Natural Products Field Manual, Seventh Edition: Table of Contents
Volume 1: The Basics
Table of Contents
Chapter
Page
Table of Contents……………………………………………………………………………………………………I
Copyright Notice……………………………………………………………………………………………………III
Acknowledgments………………………………………………………………………………………………… IV
About the Authors …………………………………………………………………………………….VII
About the Enclosed Flash Drive………………………………………………………………………………… X
Introduction..………………………………………………………………………………………….…XI
Chapter 1
Budgeting and Planning – laying out the roadmap ………………………………….....1
Chapter 2
Margins and pricing: Building blocks for a successful natural / specialty business……7
Chapter 3
New Products………………………………………………………………….………..23
Ø Marketing lessons I've learned from over 80,000 new product innovations,
By Robert M. McMath
Ø How A Buyer For A Key Natural Retailer Select New Products Items, Anonymous
Ø The High Cost of Going to Market, By Guru Dhan Singh Khalsa
Ø View from the Food Guy, By Lex Alexander
Ø Special Considerations when bringing Supplements & Personal Care Products to
Market By Lynea Schultz-Ela, A Natural Resource Consulting
Chapter 4
Building a Sales Organization……………………………….…………………………53
Ø Regional Sales Management 101, by Mona Frey, MoonStone Business Solutions
Ø Should You Outsource Your Sales Management? By Wayne Davey, RMAL
Ø When you’re the CEO and Sales Manager Too!!; By Paul Nardone, Immaculate Baking Co
Ø Consultative Selling, By R. Bruce Kirk, Corigens
Ø Making The Transition From A Founder-Led, Entrepreneurial Team, To A Professionally
Managed Organization, By Cory Comstock, Operating Partner, Sherbrooke Capital
Ø There’s More To Executive Search Than Meets The Eye; By Art Volkman, President,
The Volkman Group LLC
Ø Sales Force Automation, By Matthew Koch, TurnLink Solutions
Chapter 5
All about Brokers, making the most of the broker relationship……………………..…99
Ø Insights from leaders from eight leading sales and marketing agencies
Chapter 6
The important role Trade Organizations play in building your business…………….133
Ø Why You Should Get Involved, By Katherine DiMatteo, Former Executive Director, OTA
Chapter 7
General Natural Ingredient Standards………………...………………………………137
Chapter 8
Importance of Product Quality in Building Your Brand…………………….………..141
Ø By Mary C. Mulry, Ph.D, Founder, Foodwise
Chapter 9
Industry Resources, favorite bookmarks …………………………………………........145
Chapter 10
Running successful Offsite sales and planning meetings……………………..………..149
Chapter 11
Strategic Planning………………….………………………………………………….159
Ø Building principles to successful strategic planning, By Dick Albu, Albu Consulting Inc
Ø The One Page Strategic Plan By Jay Vogt, Peoplesworth
Chapter 12
Financing…………………………………………………………………….………...165
Ø Using Venture Capital to Help Grow Your Business, Sherbrooke Capital
Ø Solving the Investment Banking Mystery, David Thibodeau, Wellvest Capital / 212 Equity
Ø Anatomy of an Investor Term Sheet, Andrew S. Whitman, Managing Partner – 2x Consumer
Product Growth Partners
Chapter 13
Supply Chain Savvy…………………………………………………………………...183
Ø
Chapter 14
The A, B, C’s of building a successful Co-packer relationship.....................................199
Ø
Chapter 15
What “supply chain” means, and why you should care, By Elaine Mroz,
Mroz Consulting
By Lisa White, Vice President, Operations, Global Organics
Private Label……… ……………………………………………………………….…209
Ø The Organic Premium Label Opportunity, By John Troy, The Wizard’s Cauldron
Chapter 16
Bonus: Summary “If we knew then what we know now”…………………………….215
Ø By Co-Authors: Bob Burke and Rick McKelvey
©Copyright Notice
All material contained herein is protected by copyright laws and international treaties.
©Copyright 2016 by Bob Burke and Rick McKelvey and the Natural Products Consulting Institute, All
Rights reserved, except where noted in manual.
