebook branded food pages for your review and audit. Look at how color, graphics, and images are used on the site and then also review the posts and comments section. You want to have a community of authentic supporters develop around use and appreciation of your product. How do these big name brand companies organize their communication and consumer offerings? These examples can provide much insight and ideas to incorporate into your Facebook Fan page! How is your Facebook Fan page working for your food company? Send me the link.

Tim's Top Food Facebook Fan Pages
Latest

Rank ( May 2011)

Coca-Cola 28,059,243

Starbucks 22,387,449

Oreo 20,024,069

Red Bull 19,410,093

Skittles17,005,052

Pringles14,139,899

Ferrero Rocher11,224,484

Monster Energy 10,799,008

Nutella 10,265,544

Dr. Pepper 9,226,921

Starburst 8,798,681

McDonalds 8,624,292

Subway 7,463,5263

Reese’s 7,299,120

Taco Bell 6,734,823

Starbucks Frappuccino 6,704,896

Walmart 6,077,453

Mountain Dew5,262,452

5 Gum 4,777,970

Buffalo Wild Wings 4,743,825
© Tim Forrest 2011. All rights reserved

Growth!

2011-06-16T09:47:00.010-04:00

The USA is about a $15 TRILLION economy, largest in the world, folks are buying millions by the second and companies are growing. A friend is starting a new job this week and they hired 7 newbies for the future growth, another client just received a new order from a nationwide chain, and another is designing new packaging! It is happening and what action are you taking to grow business? Let me know.

Calculate Your Areas Category Purchases Soon!

2011-06-14T10:30:00.001-04:00

What a cool tool for quickly finding your state or regions category sales! In the coming weeks, excited to be publishing a calculating tool that will allow timforrest.com readers to quickly find their category sales by state, region, or nationally. We sourced data from the US Census and from grocery scan data.

Video Playlist–The Best of Tim

2011-05-17T22:52:00.003-04:00

20 Minutes that will save you years! Click any video above or Link for access to the playlist of Tim’s Video Channel and archive of valuable information for your food enterprise. I selected and organized the playlist for your knowlege and insight. Let me know how it helps!

Templates and Downloads from timforrest.com

2011-05-04T20:59:00.001-04:00

Wow!…if you are looking for the templates and great downloads from this site, they are located at the above link. Just click the above download image or link here and complete the form and submit. It will then provide you the link to all the templates from this site in one convenient location. These are awesome and will provide your enterprise with a tremendous amount of value. Let me know what you think about these templates and reports. Which one works best for your company?

· Food Broker - Document
· Facebook QR Code Print Template
· Wave 5 Step Selling System spreadsheet download
· Food Patents, Trade Secrets, IP
· Product Marketing Sheet Checklist
· Promotion Calendar Excel Template
· Worlds Leading Retailers
· Product Evaluation Worksheet
· EDI Service Companies
· Southeastern USA Cities
· Retailer Census USA by Channel
· Club Store Calculator
· Video Movie Script Template Marketing
· Restaurant Site Selection Overview and Compare Template

Since 1987 Tim Forrest has served the food industry and the world’s largest food brands. Sign-up for Tim's insights, upcoming videos, and free reports.

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New Landing Slide for Facebook Site

2011-05-03T06:54:00.001-04:00

The goal is to convert visitors to your Facebook site landing page into 'fans.' This new image on my Facebook Tim Forrest Consulting site is designed to aid in conversion. This is the image seen prior to becoming a fan by ‘liking’ the page. Looking forward to the results.

New Packaging with The Sonoco Institute this week!

2011-05-01T15:31:00.001-04:00

Looking forward to working with the Sonoco Institute of Packaging Design this week for client. We are building a totally new and branded package container for this exciting new generation product. The Sonoco Institute has extraordinary capabilities in many areas including packaging science, graphic communications, advanced materials engineering, and an understanding of food science — together these folks provide unparalleled resources for food packaging developments and state of the art retail and foodservice packaging for leading clients!

Smart Growth. Category Leadership!

2011-04-26T06:29:00.000-04:00

Would you choose 5,000 stores for your product or 500 locations as the category leader? Listen as Tim shares his insight and experiences that demonstrate the importance of adding tremendous value to your retailers category offering. Also, you can view the mentioned interview at this link http://bit.ly/eZpPMP

Tip: Add Facebook Fans at your next Tradeshow or Demo Event!

2011-04-22T12:39:00.012-04:00

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my Articles and Updates. Thanks for visiting!

Go ahead, take out your camera smartphone and capture this QR Code in your reader.

If you are like most folks you have never used a QR Code but it only takes seconds to learn and the value to your enterprise is enormous when you consider the many benefits of capturing consumers that are attending an event or contacts to your tradeshow booth. Most Android and Blackberry phones have this feature native to the phone and iPhones have more than 50 apps available at the iTunes store for downloading.

Once you are able to scan a QR Code, test the QR Code on this page. When it opens the page on your phone, hit the ‘like’ button and you are connected to my Facebook site. You can duplicate this process for your facebook profile at your next sampling event, exhibition, or tradeshow and gain many more additional fans on your company’s facebook profile. This quick how-to article will walk you through the basic process of getting up and running using QR Codes to increase your fans on facebook. The 'like' button is only 12 months old as of this week and quite possibly why you might not have ever considered or seen this use in various venues.

