Finding Candidates: Buying Begins With Selecting Right Vendor

From "Buying Custom P-O-P" Nobody, evidently, takes the example of the "Little Engine That Could" more to heart than your average P-O-P salesman. This executive's story is not at all atypical: "I started calling on [a large CPG company] in 1989 and did not get my first order until 1992. That first job was for $60,000, and I made do with small orders like that until 1997, when I finally got a chance to work on a big product launch. That's how you have to do business with big clients and get their business. It takes time." "Persistence" some might call it. "Being a pest," say others. Renee Richardson, head of store planning and design for Disney recently advised P-O-P executives to make sure their sales forces "keep knocking at the door. A new philosophy might be as simple as a change in upper management in the accounts, or a change of market share." But she also had a warning: "You can't go in like a bull in a china shop and just say, 'Look at me! Look what I can do.'" Karen Formico, manager marketing services at Hartford, WI-based Broan-NuTone LLC, agrees: "I appreciate seeing a well-rounded experience base, but with the caveat that vendors are showing examples of their versatility -- not just page turning through their portfolios." Indeed, many marketing executives concede that pursuing their business involves something of a Catch-22: They'd prefer to be approached with a well-tailored, highly consultative sell, but they are so time-pressed and harried that just getting their attention sometimes requires jamming a foot in their door. "What is really frustrating is when we are constantly bombarded with phone calls," says Jennifer Dunlap, vice president, visual merchandising, Warner Home Video, Burbank, CA. "We're always happy to look at your portfolio, and we keep them on file. But there's one salesman out there who persistently calls me each month and seems to expect me to drop everything and meet with him. They could be the best supplier in the world, but his approach to getting in the door is such a turn-off that I have no interest in working with them. I understand that it is tricky for them with so many companies out there. But we want to work with the best of the best -- and that's reputation-driven." Bill Brownell, director of retail marketing for Xbox at Redmond, WA-based Microsoft, told the 2005 P-O-P Industry Congress that he dislikes mass e-mail "blasts" and newsletters. He deletes those immediately. However, he will take time to read a personalized e-mail. He also told the crowd that he was surprised at how rarely vendors who exhibit at trade shows will even bother to send him a note requesting an appointment at their booth.Meet & GreetIndeed, most of the CPG brand executives we talked to think it's a good idea for producers to build name recognition through creative marketing efforts and, if nothing else, just by attending industry events. "When we got the go-ahead from our CEO to redo our entire permanent program," says Jon Boeve, manager of merchandising and promotions at Skokie, IL-based Rand McNally, "I first met with my supply chain group, and we, as a group, picked 10 suppliers in the industry. These were all people that I knew but had not necessarily worked with. They were people that I'd seen and gotten to know at meetings, seminars and tradeshows. I called each one of them individually, explained what we were doing and asked them if they'd be interested." Dunlap agrees: "I usually look for new vendors through personal referrals or by seeking out a company that has a specialty, such as lenticular, that I might have a particular need for. I then check their portfolio and client references. Another way I find people is by meeting them at industry seminars." Once that first meeting is managed, what factors come into play? Opinions differ. "The most important element a P-O-P supplier offers is great design," says Clint Oberst, president of Erlanger, KY-based Consortium Cos. "Aside from the basics -- and in this day and age, everyone bidding ought to be offering competitive costs, on-time service and acceptable quality -- design drives effectiveness as it relates to form, fit, and function. Design drives brand equity and connection to the shopper. And most importantly, design drives all costs." How does a P-O-P producer go about demonstrating that level of expertise? "In general, we look for proof of successful past projects that would be of a similar ilk to our own needs," says Broan-NuTone's Formico. "This proof might be in the form of a portfolio of finished work or testimonials from other clients. We also look at things like financial stability, the size of the company and its years in business, the client roster, industry reputation and the account manager's personality. We look for the right fit in terms of manufacturing location, facilities and transportation connections. In the case of the major home centers, we also look at a suppliers' relationship with the retailer, past history, their knowledge of the retail environment, their contacts and organization." The role of the retailer in the P-O-P development equation has changed dramatically in the past decade. Some prospective clients want to know if a producer is on a particular retail chain's "approved vendor" list (often denoting that the retailer has employed the producer to develop in-house signage or private-label displays), and if not, will that be a problem (usually not). On occasion, however, some chains will dictate (or at least strongly "suggest") which producer should do the work on account-specific projects. "We see some of that here and there," says Mike Draver, president of Wetzel Brothers, Cudahy, WI, "and it cuts both ways. Sometimes, we're the producer that a