Retail Solved – Featured Courses

Tired of feeling like an ATM Machine? Wish you could scale faster? You're not alone! Learn What You Need To Know To Launch And Scale Your Brand.

Several Brand Building Courses Are Free!

Signature Courses

Trade Marketing Essentials

This course is for any brand looking for more runway from their available resources, more sales, higher brand valuations, and much more

This course is for any brand looking to generate more customers, increase sales, save valuable time and money while maximizing your Trade Marketing ROI

Effective promotions are the rocket fuel for your brand!

Are you tired of wasting money? Do you feel like an ATM machine with everyone having their hand out? Are you frustrated that you see little, if any, tangible benefit from your promotions? You are not alone!

Trade spending represents around 25% of your gross sales and yet over 70% is wasted. 

Let's fix that!

Stop wasting money! Maximize your Trade Marketing ROI with proven strategies to grow profitable sales and gain a competitive advantage

The Complete Retail Solved Blueprint to Confidently Grow and Scale your brand. Become a Beloved Brand!

Trade spending includes everything required to get your products onto store shelves and into the hands of shoppers – including online.

Introducing Trade Marketing Essentials, a simple and effective program to give you the skills and confidence to maximize your Trade Marketing ROI. It includes an in-depth, step-by-step approach to walk you through both innovative and the best practices and strategies to help your brand grow and thrive.

Every slight improvement in your Trade Marketing ROI means more runway for sales growth, higher brand valuations and better terms when negotiating with investors. It also provides fuel for more innovation, greater support for mission based causes, more retailers saying “YES” to your products, and much much more.

You will learn:

• The biggest reason brands fail and how to NOT become a statistic.
  • Trade spending includes everything needed to promote your brand
  • Most trade spending is wasted
  • Learn how to avoid the pitfalls other brands face while gaining an unfair competitive advantage
• How to maximize each and every selling opportunity!
  • Effective promotions get your brand into the hands of more shoppers, convert occasionally customers into loyal evangelists, grow sales and profits while maximizing your promotional ROI
  • They are the growth engine of your business – make certain you use the right fuel
• How to not feel like an ATM machine
  • Retailers and distributors demand you participate in their promotional programs but few if any, help you grow sustainable sales. Learn strategies to choose the best promotions to grow sales and profits and not bankrupt your brand
• Why most promotions fail and how to avoid throwing money away
  • Most brands struggle to measure and evaluate promotional effectiveness
  • This does not need to be overly complicated
  • This critical skill determines how long your brand will be around, months, years, or longer
  • Learn the basic skills to drive profitable sales

Premium Courses

Premium Courses include advanced on-demand strategies taught directly to clients in person. Get the same great training without paying for my travel and time – a huge cost savings! 

Results matter! Exactly why you need this course.

Learn how to hold brokers accountable to YOUR strategies to drive profitable sales growth while remaining captain of your ship (brand)

Are you completely happy with your brokers results? Most brands are not. Brands have a love/hate relationship with their brokers (and agencies). They work for you but how often do you feel that your brand is a priority to them? Do you wish you knew how to hold them accountable and leverage them to explode sales?

These are the questions I get from brands of all sizes. You see, I believe that your brand needs to own your strategy in-house and leverage their brokers/agencies to execute it on your behalf? This is the best and the most effective way to maximize sales and profits while giving you a significant and sustainable competitive advantage.

This course is an in-depth, deep-dive into leveraging your relationship with brokers to increase sales, maximize distribution, amplify your merchandising effectiveness, and much much more. This course includes much of the content I share with brands at their national sales meetings.

Effective Broker Management

This course is for Maximize their Broker Effectiveness. 

Effective Broker Management strategies is the subject I receive the most questions for. In fact, several brands have paid me to work in person with their senior leadership teams to teach some of the principles in this course. You get the same great content without flying me in – a huge cost savings! 

You will learn:

• The pros and cons of working with a broker or agency
  • Most brands have a love hate relationship with their brokers.
  • This is due primarily to poor communication and unrealistic expectations.
  • Learn what you need to know to get a high ROI from your broker
• Why you need to OWN your brand strategy and not farm it out
  • Brands should NEVER farm out their go-to-market strategy
  • You put all your creativity, passion, and love into creating a product that is going to change the world
  • Your go-to-market strategy should be every bit as creative
  • Brokers tend to use cookie cutter strategies – the same strategies they use for all brand they represent
  • Learn how this can impact your brands and why this matters
• How to maximize sales with a broker or agency
  • A broker is an extension of your brand. They are your external sales team
  • They can be a tremendous resource when managed correctly
  • Learn strategies to drive sales while holding them accountable
• My favorite strategies for maximizing broker effectiveness
  • What gets measured gets done!
  • Having the right tools and strategies to guarantee effective retail execution is your key to success
• How to improve your brand's value to retailers and investors
  • The valuation of your brand determines the terms you use to negotiate with investors
  • A better valuation opens your brand to more strategic investors and greater opportunities
• How to level the playing field between you and your most sophisticated competitor Leveraging True Category Management with your broker team can be the great equalizer between brands of all sizes
  • It can give you a significant and sustainable competitive advantage
  • Learn how to explode sales and profits with strategies other brands overlook, and much more, …

Proven Strategies To Maximize Your Trade Marketing ROI

This course is for any brand looking for more runway from their available resources, more sales, higher brand valuations, and much more.

Effective promotions are the rocket fuel for your brand!

 Over 70% of your promotional spending is wasted or ineffective, why most brands fail. Avoid this fatal mistake. Learn how to not be a statistic.

25% of your brands gross sales are tied to your trade marketing efforts and yet over 70% of your trade spending in wasted or ineffective. The primary purpose of a promotion if to introduce your products to new shoppers.