LINK TO ARTICLE HERE – Using QR Codes in your marketing and consumer connections. or http://bit.ly/jnxH43

DOWNLOAD NOW: Facebook Profile QR Code ‘Like’ Template

2011-04-22T11:59:00.000-04:00

Click LINK and you can download this template for your use with QR Codes to capture new fans to your facebook profile. The purpose of this tool is to capture fans for your facebook profile while doing demos, exhibitions, tradeshows, and events. For full details on how to make best use of this template visit timforrest.com

Tim with Robert L. Shewfeldt, Ph. D. Food Science

2011-04-21T07:29:00.000-04:00

Tim with Robert L. Shewfeldt, Ph.D. Distinguished Food Science and Technology Professor wearing his Terrapin Beer T-shirt for a lesson on bottle seals. He shared he has more than 100 various t-shirts that all relate to a particular concept or lesson in his classes.

Professor Shewfeldt also teaches Chocolate Science and has successfully published many works. One of his quotes is particularly important for food companies of all types, “Although it may be tempting to meet the needs of all consumers in a market, a better strategy identifies those characteristics important to a distinct segment.”

It is always exciting to meet and learn from folks in the vast food community.

Tim speaking at the University of Georgia.

2011-04-17T09:50:00.004-04:00

It was a blast presenting at the University of Georgia on Friday to a large group of food entrepreneurs. The event was sponsored by the university’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Department of Food Science & Technology, and the Center for Agribusiness & Economic Development.

Dr. Jim Daniels along with Dr. Kent Wolfe provided some amazing insights and strategies for food entrepreneurs in manufacturing and process. We were able to shoot some video of the event and will be sharing portions of my talk here on timforrest.com.

Food Brokers as part of your Growth Strategy!

2011-04-08T07:55:00.000-04:00

The Food Broker can be a great tool in the market planning and development of growth for your products and company. This video provides a framework for considering, discussing, contracting, and hiring of food brokers. Also, find more information at timforrest.com and his Thrive! Preferred Principal Workshop http://bit.ly/a3FLVb

Food Patents, Trademarks, Trade Secrets, Copyrights and IP

2011-04-08T00:05:00.006-04:00

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my Articles and Updates. Thanks for visiting!

The esteemed Mr. Michael J. Keller was kind enough to provide this 39 page quality overview of intellectual property for timforrest.com readers. It quickly demonstrates a broad overview of intellectual property and how it relates to food entrepreneurs and products including trademarks and copyrights. I hope this helps you to better understand and manage your products, processes, and IP. Mr. Keller is one of America’s top IP attorneys. Click the above picture or click the link here for your own copy.

“Tim Forrest is a food marketing whiz!”

2011-04-05T22:04:00.000-04:00

How many trials or samples will your company giveaway this year? Plan on more...

2011-04-04T05:45:00.003-04:00

Frito Lay is giving away 10 million bags of chips shares the placard next to the demo table in front of the Walmart Supercenter. If Frito Lay will pay to giveaway 10 million bags of chips, how many trials or samples will you share this year with consumers?

Customer Segmentation for Growth

2011-04-02T08:47:00.001-04:00

My friend Harry Grant mentioned today my Customer Segmentation video and how he found it useful for growing business outside the food industry. Harry owns A Plus Termite & Pest Control in Sarasota, Florida and you cannot work with a better company or service. The concepts and insights are useful for any consumer product company selling to consumers or businesses. Hope you get value from this quick video Also you can download the channel listings discussed at this link - http://bit.ly/drYlQ8. Upcoming, I am working on a Category success video and sign-up below to receive when available.

2011-04-01T18:17:00.001-04:00

Looking forward to a beautiful and peaceful weekend after a busy week. It was fun capturing this shot at the beach.

Food Makers Workshop – "Ideas to Grow your Food Enterprise"

2011-03-31T01:05:00.010-04:00

Tim presenting Food Makers Workshop

It's fun sharing insights into food marketing growth and learning from others new ideas and methods they are applying to grow their business. This website timforrest.com is a reflection of that value. Recently, I had the opportunity to work with a couple of groups presenting my thoughts on three basic areas important for success. Actually, my three are vital to growing your business. New customers and growing a business is often said to be the most difficult part of any enterprise. Here is my take on the top three answers when someone asks, ‘Tim, how can we grow our business?”

Key Point 1 – Your Ideal Consumer

Your food product will address a need and provide value to a group of consumers that are your ‘ideal consumer.’ It might be geography, age, education, or family size and what sets this group apart is their increased likelihood of purchasing your product more quickly and efficiently than other consumers. Often, these ideal consumers will be ‘super consumers’ and purchase many times more of your product than the general public. What are you doing to identify and connect with these special consumers needed to take your business to the next level. My insights on this site discuss methods to identify, communicate, and market to these special consumers of your food products.

Key Point 2 – Promotion Power and Sync

Connecting with your ideal consumers begins with taking action and getting noticed beyond simply lowering prices. Promotion effectiveness, how and why they work, the internet, and the importance of sampling is paramount in dealing with consumers and growth. Also, sampling should happen as ‘paid sampling’ that big brand food companies use in their marketing programs. Local, Organic, All Natural, and Good! Your growth and success grows with the use of positive promotions when you have them in sync with your consumer.

Key Point 3 – Distribution Success

It takes effort to get your product delivered and into the hands of your consumers. The better you understand and incorporate the distribution of your product into your programs, the faster you will see growth and success. I always consider and discuss methods and concepts of working with the various components of your distribution partners – distributors, brokers, retailers, foodservice establishments, and co-packers. Your improved knowledge can drive new sales and promotions that would otherwise have been left to the other companies seeking growth.

After investing your time and effort into these three ideas, you will usually have insights and methods to immediately take action and grow your business with speed and capital efficiency. My hope is this site along with my insights provide you value and success on your trail to business growth.