The ECRM Podcast

ECRM's Joseph Tarnowski and entrepreneur, speaker and author Sterling Hawkins discuss how we can drive breakthrough results in business and life by regularly seeking activities that bring us out of our comfort zone, a topic Hawkins writes about in his new book, "Hunting Discomfort: How to Get Breakthrough Results in Life and Business, No Matter What."  

They cover several topics from the book, including: 

A 12,000-unit order from a major retailer, just months after launching. That's what Fichi Fig & Nut Bites Co-Founder Steven Tripoli experienced at ECRM's Plant-Based Foods session last year. Here's why he crushed it at our meetings: 

First, the products: Fichi Fig & Walnut Bites: Ingredients: Figs, Walnuts. Then there are Fichi Fig & Almond Bites: Ingredients: Figs, Almonds. Clean, simple ingredients. Beautiful packaging. A delicious, plant-based snack. Nailed it on the product front. It was hard to resist eating the whole bag at once.  

Second: He's got his biz squared away. Knows his numbers inside and out; has his supply chain locked down, test-marketed his products at local retailers for feedback.  

Third: He crushed his ECRM virtual buyer presentations. Conducted deep research for every retailer on his appointment list. Selected the 5-minute meetings and kept his presentation concise: only 5 slides that covered the products and how he would help buyers drive category sales as a partner. Left most of the meeting time for buyer engagement and questions.  The result: In addition to the initial 12K unit order, that retailer already re-ordered, plus Steve also has a few more opportunities in the works!  

Relationship and partnership blind spots can do more than hurt you; they can put you out of business.

These days, our industry is facing increased costs, looming inflation, limited face-to-face interactions, and an evolution in consumer behaviors, making strong retailer-supplier relationships more important than ever before.

“Partnerships are under more pressure than ever,” says Dan Mack, Founder and Managing Director of Mack Elevation.  “They are under duress because of the pandemic, digital transformation, hyper-competition and a lot of additional factors.”

When it comes to selling CBD to mass retail consumers, generating trial is critical if you are looking to tap into the vast swath of shoppers who are new to the segment. But it’s far from easy. Retailers must drive awareness of the segment, furnish a wealth of information quickly and in a format that’s easy-to-understand, have a product assortment that caters to a variety of needs and tastes, and a price-point that is not too prohibitive. 

One could say that Paul Adrian, Founder & CEO of U.K.-based Mojo Skin & Haircare, had a successful experience at ECRM’s recent European Personal Care Virtual Program. Not only did his company win the Buyers Choice Award for its Hair Molding Clay, but his products were picked up by the Ideal World TV shopping channel just days after his meeting with them, and his products were featured just last weekend. Plus, he’s in the midst of several follow-up conversations with buyers from the program, and is expecting a few more wins to come out of them. 

Mojo is a premium men’s grooming and styling range, and currently offers four products that cover most men’s hair types and are sold in more than 3,000 stores in Europe and Australia. In this episode, I speak with Paul about the origin of the company, how he approaches retailer relationships, and his experience meeting with buyers at his recent ECRM session. He also discusses his upcoming skincare launch, and his plans to leverage ECRM's virtual platform to launch in the US next year. 

In this episode, ECRM's Joseph Tarnowski speaks with Kara Goldin, the Founder & CEO of Hint, which is best known for its beverages, but also has a line of personal care products too. She's a groundbreaking entrepreneur who has received a ton of accolades during her career, including EY Entrepreneur of the year for Northern California, InStyle's Badass 50, Fast Company's Most Creative People in Business, and Fortune's Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs. The Huffington Post listed her as one of six disruptors in business, alongside Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg. 

If you want to CRUSH IT in your next virtual buyer meeting, well then this podcast is for you. Alli Ball, Founder & Principal of Allison Ball consulting lays out five steps to creating a perfect virtual buyer pitch. And Alli knows a thing or two about pitching buyers. She's a former buyer turned wholesale consultant who has helped hundreds of emerging brands understand what it takes to get their products on the retail shelf. 

She's the creator of Retail Ready, an online course for producers of packaged food products seeking to succeed at retail, and the host of the Food Biz Wiz podcast, where she shares behind-the-scenes secrets and thought processes of buyers as they asses new products for their retail operations. 

Prior to launching her consulting business, Alli was essential in the development of the Bi-Rite family of businesses in San Francisco, sourcing products and consulting with hundreds of up-and-coming food businesses for years. 

Lots of great information here for all emerging brands, particularly those participating in ECRM Virtual Programs. 

In this episode, I speak with Michele Deeves, Retail & Marketing Lead for South African pharmacy chain Medicare Pharmacy Group. Michele is a veteran ECRM session participant, attending in her first in-person session more than a dozen years ago, and has recently participated in both our Euro and U.S.-focused Virtual Sessions. In her role as retail lead, Michele heads up the front-end buying across all categories, and takes us through how the pandemic has impacted shopper behavior in the South African market. She also discusses how the retailer has been sourcing and merchandsing various categories as country-wide restrictions and consumer demands have varied widely over the past few months. She wraps up with details of her experience with ECRM's Virtual Sessions, and how they have enabled her to find trending products from suppliers around the world -- all from the comfort of her home office. Lots of great South African market insights in this one. 

For our 100th podcast, I wanted to do something a little special, a little different. So we're going to teach you how to sell without selling by building a powerful personal brand. My guest on this podcast is personal branding expert Lorena Acosta, the Founder of Be Busy Being Awesome Agency, who coaches business leaders on how to develop and engage an audience of followers who share their values and beliefs, and to create content that builds trust and creates meaningful, long-lasting relationships. 