Tired of feeling like an ATM machine? Wish you knew how to get more runway to scale your brand along with a higher ROI from your promotional spending? That’s what this course is about, helping you grow and thrive by getting your products onto more store shelves and into the hands of more shoppers.

You will learn:

• The biggest reason brands fail and how to NOT become a statistic
• Trade spending includes everything needed to promote your brand
  • Most trade spending is wasted
  • Learn how to avoid the pitfalls other brands face
• How to maximize each and every selling opportunity!
• Effective promotions expand runway, grow sales, and maximize your promotional ROI
  • They are the growth engine of your business – MAKE certain you use the right fuel
• How to not feel like an ATM machine
• Retailers and distributors demand you participate in their promotional programs but few if any help you grow sustainable sales?
  • Learn strategies to choose the best promotions to grow sales and profits and not bankrupt your brand
• Why most promotions fail and how to avoid throwing money away
• Most brands struggle to measure and evaluate promotional effectiveness
  • This does not need to be overly complicated
  • This critical skill determines how long your brand will be around, months, years, or longer
    • Learn the basic skills to drive profitable sales

Results matter! Exactly why you need this course.

Exploit your competitions weaknesses by committing to this simple strategy that they overlook. Scorecards are the most powerful and underutilized project management and goal-setting tools that help brands achieve success by breaking down objectives into manageable chunks. Learn how to unlock their awesome power to gain a significant unfair competitive advantage. They’re what you need to succeed!

Don't trust your future to anyone BUT you. Learn how to help guide retailers to drive sales by making it easy for shoppers to find and buy your brand. Effective retail execution is your secrete weapon and it begins with Scorecards and KPI's. 

Maximize Sales With THE Most Effective Tool To Maximize Retail Execution

Scorecards and KPI's

This course is for any brand wishing to exploit your competitions weaknesses by committing to this simple strategy that they overlook.  Learn how to unlock their awesome power to gain a significant unfair competitive advantage. They’re what you need to succeed!

You will learn:

• Why Scorecards are powerful goal setting tools. You’ve probably heard that “what gets measured gets done”
• Scorecards map out objectives in bitesize manageable chunks that keep you on-track and focused
• They help you achieve your goals – they can be the difference between success and failure
• How Scorecards can be modified to track and measure any objective through its completion
• Use them on promotions, sales objectives, distribution goals, sales planning, inventory control, and anything that directly impacts your success
• There are little things the most successful brands do on a consistent basis that sets them apart from their competitors
  • For example, showing a retailer the impact on their category when introducing new items including with turnkey implementation instructions complete with a planogram highlighting all of the changes
• How a scorecard can be an invaluable resource
• Scorecards are great because they keep those important things from slipping through the cracks
• They also help you measure your efforts and progress toward meeting those goals and objectives

Mini Courses

Mini Courses focus on a single strategy you can leverage to gain an advantage at one store, a quick win. Then multiply that times every item you sell and every store you sell in. 

Make it easier for customers to find and buy your brand! Proven strategies to grow sales, stand out on a crowded shelf, and 2x your loyal shoppers.

Can shoppers easily find your products wherever they shop? Has a retailer ever merchandised your products in the wrong place or somewhere that hurts your sales? If so, then you need this mini-course. You need to help guide retailers to merchandise your brand where you have the best opportunity to drive sales and shoppers to the category and to your brand.

How To Land Shelf Space And Win At Retail

This course is for any brand needing to help guide retailers to merchandise your brand where you have the best opportunity to drive sales and shoppers to the category and to your brand.

One of the biggest challenges that every brand faces is making it easy for your customers to find and buy your products were ever the shop. The challenges that retailers don't understand how your customer shops and what your customers are looking for when they enter their store.

This mini course teachers you a creative strategy that you can use to help guide the retailer to properly merchandise your products. Don't trust anyone but you to ensure that your products are merchandise properly. Planogram software is extremely expensive and out of reach for most brands. Big brands rely heavily on it as they work with retailers.

Learn creative and free strategies and to help retailers make it easy for customers the fine and buy your products while growing category sales for the retailer.

You will learn:

• How to make it easy for customers to find your brand
  • Hint: There is a better way to make it easy for shoppers to buy your products! Customers hate shopping trips that feel like scavenger hunts
• Strategies to grow sales with proper shelf placement
  • Don't leave your merchandising to anyone BUT you
  • Retailers cannot possibly be experts on every shopper and on every item in their store. They need your help!
• Essential on-shelf merchandising strategies your competitors overlook
  • Shoppers are constantly judging you
  • Your merchandising is a reflection of your brand
  • Inconsistent, hard to find, and poorly merchandised products reduce sales and increase shopper confusion and frustration
• How to convert occasional customers into loyal evangelists
  • Give shoppers what they want and make it easy for them to find it
  • Sounds simple and it is
  • Traditional strategies overcomplicate the shopper's journey. Let's fix this!

How To Assess The Health Of Your Brand

Your contribution to profitable sales is more important than your velocity. Learn the difference and why this matters most to retailers!

You are taught to focus on your brands sales velocity. That overlooks what really matters to retailers – the sustainable profits your brand contributes to their category growth. This is the health of your brand, something overlooked by canned topline/cook-cutter templated reports and not taught elsewhere.

Master this simple strategy to grow sales and thrive.

The myth is that velocity and margin are the two most important measures that retailers care about. This mini course teaches you what matters most – how many profitable dollars your brand contributes to the category. 

Your contribution is what the retailer and you take to the bank. Using this simple strategy can dramatically differentiate your brand from your competitors and help you give retailers what they really want; a reasonable profit in the category, more foot traffic in their stores, and a comparable advantage in their market.