Unauthorized reproduction or distribution on the Natural Products Field Manual, Seventh
Edition or any portion of it, may result in severe civil and criminal penalties, and will be
prosecuted to the maximum extent possible under the law.
Acknowledgements
In addition to the unflagging support from their loving families, the authors wish to acknowledge the
following for their support and incredible insights, experiences and wisdom shared by our over 50
outside contributors
Author
Company
Topic
Dick Albu
Albu Consulting
Guidelines to strategic planning
Lex Alexander
Whole Foods, retired
View from the Food Guy
Anonymous
Anonymous
Rick Antonelli
Former President, UNFI
Anonymous interviews with key retailers on how
they select items, the influence of the broker and
characteristics of successful companies
How to best work with a distributor sales force
Dan Atwood
David Butterfield
Former E.V.P., CMO, President,
United Natural Brands, , UNFI
Former VP Marketing, New Hope
Natural Former Media
Former CAP Program Coordinator
Cory Comstock
Former CEO, Oregon Chai
Wayne Davey
RML Naturals
Steve DelBonis
Matrix Sales & Marketing
Managing trade funds
Katherine DiMatteo
Former Executive Director, OTA
Why you should get involved in a trade organization
Ginny Flower
Former Marketing Manager,
Elizabeth Bertani
How national distributor deals can drive your business
Why trade advertising is a great investment
The CAP Program: the cooperative marketing
Opportunity
Making the transition from a founder-led,
entrepreneurial team to professionally managed
organization
Is outsourcing your sales effort right for you?
Building your brand through advertising
Natural Health Magazine
Mona Frey
MoonStone Business Solutions
Regional Sales Management 101
The Basics of Trade Spending
John Giannuzzi
Sherbrooke Capital
Mary Damkot
Gary Hirshberg
Former CEO, Stonyfield Farm
Venture capital: raising financing in the natural
products industry
How to build a relationship with your consumer
Guru Dhan Singh
Khalsa
Former CEO, SGN
Sales and Marketing
The financial realities of building successful
natural brands
Bruce Kirk
Former Director of Sales
Consultative selling
Florida Crystals
Matt Koch
The Turnlink Sales Manager
Sales Force Automation
Dan Lohman
Category Management Solutions
Category Management
Justin Lutes
Former Principal, Exhibit A
Exhibit Design and Construction
Brad Magaro
President, Maximum Marketing
Lisa Mabe
Green Purse PR
Alana Mahdalik
Betsy McGinn
Director of Marketing,
National Vendor Programs, UNFI
McGinn eCommerce Consulting
National broker consolidation provides opportunities
for regional brokers
Taking a Social Approach to Reaching &
Connecting with Consumers
How a distributor views a new product’s viability in
the marketplace
e-Commerce –The New Frontier
Peter McGoldrick
Performance Food Marketing
Optimizing the broker-manufacturer relationship
Sue McGovern
McGovern Communications
Public relations
Robert McMath
NewProductWorks
Rob Mortensen
REM Ltd.
Learning from years of product mis-innovations and
packaging mistakes
The Canadian natural products opportunity
Mary Mulry
Foodwise
Importance of product quality in building your brand
Paul Nardone
President/ CEO, Medora Snacks
When you are the CEO and the Sales Manager too!
