How to Sell Your Product in Target Stores

By startupprincess | Published October 23, 2007

I love Target, don’t you? Wouldn’t it be amazing to sell to them? If you have the resources to produce 9,000+ units, then you should consider it! Fairy Godmother, Margie Zable Fisher of Zable Fisher PR writes the following article about how to get your foot in the door with Target. She writes:

Can I share a secret with you?
It’s not all that hard to get Target interested in selling your products. Why would you want to sell to Target? Well, each of mf2_200.jpgthe 1,500 Target stores usually orders at least a half dozen products from each vendor — that’s at least 9,000 sales right out of the gate! Sounds like a pretty good reason, right? Plus, Target is the place to sell any high design products “Tar-jay”, as it is sometimes called, has a certain cache.

So how can you get a Target buyer interested in your product? Here are some ways that a Target buyer I spoke with finds new products:

1. Attending trade shows. Do you skip exhibiting at trade shows because you think they’re a waste of time and money? Think again. Many Target buyers find new products at trade shows. It’s a great way for the buyers to see many products at one time.
2. Publicity. For product companies, publicity provides a double-win: not only do you attract consumers willing to buy your product, but you also attract the attention of retailers who might want to sell your product. My Target buyer source tells me that reading about a great new product in a magazine or newspaper, seeing it on a TV show, or reading a favorable review about a new product online is a great way to get her attention.
3. Sales Reps. Large retailers like Target often work with professional sales companies that show them products that would work for them. All these sales companies do is sell to large retailers, so they have access to many buyers.
But there’s a LOT more to it…
What criteria does Target look for in a product?
What financials do you need to know before approaching Target?
Will you manufacture or license your product?
When can you expect to be paid by Target?
How long is the process?
WHERE do you start?

To learn MY step-by-step formula for getting your products on the shelves of Target and skyrocketing your sales, see my Special Report, “How to Get Your Product on the Shelves at Target, available here: http://zfpr.com/target.htm.

Margie Zable Fisher is president of Zable Fisher Public Relations, the leader in small business public relations. She publishes the ˜PRactical P.R.’ weekly ezine with thousands of subscribers. If you’re ready to jump-start your business through low-cost and free public relations and publicity techniques, get your FREE tips now at http://www.zfpr.com.

Now it’s your turn: I want to know if any of you have already tried to get a product into Target, what was your experience?? How did you get your product noticed? What recommendations do YOU have for other Startup Princesses who want to sell to Target?

Share
This entry was posted in Feature and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.
Become A Startup Princess

Startup Princess is an international network committed to empowering Women Entrepreneurs by offering resources for women in business to support, mentor, collaborate, learn from, and inspire one another. In 2006, after struggling to raise funding for an initial startup business venture, Kelly King Anderson recognized an important market niche existed for reliable resources educating women desiring to start and grow successful businesses, thus Startup Princess was developed.

Successful women entrepreneurs understand that for every business venture, they are in charge of creating, organizing, developing, managing, and assuming all the risks associated with their enterprise. That can seem quite intimidating but as other women business owners will tell you, it’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it! Success is within your grasp and Startup Princess is here to help.

First, join as a member of Startup Princess and start building a solid foundation. Membership entitles you to a listing in the Startup Princess Online Directory where we list women owned businesses. You’ll also access exclusive content like articles, videos, and audio straight from your email inbox. Coupled with feature interviews, discounts on events, networking connections, and press opportunities, your Startup Princess membership will give any woman entrepreneur a great start for her business!

Then, take advantage of Touchpoint, our annual business conference for women entrepreneurs. Practical planning meets sky-high inspiration at this high-impact event for women business owners to network and develop their approach to business with wisdom and creative direction from other women entrepreneurs across the country.

Need a little help taking your business to the next step? Wish you had a fairy godmother like Cinderella offering you a helping hand? Now you can! Startup Princess is the home of Fairy Godmother Consulting, volunteer mentors sharing tips and insights to bless the lives of other women entrepreneurs.

Startup Princess can offer many benefits to women in business from future women business owners to successful women entrepreneurs. Please call or fill out our contact form with questions, concerns, or general interest and let us help you by giving you full access to everything Startup Princess has to offer!