You will learn:

• Why the cash you have in the bank has nothing to do with your brand health
  • Hint: it's possible to have a lot of cash on hand and still fail
  • Learn why this matters and how you can get more runway from your available resources/investments
• How canned topline reports fail to highlight your brands impact on category growth
  • Savvy retailers already know how your brand is performing on their shelves
  • Sharing the same mundane reports as your competition DOES NOTHING to differentiate your brand.
  • Learn strategies to give retailers what they REALLY want
• How to help retailers grow category profits with your brand
  • Natural brands contribute more to category growth than their mainstream counterparts
  • It's easy for brands with deep pockets to buy sales volume BUT this usually pulls profitable growth from the category
  • Learn how to leverage your brand health to gain preferential merchandising and promotional opportunities
• How to improve your brand's value to retailers and investors
  • The valuation of your brand determines the terms you use to negotiate with investors
  • A better valuation opens your brand to more strategic investors and greater opportunity

You're told you need data but what kind and how can you get the most from it? This can be overly complicated but it does not need to be.

The same canned report other brands use WILL NOT differentiate your brand. Learn how mine for the actionable insights retailers REALLY want!

Lets face it, data is expensive and choosing the wrong data is a huge waste of money – especially if it does not give you a significant and sustainable competitive advantage. Having the right data and knowing how to get the most from if can give you a huge competitive advantage. Buying the wrong kind of data can derail your brand and even bankrupt it – especially if it blinds you from key trends, overlooks competitive threats, and masks growth opportunities. For example, not being able to compare your brand to other brands in Denver Colorado natural food stores. Contact me for creative strategies to answer this question.

Most brands rely solely on canned topline (templated) reports. This is a huge mistake! The same reports used to sell motor oil will not differentiate your organic baby food with retailers. You need to know what kind of data you need to buy and how to tell a compelling story with it. That is what this course is about.

Mining The Data Maze, The Most Important Report You'll Ever Need

This course is for

You were told that canned topline reports are all you need to succeed at retail. Nothing could be further from the truth. Canned top line reports are a great starting place but more importantly you need to know which data you need and how do use that data to tell a compelling story to your retail partner. There are dramatic difference is between the different data sources. They all have their pluses and minuses depending on the problem you're trying to solve. Buying the wrong data can be a tremendous waste of money. Knows the difference and how to leverage the data affectively in your sewing story. 

You will learn:

• How canned topline reports fail to highlight your brand's impact on category growth
  • Savvy retailers already know how your brand is performing on their shelves
  • Sharing the same mundane reports as your competition DOES NOTHING to differentiate your brand
    • I initially built my reputation in the industry building templated canned topline reports – you may be using newer versions of them now!
  • Learn the strategies to give retailers what they want – sustainable category growth and a competitive advantage
• That knowing your numbers means going beyond canned reports
  • Fact based selling is a critical skill that every brand needs to know BUT even the big brands struggle with this
  • Learn how to level the playing field with the big brands with skills your competitors overlook
• How to use data to tell a compelling story others overlook
  • Knowing how to tell a compelling story with numbers is critical to your success
  • I've used these strategies to push big brands around my entire career and you can too
• What retailers REALLY need
  • Retailers need insights, actionable insights
  • Few brands help guide their retailer partners to drive sustainable sales by leveraging the strength of their brand
  • Learn to be more than just another brand on a retailer's shelf. Become a category leader!

Maximize Sales With The Right Product Assortment Strategies

Don't trust your future to anyone BUT you. Learn how to help guide retailers drive sales by making it easy for shoppers to find and buy your brand

Every new item a retailer adds to a category requires that one item be discontinued. Do you want to trust the fait and the future of your brand to anyone BUT you? The simple strategies taught in this course will keep you from being at the mercy of others including your competitors. It can also help position you as a trusted and valued partner to your retailers which could open new doors to incremental opportunities.

A retailers product assortment dictates how they serve their customers and what's important to them. Having the wrong assortment encourages their customers to shop there competition. This is exactly what current strategies do. They complicate the shopper journey while diluting the retailers influence and their market while they commoditize your brand. Having the right assortment is how you keep customers coming back in your store repeatedly. Learn the simple strategy I created years ago that's helped me and the brands I serve become a trusted and respected category leader and retail partner.

You will learn:

• How to maximize sales with the right product assortment
  • Shoppers have literally unlimited choices when it comes where they shop
  • Help your retail partners gain a competitive advantage in a cutthroat industry – why this matters and how this can help you explode sales
• How to avoid a competitor's new item discontinuing your brand
  • Do you want anyone BUT you to manage your distribution?
  • Every new product added to a category requires that one be discontinued
  • Guide retailers to grow sustainable sales with the right product assortment that includes your brand
• How to convert occasional customers to loyal shoppers
  • Help your retail partners avoid the pitfalls of disappointing customers and inviting” them to shop their competition
  • Retailers need your help!
  • This begins with giving shoppers what they want including the products they want – your brand
• Why the Pareto Curve is the worst tool for managing category growth
  • Most brands and retailers rely heavily on the 80/20 rule for managing product assortments BUT this frequently overlooks important growth drivers and brands like yours
  • Learn why this matters and how to avoid allowing someone else to determine your brands fate

The great equalizer between small and large brands. Learn what retailers really want, and how to grow sustainable sales and profits

Ever wish you knew how to level the playing field between you and your most sophisticated competitors?

Ever wish you knew strategies your competitors overlook and don’t know about?

This is where a talented category management professional is worth their weight in gold!

Category management was born out of a need to reduce wasteful trade spending, eliminate out-of-stocks, improve merchandising, give brands and retailers a significant competitive advantage, maximize sales and profits, and much more. Big brands rely heavily on the advanced strategies found in True Category Management. These strategies can be even more effective for your natural brand – IF you know how to use them properly. Take this course to differentiate your brand and stand out on a crowded shelf.

True Category Management – The Roadmap To Sales Success

Category management are the advance strategies that big brands and retailers rely on. Sadly, the same strategies or overlooked in natural. Learn what you need to know to build a healthy foundation to grow in skill your brand on by leveraging the key skills that will give you the edge that you deserve. This mini course will also help you level up your skill set to prepare you for a future growth. 