Bruce Nierenberg
Former President, B.I.N. Sales
How a broker chooses to take on a line
Bonita Oehlke
MA Dept of Food and Agriculture
State & federal resources available to exporters
Tony Olson
President, CEO SPINS
Industry overview, Using Syndicated Data
John Owens
Ridge Rock Associates
The Mass Merchandiser Trade Channel
Scott Presnall
Presnall Sales Management
How consolidation trends affect your business
Alan Purcell
Founder, Natural Food Warehouse
Building your business with the Independent Retailer
Lois Quigley
Tasteful Demonstrations
Successful in-store natural product demos
Jill Raefield
Carey Johnston
Former Oregon Chai Marketing
On-site Trade Show Management
Walter M. Riglian
Former President, WMR Consulting
Glenn Rudberg
Co-Founder,Ethos Marketing & Design The importance of developing a consistent brand
image
Manager
Trade Spending Management
Matthew Saline
Mambo Sprouts Marketing
Optimizing consumer promotional programs
Melodie Schneider
Former CEO, Mitzvah Marketing
How the retail broker rep builds your business
Tim Sperry
Former Grocery Director, Whole
Maxine Wolf
Navigating the Waters of Whole Foods
Foods, North Atlantic
Paul Stevens
Former Founder/CEO Trios Pasta
The club store opportunity
Bill Stewart
President, National Sustainable Sales
Travis Tabor
Former CEO, Advantage Sunbelt
What makes for a great principal
Robbie Thain
Makai Events
Special events marketing/field marketing
David Thibodeau
Wellvest Capital
“Investment banking” valuation drivers
Phil Tozzi
Phil Tozzi & Associates
Reviewing Your Brokers-the correct approach
John Troy
Wizard’s Cauldron
The private label opportunity
Art Volkman
The Volkman Group LLC
Executive Search
Jay Vogt
Peoplesworth
Successful off-site planning/sales meetings
Bill Weiland
CEO, Presence Marketing
The role of the broker; Monthly Newsletter Updates
Lisa White
VP Operations, Alter Eco
The A, B, C’s of Co-packing
Andrew Whitman
Managing Director
2X Consumer Product Growth Partners
Kevin A. Williams
Pure Branding, LLC
How to get the most out of your packaging
Scott Van Winkle
Cannacord Genuity
“Investment banking” valuation drivers
Food Service….Naturally
Nicole Koch
Jennifer Duval
Cover Design by: Glenn Rudberg and Judy Trepal
Ethos Marketing and Design
907 Main Street
Westbrook, ME 04092
(207) 856-2610 tel
(207) 856-2609 fax
E-Mail: grudberg@ethos-marketing.com
www.ethos-marketing.com
About the Authors
Bob Burke
As a consultant since 1998, Bob Burke provides assistance in bringing natural, organic and specialty
products to market across most classes of trade. This includes work in strategic planning, growth
strategies, writing sales, marketing and business plans, budgeting, pricing, building distribution, broker
selection and management, organizational development, strategic options, financing, branding, trade
spending management and assistance around M&A, due diligence and venture strategy groups. He is
also the co-author and co-publisher of the Natural Products Field Manual, Seventh Edition, The Sales
Manager’s Handbook and Staking out Space on the Supermarket Shelf. Prior to consulting, Bob was
with Stonyfield Farm Yogurt for 11 years as Vice President, Sales & Corporate Development and Vice
President, Marketing & Sales. He has held marketing positions with Colombo, Inc. and Sperry TopSider. He received an MBA from Babson College.
Clients: Have had the privilege of working with and learning from exciting companies such as: Annie’s
Homegrown, Oregon Chai, Snyder’s of Hanover, UNFI, No Pudge!, Kraft Foods, Bayer Consumer Care
Division, ConAgra, Kellogg’s, General Mills, Stacy’s Pita Chips, Kettle Cuisine, Small Planet Foods,
New Hope Natural Media, Bushes Beans, Equal Exchange, Stirrings, Immaculate Baking, Dr. Bronner’s
Magic Soaps, Dancing Deer Bakery, The Natural Dentist, Rice Select, EcoFish, PMO Wildwood, S.C.
Johnson, Blake’s All Natural Foods, Megafood/BioSan, Mighty Leaf Tea, Lesser Evil Snack Co., Theo
Chocolate, The Jane Goodall Institute, Kashi, Project 7, Vermont Butter and Cheese, Yoghund, Bord
Bia, American Halal, Orgain, Turtle Island, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Bausch + Lomb, Boehringer
Ingleheim, Harbar LLC, Rhino Foods, Popcorn Indiana, Stonehouse 27, The ProBar, Hail Merry,
Mamma Chia, 479 Popcorn, Heel USA, Nature's Path, Pfizer, E & A Industries, Dave’s Gourmet, Via
Sana, Sopexa USA, Mavea, New Zealand Trade & Enterprise, Bob’s Red Mill, New England Natural
Bakers, Quantum Health, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, Califia Farms and others.
