See the true event cost
Look beyond the discount to allowances, fees, deductions, forward buys, execution problems, and internal time.
Free Guide + Promotion ROI Self-Audit
Sales went up.
Did the promotion actually work?
Use the report you already have to uncover the true cost, separate profitable demand from rented volume, and decide what to repeat, revise, or stop funding.
Download 8 Strategies to Maximize Your Trade Marketing ROI and run the first check on one real promotion.
No new software required
Practical founder-first framework
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Get the free guide + self-audit
Use it with the report from your most recent promotion.
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The most expensive promotion may be the one you repeat because sales went up.
Look Beyond the Sales Spike
The report may be accurate and still answer the wrong question.
A useful promotion review should tell you whether the event created value — not simply whether volume increased for a week.
Separate demand from rented volume
Check trial, repeat purchase, baseline sales, shopper behavior, and whether the lift continued after the event.
End with a decision
Decide what to repeat, revise, narrow, strengthen, or stop — then assign an owner and the next action.
Before You Repeat the Event
Ask five better questions.
The guide helps you put these questions into a repeatable promotion review.
What job is the promotion supposed to do?
What shopper behavior are we trying to change?
What does the retailer gain?
What is the true cost?
What should happen next?
What’s Inside
A practical check you can use before the next promotion.
- Eight strategies to make trade spend work harder
- A Promotion ROI Self-Audit
- A diagnostic for margin, timing, execution, deductions, rented volume, and decision-quality leaks
- A clearer way to define the job of every promotion
- Questions that connect shopper behavior, retailer value, economics, and execution
- A simple framework for deciding what should change next
Start With One Promotion
You do not need to rebuild the entire trade system.
Use the report you already have. Make one real decision. Then turn what works into a repeatable process.
1
Pull the report
Choose one promotion your team is already planning to repeat.
2
Run the check
Review purpose, shopper behavior, retailer value, true cost, execution, and post-event performance.
3
Make the decision
Repeat it, revise it, narrow it, strengthen it, or stop funding it.
Built by a Founder. For Founders.
Practical retail clarity from someone who has been there.
I’m Daniel Lohman, CPSA, founder of Retail Solved and host of Bulletproof Your CPG Brand. I help entrepreneurial CPG brands protect runway, improve execution, and make stronger retail decisions with the resources they already have.
Frequently asked questions
Who is this guide for?
It is for CPG founders and growth-stage teams that fund retail promotions and want a clearer way to protect margin, improve execution, and decide what should happen after the event.
What do I need before I use it?
Start with the report, promotion recap, invoice detail, or notes you already have. No new platform or perfectly cleaned database is required.
Is the guide really free?
Yes. Enter your email and first name for immediate access. You can unsubscribe at any time.
What happens after I download it?
You will receive the guide and related founder-first resources. The immediate goal is to use the guide on one real promotion and make the next decision clearer.
Before you repeat the promotion, run the check.
Use the guide with one real event. Find what worked, what leaked, and what should change next.
Get the Free Guide
Instant access. No new software required.