You will learn:

• How to level the playing field between you and your most sophisticated competitor
  • True category management is the great equalizer between brands of all sizes
  • It can give you a significant and sustainable competitive advantage
  • Learn how to explode sales and profits with strategies other brands overlook
• How canned topline reports fail to highlight your brand's impact on category growth
  • Savvy retailers already know how your brand is performing on their shelves
  • Sharing the same mundane reports as your competition DOES NOTHING to differentiate your brand
  • Learn the strategies to give retailers what they REALLY want – sustainable category growth and a competitive advantage
• That knowing your numbers means going beyond canned topline reports
  • Fact based selling is a critical skill that every brand needs to know BUT even the big brands struggle with this
  • Learn how to level the playing field with the big brands with skills your competitors overlook
• How to use data to tell a compelling story others overlook
  • Knowing how to tell a compelling story with numbers is critical to your success
  • I've used these strategies to push big brands around my entire career and you can too
• What retailers REALLY need
  • Retailers need insights, actionable insights
  • Few brands help guide their retailer partners to drive sustainable sales by leveraging the strength of their brand
  • Learn how to be more than just another brand on a retailer's shelf. Become a category leader!

Strategies To Increase Market Basket Size & Sales

Market basket size is the most effective way to measure a brand's true value. Teach retailers how to grow sales and profits with your brand

The sales strategies you have been taught focus only on a single item or brand. They ignore all the other items shoppers buy when they purchase your brand. This broken tired old strategy ignores what matters most to your customers – getting all the items on their list on a single shopping trip.

Have you ever wished you had a sustainable competitive advantage? Well now you do and it all begins with your ability to easily help shoppers get what they want. This is what retailers REALLY want – brands that give them a competitive advantage, sustainable category growth, and more shoppers in their stores. Savvy retailers sometimes reward those brands with incremental opportunity’s not available to all brands. It worked for me and it can work for you. That’s what this course will teach you.

Market basket is one of the most impactful measures you need when you work with retailers. Specifically, how your brand influences customers to buy other complementary products across the entire store. Your customers far more valuable to the retailer then mainstream brands. Knowing how to leverage this simple strategy when you work with retailers is exactly how are you level the playing field and give you the edge at you deserve. This mini course also teaches you how to convert occasional customers into loyal shoppers and is a nice complement to the many courses merchandising checklist to grow sales and loyalty as well as the mini course merchandising strategies to increase sales and shoppers.

You will learn:

• That topline sales ignore the value of your shopper
  • Shoppers almost never purchase only one item when in a store
  • Natural brands attract the best shoppers, they don't settle – they choose quality products they can trust
  • They KNOW the value of the products they purchase – your brand
  • When they buy your products they buy other quality products making them more valuable to the retailer
  • This is what you SHOULD be paying attention to
• How canned topline reports fail to highlight your brand's impact on category growth
  • Savvy retailers already know how your brand is performing on their shelves
  • Sharing the same mundane reports as your competition DOES NOTHING to differentiate your brand
  • Learn strategies to give retailers what they REALLY want
• How to help retailers grow category profits with your brand
  • Natural brands contribute more to category growth than their mainstream counterparts
  • It's easy for brands with deep pockets to buy sales volume BUT this usually pulls profitable growth from the category
  • Learn how to leverage your brand health to gain preferential merchandising and promotional opportunities
• How to convert occasional customers into loyal evangelists
  • Give shoppers what they want and make it easy for them to find it. Sounds simple and it is
  • Traditional strategies overcomplicate the shopper's journey. Let's fix this!

What other brands WISH they knew to dominate their category. Learn how to become a Category Leader. What retailers REALLY Want!

Do you wish you had a sustainable and substantial competitive advantage? Now you do!

Category reviews are expected by most retailers. They are one of the most underutilized opportunities to differentiate your brand and explode sales. It begins with a collaborative retailer brand relationship/partnership. Maximize every opportunity! Learn how to leverage this strategy to grow sales and profits.

Category Review Strategies To Grow Sales & Profits

You will learn:

• How to use the category review to gain a significant competitive advantage
  • Most every retailer requires category reviews BUT traditional strategies overlook the awesome opportunity they provide to differentiate your brand from your competition. Learn how to be more than just another brand on a retailer's shelves. Learn how to become a trusted and respected resource and partner to the retailer. Savvy retailers tend to reward brands that help them achieve their objectives – more sales, more shoppers, and a competitive advantage
• How to level the playing field between you and your most sophisticated competitor
  • True category management is the great equalizer between brands of all sizes. It can give you a significant and sustainable competitive advantage. Learn how to explode sales and profits with strategies other brands overlook
• How canned topline reports fail to highlight your brand's impact on category growth
  • Savvy retailers already know how your brand is performing on their shelves. Sharing the same mundane reports as your competition DOES NOTHING to differentiate your brand. Learn the strategies to give retailers what they REALLY want – sustainable category growth and a competitive advantage
• That knowing your numbers means going beyond canned topline reports
  • Fact based selling is a critical skill that every brand needs to know BUT even the big brands struggle with this. Learn how to level the playing field with the big brands with skills your competitors overlook
• How to use data to tell a compelling story others overlook
  • Knowing how to tell a compelling story with numbers is critical to your success. Iv'e used these strategies to push big brands around my entire career and you can too
• What retailers REALLY need
  • Retailers need insights, actionable insights. Few brands help guide their retailer partners to drive sustainable sales by leveraging the strength of their brand. Learn how to be more than just another brand on a retailer's shelf – become a category leader

Simple Solutions To Maximize Broker Effectiveness

Brokers are an extension of your sales team. Help them succeed through accountability to maximize sales, increase distribution & accelerate growth

Do you wish you could get better results from your brokers? Have you ever been frustrated when they are not able to achieve specific results on your behalf?