He currently serves as an outside director for EcoFish, American Halal, Orgain, and King Arthur Flour.
He serves on the advisory boards of Soapbox Soaps, Smart Flour Foods, Exo, The Chaat Co., and Accel
Foods. He is a former director of Stonyfield Farm, Equal Exchange, Stirrings, Wildwood, Nutrabella,
FoodState Inc. and the Specialty Food Association. He is on the Selection Committee at Nutrition
Capital Network. He is the Co-Chair of the Specialty Food Association’s Natural and Organic Council.
He also serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of Nutrition Business Journal. He serves as a
Beachheads Advisor with New Zealand Trade & Enterprise. He is also on the board of directors of the
Boy’s and Girl’s Club of Lawrence, Massachusetts.
Bob was named one of the "Top 25 Business Builders of the Natural Products Industry for the last 25
years” by Natural Foods Merchandiser Magazine. He was also named an inaugural Senior Fellow at
Food Sol, within the Lewis Institute at Babson College.
He has been qualified as an expert witness in federal court on the subject of the sales and marketing of
natural, organic and specialty products.
Bob has delivered presentations, seminars and moderated panels at leading trade shows and conferences
such as Natural Products Expo East & West, The Specialty Food Association’s Winter and Summer
Fancy Food Shows, OTA’s “All Things Organic Trade Show and Conference”, Nutrition Capital
Network, International Keynote speaker at Innovest in Auckland, New Zealand, Natural Products
Europe in London, Bord Bia in Dublin, Canadian Consulates in Boston and Chicago, Quebec Delegation
in Boston, Kosherfest in New York, The Soyfoods Conference, Agrifood Trade Services in Nova Scotia,
Saskatoon and Quebec, the CHFA Expo East in Toronto, BevNet Live and BevNet’s FBU in New York
and Santa Monica, the Global Access Advisors conference in Melbourne, Australia, the National Health
Store Conference in London, New Zealand Trade & Enterprise educational programs throughout New
Zealand, and has been a featured trainer and speaker at Management Venture Institute forums. He is also
a presenter and panelist at the Stonyfield Entrepreneurial Institute Boot Camp. He authored the
NASFT’s White Paper on Trade Promotion.
He also runs full day seminars and networking events on “Becoming a more Effective Sales Manager in
the Natural and Specialty Channel”, “Financing your Natural and Specialty Products Company” and
“Making Your Supply Chain a Business Strength”.
Bob lives in Andover, MA with his wife, Kathy and four children: Conor, Caitlin, Devin and Rory.
Rick McKelvey
Rick brings thirty years of experience within the natural products industry. Over the past five years he
has served as Director of Sales and Marketing for O’Doughs, launching the gluten free bread brand into
the retail and food service channel throughout North America. Additionally, for the past three years Rick
has served as a Key Account Manager for Dancing Deer Baking Company, a leading national premium
baking company distributed through natural and conventional outlets.
Prior to O’Doughs and Dancing Deer, Rick served as president of The Natural Pasta Company, DBA
Putney Pasta. Under Rick’s direction, Putney Pasta transitioned from self-manufacturing to a co-pack
model and expanded from a regional frozen-filled pasta manufacturer to a national footprint with the
launch of the first line of all-natural frozen skillet meals.
Prior to Putney Pasta, Rick was Director of Sales for Fairfield Farm Kitchens where he spent five years
launching over 40 frozen organic entrees and fresh organic soups. The company emerged as the #1
national brand of organic meat based entrees and organic fresh soup with annual sales of $6 million.
Fairfield Farm Kitchens was sold to Blue Marble Foods, the branded division of UNFI, Inc.
Rick’ early years were spent as Vice President of Sales and Marketing with Lightlife Foods, Inc. He
joined the husband and wife-run business as its first Sales Manager at less than $1 million in sales.
Rick’s creation and implementation of growth plans resulted in the profitable expansion of sales to $25
million, and eventual sale to Con Agra Foods. Under Rick’s leadership, Lightlife became the number
one fresh meatless company (vegetarian hot dogs, luncheon “meats,” sausages, etc.), with nationwide
distribution through natural product outlets. Rick also successfully navigated the “cross-over” of the
brand into the supermarket trade nationally, becoming the top-selling fresh meatless brand in the U.S.
