Halloween has popped up in both our personal and business lives. Bonnie’s mother and Michael’s father were both born on Halloween. Somehow, we discovered we had this in common within an hour after we met. Also, the concept for the Barefoot wine label was developed at a Halloween street party in Santa Barbara.
Halloween has different meanings in different cultures. In ours, it’s all about trick or treat with witches… Read More
Halloween is More Than Trick or Treat
World’s Best Sale Pitch: “My Product will help you Increase Sales”
We’ve spent over two decades in sales, and it’s true – nothing happens until the sale is made. We have a friend who described her sales job as “conveying the value proposition of (her) product to (her) buyers.”
There are many books written on the subject of sales, sale techniques, and best closing strategies. We’ve often said the best sales person is the “Assistant Buyer”. The key to sales success… Read More
Tailor Your Message to What Your Audience Wants to Hear
If you want to make a statement, tell them what you want to say. If you want to make a deposit, tell them what they want to hear. Sounds simple enough, but what do they want to hear and who are they anyway?
Every successful business learns eventually that there are a whole lot of folks between them and their end-user. Each one wants to hear a different message for a different reason. Sometimes we get so excited about our new idea… Read More
Improve Your Chances of Success by Starting Small and Carefully
As long as your product is not in a specific market or retailer, it can’t be discontinued. Once you are discontinued you may never get back. You’ve got one shot. Take careful aim and hit just one bullseye at a time.
The shotgun approach may get you more distribution in the beginning, but, due to complications and idiosyncrasies in the distribution system, or due to you own underestimations of labor and oversight, your… Read More
The Advantages of Being a Small Start-Up – Part 2
This is the second installment in a four-part series designed to encourage small start-ups by recognizing some of their inherent advantages.
Small start-ups face a myriad of challenges. They are undercapitalized, unproven and have no market traction. They are up against the status quo that will use its established power and influence in the marketplace to suppress any new challengers. Buyers are reticent to take… Read More
Positive Company Culture is critical to Growth and Survival – Part 3
This is the third part in the series about the original Barefoot culture. Culture really sets the tone, boundaries, and expectations the team has toward your company, your mission and your product.
We’ve saved the best for last because having a common cause and a common challenge forges, more than any other single factor, positive company culture.
When you are growing especially a new a brand, something… Read More
Distribution: The Distance between a Great Product and a Sale – Part 4
In the previous three posts we have given just a few examples of the importance of Channel Distribution Management in product design. Here we will examine two of the most important factors in product distribution through conventional channels:
14. Stack it! It is great to get your product on the retail shelf, but getting it stacked on the floor is infinitely more valuable. When your product or brand is new, there… Read More
Distribution: The Distance between a Great Product and a Sale – Part 3
When the producers of any product first go into business, they tend to think they are in the production business. In fact, if they are to succeed, they are in the Distribution Management business. Distribution Management trumps production because without it, your product may never make it to the shelf – no matter how good your product is.
With a good understanding and implementation of distribution management, you… Read More
How To Get Your Product To The Market
You may have a great product at a great price, and people may really want it, but that doesn’t mean you can get it to them. If your product is sold in retail stores, like most consumer goods, it probably has to go through conventional distribution channels. In order to get to the end-user, you must customize your pitch to everyone along the way. You must make all of the seven sales. They are:
Your Own Staff. Both your sales… Read More