We discuss what personal branding is (and what it's not), how to build your tribe of engaged followers, and how to leverage social media -- and LinkedIn in particular -- to make this happen. And Lorena knows a thing or two about LinkedIn, as she recently surpassed 1 million followers on the platform. Lots of great insights in this one, and I certainly learned a few things to apply to my own personal brand building efforts, and I'm sure you will too.

This episode is a great one for anyone who participates in virtual meetings - which is basically everybody these days. I had the opportunity to chat with Wendy Saltzman, CEO of Philly Power Media about how to effectively communicate and engage with people in a virtual setting. Wendy coaches executives, entrepreneurs, celebrities and sports figures about how to deliver strong presentations, whether in-person or virtually. 

And she definitely has some credibility in this area. In fact, she's won three Emmy Awards during her 23-year career as a broadcast journalist, so she knows the ins and outs of working in front of a camera. She provides a variety of practical and easy-to-implement tips on how to put your best foot forward on screen, and we cover areas such as framing your visual space, lighting, camera angles, the importance of smiling, and -- how to even avoid mumbling. I certainly walked away with a lot of things to apply to my virtual meetings. 

During the initial phase of the pandemic, essential items were considered to be things like food, hand sanitizer and of course, toilet paper. But as the stay-at-home orders began to span months, the definition of what was essential has shifted. Now it includes products that keep us occupied, that help us to work and learn from home, things that help us to prepare meals, and many of these products fall under the general merchandise umbrella. 

One impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is that it has changed the mindset of retailers and the way in which they view thier supplier partnerships. They have new expectations when it comes to supply chain capabilities, innovation, and consumer engagement, and trust is now more important than ever. 

In this episode, ECRM's Wayne Bennett speaks with Dan Mack, Founder & Managng Director of Mack Elevantion Forum, they discuss this new retail mindset and provide some insights on how suppliers can best engage with them moving forward. 

Dan is a strategist, advisor and performance coach to numerous companies in the consumer package goods industry. He is the founder of the Elevation Forum Leadership Group and he hosts thought leadership events bringing together retailers and suppliers to discuss higher level partnerships and the future of the industry. He researches and advises executives on the practices of elite growth companies in his first book, Dark Horse: How Challenger Companies Rise to Prominence. 

Mack was a sales and training leader at GlaxoSmithKline, served as Vice President of Sales at GOJO Industries (the creator of PURELL) and Vice President of Sales at Dentek Oral Care. He as a passion for coaching leaders on creating high performing sales cultures. 

https://mackelevationforum.com/

Total Cluster Fudge makes several lines of baked goods ranging from the unapologetically indulgent to the healthy and nutritionally dense. Founder Alisa Shakespeare has seen a ton of success with ECRM's digital solutions. Her RangeMe Verified Premium profile received more than 1,000 views from buyers in just two weeks. Her Efficient Supplier Introduction presentation resulted in a pending retail deal that should be closed any day now. And on top of this, she had six buyers contact her immediately following her participation in ECRM's first virtual session. One buyer said that Alisa's virtual presentation was among the most memorable that she's ever seen. 

In this episode, ECRM's Joseph Tarnowski speaks with Alisa about her approach to leveraging these various digital platforms, and in particular about what makes for a successful virtual presentation. They talk about the meeting space setup, the presentation delivery, and the importance of passion and energy in driving engagement. There's a lot of great insights here for any supplier looking to participate in one of our virtual offerings!

Overstock.com's Kate Soffe was among the more than 70 buyers who participated in ECRM's first virtual session ever: the Healthy Living, Vitamin & Nutrition session, which was held last week. During the span of four days, ECRM hosted more than 630 face-to-face meetings between buyers and sellers of vitamins, supplements and nurition products on the Connect platform. 

In this episode, Kate gives us an overview of her experience with the virtual session. She discusses how she worked with our client success team to prepare for using the platform and its tools. She then gives details on she used those tools during her appointments to take notes, rate the meetings and communicate followup timelines to suppliers. What's more, all of this information was accessible on the followup site, which she was able to review following her meetings. This enabled her to start her followups with suppliers as soon as the session ended. We wrap up with a look into the future, and the role virtual will continue to play as we get out of the pandemic.

Clorox was one of the supplier participants of ECRM's very first virtual session, the Healthy Living, Vitamin & Nutrition Program, during which we hosted more than 630 meetings between buyers and sellers in the vitamin, minerals and supplements categories. It's line of Better Health brands includes Renew Life, a probiotic and cleanse brand; Rainbow Light, which specializes in premium multivitamins and prenatal supplements; Natural Vitality Calm, a magnesium brand; and NeoCell, a premier collagen brand. 

During this podcast, ECRM's Joseph Tarnowski speaks with Bob Richardson, Director of Customer & Industry Development and Alla Scharlinski, Clorox’s Customer Development Manager for National, Grocery and Club about their virtual session experience. Among the things we touch on are: how they worked with our Client Success team to get set up and prep for the meetings; their experience in using the platform itself; additional benefits that a virtual setting provides that you just can't do in-person; and how virtual platforms will change how buyers and sellers engage in the future. 

Any supplier who is considering participating in one of our sessions should definitely check this out!

Andrew Young is the Vice President of Product Management and Vendor Relations for CBD Emporium, a retailer with stores across Arizona that offers a full range of branded and store brand CBD products. Its associates provide a very consultative approach to customer interactions, making them the go-to spot for first timers as well as veteran CBD users. In this interview, ECRM's Joseph Tarnowski and Andrew discuss the retailer's approach to selling CBD products, as well as how he discovers, vets and partners with the vendor community. 

And due to travel restrictions from the Covi-19 pandemic, he's increasingly turning to virtual meetings to accomplish this -- such as ECRM's recent CBD Beverage Efficient Supplier Introduction program. He relates his experience with the ESI, and even offers some tips to suppliers on how they can crush it in their virtual presentations.