Rick also led the company’s efforts in Lightlife’s food service, private label, and international business.
Rick has served on the board of Vermont Smoke and Cure, as president of the Soyfoods Association of
North America, in the community as board member of his local Y.M.C.A. and has served several
executive positions within his church. Rick is also co-founder with Bob of the G.E.N.A. Share Group
and holds an MBA from the Isenberg School of Management. He lives in Conway, MA, where he
cherishes his family time with his wife of 30 years, Lynn, and his children, Matthew and Meaghan.
Author’s Contact Info:
Bob Burke
Natural Products Consulting Institute
8 Cobblestone Lane
Andover, MA 01810
Tel: 978-975-9902
Fax: 978-975-4502
Bob@NaturalConsulting.com
www.NaturalConsulting.com
Rick McKelvey
Natural Products Consulting Institute
P.O. Box 801
112 Emerson Hollow Road
Conway, MA 01341
Cell: 413-575-0500
RMcKelvey@NPCInstitute.com
About the Enclosed Flash Drive
The enclosed Flash Drive contains the following:
All directories are Microsoft Excel unless otherwise noted
1. Complete natural food store list segmented by “A,B” stores (Top ~1500)
Stores are listed in Microsoft Excel format for easy sorting and manipulation
2. Directory of Key Natural/Specialty Distributors (Policies, Programs, and New Item Paperwork)
3. Directory of Key Natural/Specialty Brokers (Policies, Programs, and New Item Paperwork)
4. National Retailer Account Tracker: This Excel spreadsheet of U.S. Conventional and Natural
Chain Accounts includes number of stores and distributors servicing. Useful spreadsheet for
setting account priorities, tracking progress towards placement and capturing placement gains.
5. Top 75 Supermarkets 2015 [Supermarket News, 2015]
6. Sample Broker Contract
7. Sample Sales and Marketing Budgets
8. Sample P&L models
9. Basic breakeven calculations
10. PR Database
11. “One Page Strategic Plan” by Gazelles.com
12. 7th Edition Updates
Introduction
An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.
- Niels Bohr
That is an apt observation. Another goes something like: “Success comes from good judgment.
Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment.”
By investing in this manual, you, dear reader, have taken the brave step of choosing to benefit
from many hundreds of years of combined bad judgment and mistakes made, at no small cost, by your
humble authors and the many notable food brokers, retailers, distributors and manufacturers we
consulted in preparing this manual.
If you have been at this game for any amount of time, then you know that there are minefields
everywhere, tectonic plates constantly shifting, and sometimes thin, tenuous lines connecting you to
your brokers and customers. The odds of success are long and daunting and many a good company has
gone before you and fallen by the wayside, through no bad fault of their own. Still, it’s a fun game with
great folks and, at the end of the line, the opportunity “to grow rich beyond the dreams of avarice.”
Your guides have been key players in successful companies who achieved growth, national
distribution, more growth, international distribution, built sales organizations, opened new markets,
stitched together effective broker organizations, achieved more growth … and did it all with scarce
resources. Now we are helping companies, large and small, achieve their objectives.
This field manual is for the novice as well as the veteran who is looking to build a business in the
natural products and/or specialty foods channels. It is for the large food, beverage, nutrition or body care
companies identifying opportunities in this explosive segment; the medium sized, high growth, natural
products companies seeking to optimize their opportunities; and the start-ups and smaller companies
who need to develop a sound strategy and infrastructure to realize their potential. Basically, anyone who
can pay the freight may benefit from these pages.
The difference between a field manual and a textbook is the better balance of real results, proven
as best practices and recommendations, with the right amount of theory, which you will find herein.
Also, this field manual stands on its own as a reference guide with comprehensive listings of priority
retailers, distributors and brokers. It doesn’t have a place in your library, but should always be within
easy reach on your desk, in your bag and with you on the road. It’s called a field manual for a reason!