brand is being told to use. We've learned that we have a lot of relationships with retailers and I don't think in the past we fully appreciated the value that brings." At a minimum, a producer should have access to a chain's "retail specs," which set forth policies on in-store issues ranging from display sizes and authorizations needed to shipping procedures. Channel BlurringCPG executives should expect suppliers to have a firm grounding in a variety of retail channels, says Aaron Henschel, CEO of Englewood, NJ-based Henschel-Steinau: "In a world of channel blurring and ever changing consumer-shopping patterns, P-O-P producers need to have experience in virtually every retail channel from Wal-Mart to dollar stores to the corner bodega. The days of one-size-fits-all in-store marketing are ancient history. P-O-P suppliers need to understand how to navigate the challenges of creating not just retail channel specific programs, but account-specific promotions as a subset."Consequently, don't forget to tailor your pitch to the individual brand's needs, says Microsoft's Brownell. When producers are presenting their services, they should invest in customizing it by learning the prospect's business, developing exclusive creative ideas and presenting them accordingly: "And I don't need to see your portfolio of cosmetics displays." It might take some real digging to truly understand a brand's business, product category and retail channels, experts say, but one sure (and often overlooked) approach is to simply inventory the merchandising elements the prospect currently has in stores. Then, think of ways to critique, enhance and pitch better versions of them without -- and this is important -- insulting a roomful of executives who most likely approved them in the first place. Formico says she's often surprised by the lack of research on the part of potential vendors: "It only takes a few minutes to go to our website and learn about our products and where we sell," she says. "Don't show me lipstick displays and beer signs if I'm trying to develop something for Circuit City. Another common mistake salespeople make is mispronouncing our corporate name or assuming that we are the 'shaver' company. You'd be shocked at the number of sales professionals who do not do their homework. My all-time least-favorite pitch is the 'they can save me a lot of money' angle. How do they know? Do they know my program and its cost?" Customizing a pitch, however, has its limits. Jeff Pacelt, president of The DNI Marketing Group, St. Charles, IL, says that at one point, his company adopted a strategy of designing for companies before they even contacted them. "We'd then call and say, 'Hey look, we have got some ideas for you.' Now that is extreme, and producers can only afford to do things like that when times are really good." The plant tour, on the other hand, presents a more cost-effective calling card. In private, P-O-P producers will tell you that some brand executives have been known to give the tour portion of the day a cursory glance on their way to a golf course. A true professional, however, like industry Hall of Famer John Pender, will take the opportunity seriously. The Schering-Plough executive recently told P-O-P Times that one P-O-P supplier impressed him by simply inviting him in for a plant tour before they'd even discussed a project or contract. The tour made that company stick in his mind. Likewise, smart producers will use these events to size up prospective customers. "Nearly all of our new clients send a representative to one of our facilities to better understand who we are and how we would best fit into their vendor mix," says Brian McCormick, vice president of sales at Chicago-based Rapid Displays. "This is a sign of an organization that cares about on-time deliveries that meet their high quality standards. I believe that such due diligence would raise the overall industry standards if it were widely adopted." Consortium's Oberst agrees: "You want to work with companies that value and understand P-O-P, and have a desire to continuously improve costs -- not simply look for ways to drastically cut them. And you need to work with companies that are willing to be transparent with their suppliers."You can count Jon Boeve among the willing. In order to get the right creative presentation for a Rand McNally merchandising re-design, he spoke to each of the 10 producers he contacted individually, for an hour, showing them every display the company has fielded since 1978. He included those images in the detailed notebook he gave each of them, along with a CD of all relevant logos and design guides. His goal was to make the presentations "a very level playing field." After the 10 producers submitted their concept boards, Boeve and his supply chain team sat in a closed room and debated their relative merits, assigning points to different areas. "It was mostly about creative," he says, "But they had to show some forward thinking. Did they actually go out and research our business?" The next-to-last step will be presentations by four finalists to Rand McNally's senior managers, who will then pick the winning company. To properly prepare them for this session, however, the ever-diligent Boeve will give each of his bosses a background briefing, explaining the program, the expectations and the deliverables. He's also careful to give them a foundation for their decision: "I'm asking them to focus on the creative design, the modularity, and the flexibility of the different pieces," he says. "I don't want them to worry about the graphics as much, or get hung up on color. The key is to stay focused on the way the systems will work."

Finding Candidates: Buying Begins With Selecting Right Vendor

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