Brands have a love hate relationship with their brokers. I believe that the best strategy is to have them execute your strategies on your behalf. Brands need to own their strategies and not farm this out to anyone else who is not completely vested in your brands success. This begins with having clear expectations and then holding them accountable – exactly what this course teaches.

Over the last several years brands of all sizes across all channels have been reaching out to me wanting to know how to maximize their broker effectiveness. Brokers use cookie cutter strategies for efficiencies. I am a firm believer in that you need to own your strategy and then leverage your broker to execute on your behalf. This is the most impactful strategy but only if you know how to execute it properly. In this mini course I teach several of the strategies I teach brands when they pay me to come out and spend a week training their leadership teams. This mini course will also help you maximize sales with your internal sales team and help you execute your brand strategy at retail – what retailers really want.

You will learn:

• The pros and cons of working with a broker or agency
  • Most brands have a love hate relationship with their brokers
  • This is due primarily to poor communication and unrealistic expectations
  • Learn what you need to know to get a high ROI from your broker
• Why you need to OWN your brand strategy and not farm it out
  • Brands should NEVER farm out their go-to-market strategy
  • You put all your creativity, passion, and love into creating a product that is going to change the world
  • Your go-to-market strategy should be every bit as creative
  • Brokers tend to use cookie cutter strategies – the same strategies they use for all brand they represent
  • Learn how this can impact your brands and why this matters
• How to maximize sales with a broker or agency
  • A broker is an extension of your brand
  • They are your external sales team
  • They can be a tremendous resource when managed correctly
  • Learn strategies to drive sales while holding them accountable
• My favorite strategies for maximizing broker effectiveness
  • What gets measured gets done!
  • Having the right tools and strategies to guarantee effective retail execution is your key to success

Real shopper loyalty is earned not embossed on plastic cards. Learn how to convert occasional customers into loyal brand evangelists!

Shoppers can't buy your products if they can't find them. Your merchandising strategy is the first impression shoppers have of your brand. Make its a good one!

Do you wish you knew strategies to make it easier for shoppers to find and buy your products? Better yet, how to convert them into loyal brand evangelists. That's what this course is about. Learn how to grow sales and profits with your merchandising strategy.

Merchandising Checklist To Grow Sales & Shopper Loyalty

You will learn:

• How to make it easy for customers to find your brand
  • Hint: There is a better way to make it easy for shoppers to buy your products!
  • Customers hate shopping trips that feel like scavenger hunts
• Strategies to grow sales with proper shelf placement
  • Don't leave your merchandising to anyone BUT you
  • Retailers cannot possibly be experts on every shopper and on every item in their store. They need your help!
• Essential on-shelf merchandising strategies your competitors overlook
  • Shoppers are constantly judging you
  • Your merchandising is a reflection of your brand
  • Inconsistent, hard to find, and poorly merchandised products reduce sales and increase shopper confusion and frustration
• How to convert occasional customers to loyal shoppers
  • Help your retail partner avoid the pitfalls of disappointing customers and inviting” them to shop their competition
  • Retailers need your help!
  • This begins with giving shoppers what they want including the products they want
• My favorite strategies for maximizing broker effectiveness
  • What gets measured gets done!
  • Having the right tools and strategies to guarantee effective retail execution is your key to success

Merchandising Strategies To Increase Sales & Shoppers

Learn strategies to grow sales by improving the customer journey making it easy, convenient, and stress free saving them valuable time and money

Shoppers can't buy your products if they can't find them. Your merchandising strategy is the first impression shoppers have of your brand. It also communicates your commitment to meeting your customers needs. Your brand needs to be available wherever they shop.

Retailers need your help. They want to partner with savvy brands who can help them improve the shoppers journey. They want your help keeping your customers coming back into their stores again and again. Learn how to leverage these skills to help your brand grow and thrive.

You will learn:

• Why it's critically important that shoppers easily find your brand
  • Hint: There is a better way to make it easy for shoppers to buy your products!
  • Customers hate shopping trips that feel like scavenger hunts
• Essential on-shelf merchandising strategies your competitors overlook
  • Shoppers are constantly judging you
  • Your merchandising is a reflection of your brand. Inconsistent, hard to find, and poorly merchandised products reduce sales and increase shopper confusion and frustration
• Merchandising strategies to grow sales others overlook
  • Don't leave your merchandising to anyone BUT you
  • Retailers cannot possibly be experts on every shopper and on every item in their store. They need your help!
• How to make it easy for customers to find your brand
  • This begins with your merchandising strategy
  • It needs to be simple, easy to understand, and it needs to aid the shopper in their journey toward your brand
• My favorite strategies for maximizing merchandising effectiveness
  • What gets measured gets done!
  • Having the right tools and strategies to guarantee effective retail execution is your key to success

Free Courses

Turnkey Sales Story Strategies

This is a free course. 

Proven Strategies To Grow Sales And Profits For Your Natural Food Brand

Have you ever wished you had a magic strategy to outperform other brands. Now you do!

For any brand that has the discipline to complete this course and bake these strategies into their DNA, you can gain a significant and sustainable competitive advantage.

Retail is expensive – it's pay to play. You need a healthy foundation to grow your brand on. You also need a secret weapon other brands overlook, ignore, or don't know about to grow sales and profits. This course has both!

How To Get Your Brand On The Shelf, Expand Distribution and Understand What Retailers REALLY want – Your Roadmap To Success!