The bottom line is that this is the “how to” manual that we wished we had when we were starting
out. It’s a lot of mistakes, bad judgment, blown calls - i.e., experience, distilled down, sorted, prioritized
and organized so as to give you a leg up on the greedy competition and dramatically cut those long odds
stacked against you. It is the road map, flashlight, reference guide, and angel on your shoulder as you
fight the daily fights with all those competing with you for your profit.
This Seventh Edition has been updated, revised and enhanced with new content to give the
reader the best shot at a successful entry and profitable growth in the Natural and Specialty Channel.
Come with us and become smarter about your business and start making progress today!
Bonus to Table of Contents
Natural Products Field Manual, Seventh Edition FAQ’s
1. Are the databases reasonably current and up to date?
a. Yes, we burn CD’s as we sell books and make every effort to stay on top of major
changes and industry developments.
2. How does the half-day consulting work?
a. It is very flexible. Some folks spread it out over a year so they can have an open door to
get questions answered as they come up, some take it all at once, and others do it in one
to two hour segments when they have a list of issues they would like to plow through.
Still others will engage us for 1-2-3 days and then take the half day off of the total
project.
3. Do you really have the answers to all of life’s questions?
a. Well…most… but when it comes to issues pertaining to bringing natural, organic and
specialty products to market across all classes of trade, for all the many things we don’t
know, we have a great network of industry friends and most answers are found within
one or two degrees of separation.
4. Are there really over $30,000 worth of money saving coupons? What’s with that?
a. Yes, many of our contributors and industry partners such as UNFI, SPINS, Natural Food
Merchandiser, Mambo Sprouts, Turnlink, Global Organics, Ignite Sales and leading PR
firms, branding companies, and others provided coupons for their products or services as
a win-win-win. It allows us to offer more value to purchasers of the manual, our friends
get exposure to new customers and our readers can defray the cost of the manual package
or in some cases come out ahead on their savings.
5. Did you write all this yourselves or did you get help?
a. Lordy no - we are proud to say that we had over 60 highly regarded, industry friends,
experts, luminaries write essays, editorials and commentary adding enormous insight and
literally hundreds of years of experience to the nuts and bolts content we provided. In
addition to the content they wrote, Bob and Rick were able to recruit some great
contributors to bring together the experience and knowledge of highly successful people
in the industry.
6. Is it true that there are clues hidden in chapters throughout the book which lead to a
fabulous buried treasure?
a. Sorry, no comment.
7. $2,999 is a bit steep for a book, what’s with that?
a. Well, first it is a “package” that includes the 4 volumes, 44 chapters of content from the
authors and the 60 outside contributors, the databases on the CD’s, $30,000 in coupons
and the half-day personal consulting by the authors. Next, the cost is a mere pittance
compared to what most companies who buy it are undertaking by bringing products to
market. Just getting pricing, margins, deal structures and broker objectives right more
than pays for the manual. For example, the chapter on trade spending and managing
deductions alone pays for the manual many times over. For more on this, please see:
http://www.naturalconsulting.com/fieldmanual/why-its-a-no-brainer/
8. Come on seriously – about the buried treasure.
a. “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek” - Joseph Campbell
Why the Natural Products Field Manual is a No-Brainer
anyone bringing natural, organic, or specialty products to market.
for
First off, here is the capsule summary of what you get for your thoughtful investment:
Briefly, the Natural Products Field Manual comes with:
- 4 volumes, 44 chapters of "go to market" content enriched by the insights and commentary of 66
industry CEO's, retailers, brokers, distributors and experts
- CD with directories of stores, buyers, brokers, distributors, budget models and PR lists
- $30,000 in money saving coupons from leading service companies in the industry
- Half-day consulting by the authors that can be structured flexibly.
1. Theaveragecompanyspendsabout15%to20%ofsalesontradespending(allowances,
slotting/freefills,adswithdistributorsandretailers).Forasmall$1Mcompany,that’s
$150,000to$200,000onthetable.Foralarger$10Mcompanythat’s$1.5Mto$2.0Mand
soon.Anyamountoftrimmingorspendingyourscarcedollarsmorewiselypaysforthe
manualmanytimesover.
