How to sell your products to Costco, part 3

Hi all you Costco loving product sellers.

This will be the final post on the subject:

"The 11 crucial steps that should be followed before meeting with a Costco buyer."

If you recall we left off at step 6 which was "Other Costs", I hope these steps have been helpful let's finish it off starting with step 7.

• Potential sell through quantities: : Based on what divisions of Costco you are going after create some scenarios that show potential quantity sales. Costco has 3 divisions in the US and an international division. 1. Costco warehouse, 2. Costco.com, 3. Costco Road Show, 4. Costco Canada (Canada is Costco's second largest market with over 70 locations), 5. Costco.com Canada, 6. Costco UK, 7. Costco Mexico, 8. Costco Japan, 9. Costco Taiwan, 10. Costco Korea.
• PNL: Create an item PNL using all of the preceding information in the other Blog posts to determine viability of program. You never want to do this after the deal has been made. Entering into a program and finding out, after you are having success, that you are loosing money will be devastating.
• Costco: Decide which division of Costco you should contact first. Make initial contact with Costco buyer and gauge interest. You will probably need help here as getting through to Costco buyers can be very difficult if not impossible. If enough interest exists set an initial meeting at Costco HQ.
• Pre-meeting: Make a final decision on at least two, no more than three packaging options. Nail down your options as you will only have approximately 30 minutes to pitch your idea to Costco and you want to have time left over to discuss next steps. Make a final decision on cost pricing to include in presentation. Create your presentation and confirm your appt. one week prior to the meeting.
• Meeting: In your presentation be thorough, but not over the top. Keep your pitch smart and to the point. Be prepared for Costco to have some questions not just about your product, but about you and your company as well. Know your competition and your market. They will test you. Lastly make sure you nail down next steps and follow up before you leave the meeting.

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