You will learn:

• How to not become a statistic – why most brands fail!Over 80% of natural brands fail within the first year.
  • This is largely due to faulty brand positioning.
  • Learn strategies to help you get your product onto more store shelves and into the hands of more shoppers
• The importance of a solid brand strategy (foundation) before you launch – before your next sale
  • Hint: A solid brand strategy, or go-to-market strategy, is critical to your success.
  • You will never hit a target you don't aim for.
  • This can determine how long your brand will be around, 6 months, a year, a decade or longer.
  • It costs a lot more to do things wrong and correct them later.
  • Learn strategies others overlook that can give you a significant and sustainable competitive advantage
• How a compelling brand story drives sustainable sales and profits, one that resonates with shoppers and retailersStories that connect and resonate with us leave a lasting impression.
  • They paint a picture in our minds.
  • This is how you ensure your brand is memorable.
  • Your brand story needs to be told consistently with the same passion, enthusiasm, and authenticity as originally told by the founder.
  • This is how you convert occasional customers into loyal evangelists
• Why being a leader in your category can explode your sales growth
  • Hint: most brands fail due to poor execution.
• Flawless execution is the fastest path to sales success. Learn strategies other brands overlook

Resources To Give Your Brand The Edge It Deserves

Take The 30 Days To Prosperity Challenge To Master The Brand-Building Skills And Strategies Required To Give Your Brand A Substantial And Sustainable Competitive Edge. Stop Using The Same Cookie-Cutter Tactics Your Competitors Rely On And Give Your Retailer Partners What They REALLY Want; More Traffic In Their Stores, A Competitive Advantage In Their Market, And Predictable And Profitable Category Growth!

I’ve had the privilege of mentoring and working with hundreds of brands from pre-revenue to multi billion dollars in sales. This a culmination of the best strategies that are working today. I’ve spent years testing and perfecting them to save you valuable time and money while giving you the edge you deserve.

Recommended: take the Turnkey Sales Story Strategies first. It is the foundation this is built on. 

The 30 Days To Prosperity Challenge

You will learn:

How To Plan For Success In The Future And Beyond

I decided to address the specific questions and challenges listeners have been asking. They're organized into a masterclass, 30 Days To Prosperity. How to confidently grow, scale, and get the edge you deserve

• Introduction: What You Didn't Learn In Business School

  • Commit to continually learning and growing. Don’t allow life’s distractions to derail you or keep you from achieving your goals – your purpose!

• Business Strategy – Foundation

  • Day 1: How To Launch And Scale A Profitable Food Business
    • You put your whole heart and soul into creating a product to revolutionize the category, shouldn’t you go-to-market strategy be as innovative as the ingredients in your package. Building a solid foundation today will support explosive growth tomorrow and beyond.
  • Day 2: Understand How Your Business Works
    • Commit to learn and appreciate the different roles in your business. This will keep you grounded and help you better understand how your business works.
  • Day 3: Surround Yourself With Trusted Advisors and Experts 
    • You are not alone. Find a trusted mentor and/or advisor. Join mastermind groups that educate, inspire, and hold you accountable
  • Day 4: How To Set Yourself Up For Success In Business
    • Your Energy And Your Persona Are Reflected In Your Brand And Amplified Through Your Messaging And Your Brand Story. Set Yourself Up For Success In Business By Making YOU A Priority.
  • Day 5: How To Develop Strategic Goals With Accountability 
    • Don’t Be Afraid To Have Audacious Big Dreams. Disruptive Brands Are Leading Key Growth Trends. Use SMART Goals To Remain Focused And On Track
  • Day 6: How To Hire Wisely To Fill Strategic Skill Gaps
    • The Real Strength Of An Effective Leader Is Measured By The People They Surround Themselves By And How They Empower Them To Succeed On Behalf Of The Organization
  • Day 7: How To Know The True Cost Of Your Products
    • Accuracy Matters! Knowing the true cost of your products will give you a significant edge as you plan, forecast, and promote giving you more runway to grow and scale.

• Customer Journey 

  • Day 8: How To Master Your Why – What Problem Do You Solve
    • Know your why! How does your mission (your why) align and resonate with your customers? Communicate in a single voice with the same passion, enthusiasm, and authenticity as the founder
  • Day 9: How To Convert Your Dream Customers Into Loyal Evangelists
    • You need to own your customers! They are you most valuable asset. Build a thriving connected community to engage and nurture them – how you convert your dream customers into loyal evangelist
  • Day 10: How To Create A Thriving Engaged Community Around Your Brand 
    • Welcome shoppers into your community. Embrace them. Tell them how much you appreciate them. Invite them to co-create new products and become a part of your brand
  • Day 11: How To Become A Great Story Teller – Engage Customers
    • Become a consistent and impassioned master storyteller. Shoppers want personalization which begins with a human focus. Stories that resonate and connect with shoppers inspire brand evangelism and fierce loyalty
  • Day 12: How To Make It Easy For Shoppers To Find And Buy Your Brand
    • Shoppers can’t buy your products if they can’t find them. Make it easy for them to find and buy them anywhere they shop. Include complementary products in their shopping journey.
  • Day 13: Use Clarity And Consistency To Amplify Your Message
    • Confusion pushes shoppers away. The customer journey needs to be simple and straight forward. Help lead shoppers to the resolution of their problem and you will win them for life.
  • Day 14: Identify Your Ideal Retail Partner, Including On-Line
    • Just like every customer is unique, so is every store. Use what you have learned to find and identify your dream shopper and focus all your efforts there.