2. Manycompaniesstruggletoputabrokernetworktogetherandthenwaitfortheordersto
comein.Youmaybepayingacommissionbasedonnetsalesorifyouareanearlystage
company,youarelikelypayingaretainer.Retainerscanbe$10,000-$15,000permonth
fornationalrepresentationor$1,500-$3,000perregionforspecificregions.Working
effectivelywithyourbrokerscanmaketheseinvestmentspayoffandlaythegroundwork
foraprofitablerelationship.Notdoingsoisfrustratingallaroundandresultsinalotof
moneygoingdownthedrain.
3. Manyproductsinthenaturalandspecialtychannelgothroughdistributors.Understanding
distributorexpectations,programoptionsandcostsassociatedwithgrowingyourbusiness
arecriticalfactorsforbuildingaprofitablecompanywithinthishighlycompetitive
environment.
4. It’sonethingtosaytoyourbroker,“gooutandgrowsales”.It’squiteanothertosay“let’s
getthese4itemsintotheseprioritized60storesinthisspecificregioninthenext90days.”
YoucandothatwiththedatabaseofkeystoresthatcomesontheCD.
5. Ifyouarelaunchinganewproductyouwillwanttogetthewordout.ThisManualincludes
acomprehensivechapteron“DoityourselfPR”preparedbySueMcGovernofMcGovern
Communications.YoucanthenusethemedialistontheCDtosendoutyoursnappyand
compellingpressrelease.BookflighttoChicagoforOprah.
6. AfterreadingtheexcellentchapteronbrandingbyGlenRudbergofEthosMarketing,you
canreadtheessaybyStonyfieldChairmanandCE-YO,GaryHirshbergon“HowtoBuilda
RelationshipwithyourConsumer”.Theseareamazinginsightsyoureallycan’tget
anywhereelse.
7. Inevitablymanybusinessesneedtoraisecapitalinordertofundtheirgrowth.
Understandingtheroleoftheinvestmentbankerandventurecapitalistisvital.Alsowhile
manypeopleagonizeoverissueslikevaluationanddilution,theyarealwaysinthelarger
contextofthetermsheet.Navigatingthetermsheetandanticipatingandunderstanding
theissuescontainedthereinisanessentialprocessforanyoneplanningtoraisecapital
fromoutsideinvestors.
8. Thereareover$30,000couponsforproductsandservicesforcompaniesbringing
productstomarket–checkthemout.Youwilllikelydefraythecostofthemanualormore
thanpayforitbyusingsomeofthecouponscontainedtherein.
9. Thehalf-dayconsultingcanbestructuredveryflexibly.Somepeoplespreaditoutovera
year,havinganopendoorwithwhichtocallandemailwithquestions,someuseitin
scheduledblocks,someengageusforlongerperiodsandtakethehalfdayoffthetotaltime
used.Insomecasesitisclarifyingcontentandansweringquestionsspecifictoyour
business.Inothercasesitisgettingreferralsandintroductionstobrokers,brand
managementcompanies,andotherserviceproviders.
10. Attheendoftheday,youareundertakingamassiveandriskyendeavor.Themodest
investmentintheNaturalProductsFieldManualisadropinthebucketcomparedto
takingthewrongsteponpricing,positioning,brokerselectionandmanagement,
promotionalprograms,andsomanyotherissuesanddecisionsinthisjourney.
11. Thesearebutabout10oftheissuesinthe44chapter,4volumemanual–theyallhave
greatvalue.
Lastly, we would remiss if we did not point out that despite some popular misconceptions, the Natural
Products Field Manual is not just for small startups. It has been used by large consumer packaged
goods companies, veteran larger natural and specialty companies, consultants, investors, recruiters,
universities, foreign consulates, and others. VP’s of Sales buy it for their CFO’s and CEO’s. Marketing
folks want to understand what happens in the real world, and enlightened managers get it for staff
development and for new recruits from outside the channel.
So, are you pounding the table and saying “buy!” yet? If not, please re-read.
Please email: BBurke@NPCInstitute.com or RMcKelvey@NPCInstitute.com if we can answer
additional questions.
Thanks,