1
“The broker owns the strategy.”
The broker can help execute and sharpen the plan. The brand must still own the shopper, category, retailer, product, and commercial strategy.
C13 • Broker Effectiveness Mini-Course
Your broker may not be failing you.
You may be managing a shared sales force as though it were dedicated to your brand.
Get clearer expectations, stronger accountability, and more reliable retail execution from the broker relationship you are already paying for.
One broker
One retailer
One clearer plan
Get Instant Access — $97
Focused. Practical. Built for immediate use.
The expensive misunderstanding
Hiring a broker is not the same as building a dedicated sales team.
A broker may represent many brands, manage hundreds of items, support several retailers, and work within systems designed to create consistency across the portfolio.
The broker brings reach and retailer access. Your brand still has to provide the strategy,
priorities, tools, standards, and definition of success.
Watch the course preview
Stop waiting for the relationship to improve on its own.
Learn why good brokers drift when the operating expectations are unclear—and how to create a simple rhythm that helps both sides succeed.
The three beliefs that keep brands stuck
Better broker performance begins before the next status meeting.
2
“I need to manage every activity.”
You do not need another full-time job. You need a clear decision, an owner, expected evidence, and a predictable review rhythm.
3
“A new broker will fix it.”
Sometimes the fit is wrong. But changing partners without changing the operating model often recreates the same frustration with a different company.
What you will learn
Lead the relationship without micromanaging it.
- Define the broker’s role and the brand’s role
- Clarify what success looks like
- Focus activity on the priorities that matter
- Set practical KPIs for distribution, pricing, promotion, and placement
- Use a simple scorecard to make progress visible
- Create clearer retailer-ready direction
- Build a consistent follow-up rhythm
- Decide whether the issue is clarity, execution, capability, or fit
The quick win
Apply the course to one real relationship first.
Do not begin by trying to repair every account, region, and broker team at once. Start with one broker, one retailer, and one priority where better clarity can change the result.
Your first Broker Clarity Review
1. Name the priority
2. Define the expected action
3. Identify the evidence due
4. Decide the next move
How I learned it—and earned it
I have worked on both sides of the broker relationship.
I experienced the shift from a highly trained direct sales force to an indirect broker model at Kimberly-Clark. Later, while working with SPINS, I supported Natural Specialty Sales and other broker organizations from the inside. That perspective changed how I understood the problem.
The lesson was not that brokers are bad. The lesson was that a shared sales force needs clearer direction, tools, priorities, and accountability than most brands provide.
What changes
Stop managing personalities. Start managing outcomes.
Before
- Updates feel vague
- Priorities shift constantly
- Retail execution is inconsistent
- No one agrees on what “good” looks like
- The founder keeps stepping back in
After
- Expectations are visible
- The broker knows where to focus
- Evidence supports the conversation
- Follow-up produces a decision
- The relationship becomes easier to lead
Your instructor
Daniel Lohman, CPSA
I have worked across store operations, field sales, broker management, category management, mainstream CPG, natural and better-for-you CPG, syndicated data, trade, retail execution, and founder leadership.
I also know what it feels like to be the founder depending on outside partners to represent the brand well. This course is designed to give you a practical first step—not another theory-heavy project.
Frequently asked questions
Still deciding?
Is this course anti-broker?
No. The goal is to help good brokers succeed and help the brand become a better partner. Clear expectations, useful tools, focused priorities, and accountability improve the relationship for both sides.
What if my broker really is the wrong fit?
The course helps you separate a clarity problem from an execution, capability, or fit problem. That gives you better evidence before you renew, restructure, or replace the relationship.
Do I need sophisticated data or a new platform?
No. Begin with the broker updates, sales reports, retailer priorities, and information you already have. The goal is a clearer management rhythm, not another software purchase.
Who is this for?
CPG founders, CEOs, sales leaders, and commercial teams that use a broker or outside sales partner and want clearer progress, stronger execution, and fewer recurring surprises.
How quickly can I use it?
Apply the framework to one broker, one retailer, and one priority as soon as you complete the course. The first goal is not a company-wide transformation. It is one clearer plan and one better conversation.
What is the guarantee?
You have 14 days to review the course. If it does not give you practical ideas you can use in your broker relationship, email Retail Solved and your purchase will be refunded.
One relationship can become the proof
Get more value from the broker you already have.
Start with one broker. Clarify one priority. Build one operating rhythm your team can repeat.
Instant access • 14-day money-back guarantee