• Sales Strategy

  • Day 15: How To Become A Trusted And Respected Retailer Partner – A Category Leader
    • Retailers want and need your help! You hold the key to giving them a huge competitive edge. Become an indispensable trusted resource and partner and savvy retailers will reward you with incremental opportunities
  • Day 16: How To Use Data Analytics – The Roadmap To Future Sales And Profits
    • Knowledge is power – especially in this industry. If you want to compete at a higher level you need to adopt the advanced strategies big brands rely on. This is how you level the playing field and even gain the edge you deserve!
  • Day 17: How To Use Fact-Based Selling To Give Your Brand A Sustainable Edge
    • Fact-based selling is advanced story telling – what I call true category management. Fact-based story telling includes actionable recommendations with measurable results to give you the edge you deserve
  • Day 18: How To Make And Sell Products Your Customers Want To Buy
    • Natural is the R&D for total CPG. Natural products are driving the profitable trends. Co-creating with your loyal tribe can dramatically improve new item launches while streamlining innovation giving shoppers products they are eager to buy.
  • Day 19: How To Become An Expert In Your Retail Partner
    • No two retailers are the same. They deserve to be respected and valued. Their success is your success. Personalizing your relationship will pay huge dividends and give you the edge you deserve.
  • Day 20: Knowledge Is Power, How To Win At Retail
    • Knowledge is power – especially in this industry. Raise above your competition by becoming the trusted go-to resource retailers turn to get the edge they deserve.
  • Day 21: How To Know The Value Of Your Promotions – Prioritize Trade Marketing  
    • The best way to reduce wasted spending and explode sales is to maximize your promotional effectiveness. Get more runway to grow and scale, better valuations, and give retailers a reason to say yes to your recommendations.

• Flawless Execution

  • Day 22: Maximize Productivity, Prioritize Important Tasks And Block Time
    • Surround yourself with talented subject matter experts to give you the freedom to focus on what you do best – to innovate.
  • Day 23: Be Laser Focused, Say “No” to Distractions
    • Your success is measured by your sales. Anything that does not drive sales needs to be secondary or needs to be delegated to so someone better equipped to handle it. Say “no” to these distractions!
  • Day 24: How To Use Management By Objective To Maximize Sales
    • MBO’s break strategic business objectives into bitesize chunks making them easier to digest and more attainable. Individual MBO’s rollup to accomplish larger organizational objectives driving the business forward.
  • Day 25: How To Insure Flawless Execution Using Scorecards 
    • Scorecards map out objectives in bitesize manageable chunks that keep you on-track and focused. They help you achieve your goals – they can be the difference between success and failure.
  • Day 26: How To Develop Performance Indicators To Maximize Results
    • KPI’s act as the guard rails that keep everyone on track. They help to ensure flawless retail execution.
  • Day 27: Master Story Telling The Power Of A Unified Voice
    • Storytelling is the most effective way to communicate. The power of a good storyteller cannot be underestimated. Your brand's success relies on how effective your storytelling is.
  • Day 28: How To Create A Sustainable Advantage For Your Business, Know Your Competitors Strategies
    • Become an expert in your competition. Leverage the strategies from the 30 Days To Prosperity series to give your brand the edge it deserves.

• Next Steps 

  • Day 29: Look For And Close Category Gaps And Opportunities
    • Begin with the market basket and work backwards. How can you make it easier for shoppers to find and buy your products wherever they shop.
  • Day 30: Help Your Retail Partners – What Retailers REALLY Want!
    • Develop a collaborative partnership with retailers. Educate them about key trends they need to be aware of. Always put their needs first and savvy retailers might return the favor.

• Conclusion

  • Conclusion: You Are Now A Category Leader

Sales Success Begins With A Solid Business Plan

Featuring Michael J. O’Donnell with The Belmullet Food and Beverage Group

An Effective Trade Promotion Strategy Begins With A Solid Business Plan

A business plan is your recipe for success. A blueprint that anyone can follow to manage and grow your brand in your absence. The result is having a clear roadmap pointing you toward your target objectives including sales, profit, & distribution goals. Learn how to build a solid business plan that will help you keep on target and help you reach and exceed your sales and profit goals

You will learn:

• An Effective Trade Promotion Strategy Begins With A Solid Business Plan 
• Featuring Michael J. O'Donnell, The Belmullet Food and Beverage Group
• Brand success in the era of Covid requires creative strategies that did not exist pre-pandemic. Traditional tactics won't work.
• Retailers delisting natural brands without deep pockets making it more difficult for your shoppers to find and buy your products. There is a better way!
• Every brand struggles to grow sales with effective promotions. Rinse-and-repeat is not an effective strategy and yet most brands rely on it. This is their Achilles heel. Natural brands are at a significant competitive disadvantage. There is a better way to confidently grow and scale your brand and it begins with a solid business plan that includes a robust trade promotion strategy. Learn how this can add rocket fuel to your growth.

Retail is expensive. Learn how to build a thriving brand and avoid the pitfalls that derail and even bankrupt brands.

Retail is pay-to-play and, like any game, you need to know the rules. The better you know the rules, the more effective your selling strategy can explode your sales and profits. Your creativity can then give you a significant competitive advantage. Learn what you need to know to level the playing field and WIN the retail game!

The Retail Game – What You Need To Know With Bob Burke

You will learn:

• What retailers expect – the rules of the game
  • Hint: Rules were made to be broken BUT you can't do that IF you don't know what the rules are. Learn what's expected of you so you can maximize creative opportunities others overlook
• The critical things every brand MUST do well
  • Retailers want three things – more sales, more shoppers, and a competitive advantage. The law of reciprocation. When you help them achieve their goals, savvy retailers will return the favor
• What retailers REALLY need
  • Retailers need insights, actionable insights. Few brands help guide their retailer partners to drive sustainable sales by leveraging the strength of their brand. Learn to be more than just another brand on a retailer's shelf. Become a category leader
• How to use data to tell a compelling story others overlook
  • Knowing how to tell a compelling story with numbers is critical to your success. I've used these strategies to push big brands around my entire career and you can too

Why Most Brands Fail – The Roadmap To Sales Success

Featuring Tim Forrest with Tim Forrest Consulting

Shoppers can't buy your products if they can't find them. Flawless execution of your brand strategy is critical to your survival

Nothing is more important to the success of any brand than the customers who buy your products. They can't buy your products if they cant find them. Having a solid selling strategy is not enough – you need follow through to ensure sales success. Learn simple tips and tricks to maximize each and every selling opportunity.

