The Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease

This week I have a challenge for you if you sell products that are manufactured by someone else.

All of your suppliers have a vested interest in your success, and most of them have access to extraordinary marketing funds and resources beyond traditional co-op to help you sell more of their products.

The problem is, seldom does anyone ask for these funds! If you don’t access those funds, you are literally throwing money away, or worse yet, your competitors will scoop those funds and use them against you.

In our “How to Leverage Your Suppliers” Marketing Muscle, tactic number one is “Tender your Next Ad Campaign”. Present a written proposal for submissions for marketing support from all of your suppliers outlining your proposed advertising schedule and investment, along with any special displays, promotions, demonstrations or other exposure the winning bidder will receive.

Many business owners believe their hands are tied to rigid manufacturers’ restrictions if they use manufacturers’ co-op advertising funds, but seldom is this the case.  The Squeaky Wheel, often times gets the grease!

If you are an appliance dealer, for example, and you sell GE and Whirlpool, your GE representative has a vested interest in you featuring GE versus Whirlpool in your ad.

If you make a presentation outlining the kind of campaign you propose to sell more GE without using the standard GE script or ad copy that the manufacturer supplies, it will generally be approved by their office because they don’t want your campaign to feature their competitor.

Still, other businesses opt not to leverage their suppliers’ marketing muscle because it takes time and effort. In today’s competitive environment you need to take advantage of every competitive edge you can.

These types of ideas can also work with service oriented companies.

A few years ago, I started working with a wholesaler who set up a deal to get an extra 50% co-op rebate that was above and beyond the standard co-op program.  We found three of their dealers who have jumped on this special program and spend $100,000 in advertising, half of which they get back in credit on supplies they would have bought anyway!

This takes extra effort, extra planning and extra time to set up, but for these 3 local dealers and their wholesaler, it has paid off handsomely for the past 3 years.

Want help exploring this idea for your business? Contact me and also Click here to retrieve our FREE “How to Leverage Your Suppliers’ Marketing Muscle”.