How To Leverage A Broker: Tips For Successful CPG X Broker

“I think I need a broker” -said every new CPG founder ever. But what a broker can actually do for your brand, how to find a good one and most importantly, how to leverage them and build a successful partnership?

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First things first, what is a CPG Broker? A broker, or a good broker rather, acts as a liaison between brands and retailers. Their job is to help get and keep your products on the shelves of your goal retailers. You can work with an independent broker or a large brokerage, that is up to you and can come down to budgets, preferences, and each can bring different services and “add-ons” to their packages. Once you choose the right fit, it’s important to ensure you start off strong and make the most of working with them, after all, it’s an investment.

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Communicate Often

Keep them in the loop. As with any brand partners, it’s so important to make sure your broker understands your product and brand inside and out. You want a broker that can help advocate for you and to do that they need to be in the loop on what’s happening in the brand. Stock issues? Your broker needs to know. Price increase? Tell them early. New SKUs? You know the drill.

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Learn About All Of Their Resources and Services

You are likely looking for a broker for a specific reason, maybe it’s to get into a certain retailer or help with distribution in a particular region, but you might be missing out on getting the biggest bang for your buck. Brokers often have a whole list of services and resources available to you that not enough brands take advantage of because they don’t know about it. Some examples are field teams to do audits in store etc.., access to data and analytics from the major data houses like Nielson, Spins etc…, regional call representatives for you to get in touch with retailers and support to help you set appointments with retailers to name a few.

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Do Your Part

Hiring a broker is not a “set it and forget it” type of thing. In order to  be the most successful partnership possible, you need to take on an active role. Dig into your data, be the one talking with buyers too, communicate with your brokerage and make sure everyone is up to speed on all aspects of the brand. It’s your business and you will always be the one working the hardest for it, who knows the most about it, and who brings the passion for it to the table. The worst thing you can do is hand it off and expect results without investing yourself into the process even if it’s the best of the best broker.

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A successful broker partnership can be a gamechanger for CPG businesses, like anything it’s about finding the right partner and working to make it a success. Any brokers have tips for CPG brands that we missed?

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Drop us a note: contact@westock.io

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