You will learn:

• How poor in-store execution is THE quickest way to kill a brand
  • Hint: There is a better way to make it easy for shoppers to buy your products! Customers hate shopping trips that feel like scavenger hunts. Poor in store execution is a huge reason brands fail. This includes out-of-stocks and much more. Learn how to not disappoint your customers
• Strategies to grow sales with proper shelf placement
  • Don't leave your merchandising to anyone BUT you. Retailers cannot possibly be experts on every shopper and on every item in their store. They need your help
• Essential on-shelf merchandising strategies your competitors overlook
  • Shoppers are constantly judging you. Your merchandising is a reflection of your brand. Inconsistent, hard to find, and poorly merchandised products reduce sales and increase shopper confusion and frustration
• How to convert occasional customers into loyal evangelists
  • Give shoppers what they want and make it easy for them to find it. Sounds simple and it is. Traditional strategies overcomplicate the shopper's journey. Let's fix this!

Essential In-Store Customers First Marketing Strategies

Featuring Andrew Therrien with Big Orange Productions

You will learn:

• How to make it easy for customers to fall in love with your brand
  • Hint: There is a better way to make it easy for shoppers to buy your products! Customers hate shopping trips that feel like scavenger hunts. Product demos provide a unique opportunity to sample your product
• Strategies to dramatically grow sales with in-store marketing
  • In-store marketing provides an opportunity to get the undivided attention of your shopper. This is THE very best opportunity for you to get to know them, make a personal connection, and get realtime feedback about your product
• How to maximize product demos to drive everyday sales growth
  • There is a right way and a wrong way to do product demos. Most brands overlook strategies to maximize each and every selling opportunity. Learn why this matters and how you can use product demos to gain a significant competitive advantage
• How to convert occasional customers into loyal evangelists
  • Shoppers want to feel special and they want to be appreciated. Give shoppers what they want and make it easy for them to find it. Sounds simple and it is. Traditional strategies overcomplicate the shopper's journey. Let's fix this!

How To Drive Profits With Sustainable Packaging

Featuring Kelly Williams

Turn your packaging into a profit center. The shocking truth about sustainable packaging. Strategies to grow sales, save time, & money

Your packaging is the first impression that shoppers have of your brand. Is your packaging sustainable and does your messaging and mission resonate with shoppers? Learn how to leverage your packaging strategy to grow sales. Your brand's packaging needs to work hard and it should sell itself. Personalize your brand with your packaging. It should align with your mission and it should be compostable. Wouldn't it be great if it could also help pay for itself? Learn how!

You will learn:

• What shoppers want in sustainable packaging
  • Hint: Shoppers overwhelmingly want packaging that does not end up in the landfill. Learn about new technologies that will resonate with your customers
• Why recycling is a fool's errand
  • Fact: Most recycled packaging ends up in the landfill. Recycling is difficult, the technology is expensive, and sustainable packaging is frequently thrown out anyhow due to inefficient sorting methods. Learn why this matters and how you need a better solution for your brand
• How Earth Digestible Packaging can help you increase sales WHILE giving shoppers what they want
  • Shoppers are constantly judging you. They want products that align with their values and that includes packaging that does not end up in the landfill. Learn strategies to grow sales with this innovative technology
• How print on demand packaging can save you a lot of time and money
  • You have a new product BUT you can't start selling it until you place it in a package. The challenge is that traditional flexible packaging takes up to 6 months to get. What if you could get your products on store shelves right away? You could be selling instantly while competitors pay interest for inventory that collects dust waiting for packaging to arrive. Learn creative strategies to gain a significant competitive advantage with print on demand packaging. Learn how to turn your flexible packaging into a profit center.
    –This course complements the EARTH DIGESTIBLE PRINT ON DEMAND PACKAGING SOLUTIONS course

The right actionable insights can dramatically explode your sales & profits by making it easier for customers to find and buy your brand

Do you wish you has a sustainable and substantial competitive advantage? Now you do!

Imagine knowing who your ideal customer, where they shop, and what motivates them to choose your brand over the competition. This can dramatically impact your sales. Shoppers what what they want and they can't buy your products if they can't find them. Learn how to tilt the playing field in your favor. Data does not need to be overwhelming or overcomplicated when you have a qualified guide to maximize your potential. Maximize every opportunity! Learn how to leverage this strategy to grow sale and profits.

How To Turn Your OnLine Data Into Explosive Sales Growth

Featuring Meaghan Connell & AJ Yager with Praxis Metrics

You will learn:

• How to level the playing field between you and your most sophisticated competitor
  • True category management is the great equalizer between brands of all sizes. It includes all forms of data and insights. It can give you a significant and sustainable competitive advantage. Learn how to explode sales and profits with strategies other brands overlook
• That knowing your numbers means going beyond canned topline reports
  • Fact based selling is a critical skill that every brand needs to know BUT even the big brands struggle with this. Retailers want insight, actionable insights – not the same canned reports all of your competitors share. Learn how to level the playing field with the big brands with skills your competitors overlook
• How to use data to tell a compelling story others overlook
  • Knowing how to tell a compelling story with numbers is critical to your success. This includes ALL data. Some of the most impactful insights comes from social listening and online sources. I've used these strategies to push big brands around my entire career and you can too
• How the impact real-time retail time insights can make on your brand growth
  • Most brands rely exclusively on syndicated data which can be a month old before you get it. Consumer/shopper survey data is great for story telling but it too is historical. Imaging have real-time insights to plan, forecast, and drive sales. Harnessing the
• How to maximize your results by harnessing the power of leading experts
  • Talented Category Management Experts and Data Scientists are worth their wight in gold. They have the unique ability to find golden nuggets others overlook. They can dramatically improve your results as well as your ROI