The retail submission process is a critical part of the retail industry. It is the process by which retailers submit their products to be sold in stores. While it may seem simple, there are a lot of steps involved in it. And in this episode, Timothy Bush discusses the different steps involved, from initial contact to product placement, and offers tips on how to make the process go as smoothly as possible. By the end, you will have a better understanding of the retail submission process and why it is so important to the success of your product.

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Growing your Ecomm product business in a saturated digital marketplace is no easy task. That's why Carolyn Lowe is here to help! Carolyn is the CEO and Founder of ROI Swift, a digital marketing team helping emerging consumer brands grow their business. She is also the author of Business Growth Do's and Absolute Don'ts: Applied Wisdom from My Work with Dell, Costco, Amazon, and Multiple Start-ups. In this episode, she joins Timothy Bush to give expert advice on expanding your profits on and off platforms such as Amazon. Carolyn offers insights on how to manage business plateaus and brand aggregators. Plus, she shares her thoughts on the supply chain issues and her predictions for Amazon's next move in marketing. Look out for your business by tuning into this interview.

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Creating thoughts, ideas and possibilities is the very essence of an inventor. However, turning those ideas into tangible reality is what separates the doers from the dreamers. Helping inventors from all over the world do just that, Tim invites 3X patented toy inventor, Women in Toys Wonder Woman Finalist and one of the 100 most influential women in Toys and Games for 2020, Azhelle Wade. Azhelle shares with us her journey and the lessons she learned along the way that can help you bring your toy idea to life. She discusses what it is like to work for somebody versus being an entrepreneur and working for yourself and why it is important to pitch a vision and not just another product and how. As the Founder and President of The Toy Coach™, Azhelle then shares some great materials that can help toy inventors out there have their products realized while giving us her insights into where she thinks the future is heading for those in the toy industry.

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Have you ever heard the phrase “Fake it, till you Make it”? I am sure you have. In this episode we are not talking about being fake, however we are talking about changing your mindset. How would your confidence level change if your product was already a success? How different would you be with buyers if you already had over 2 million in sales. The answer is “MUCH DIFFERENT”! If you want to grow your sales and have more confidence give this episode a listen. Acting as if may just be the best way to start out your 2017. Happy Holidays! Don’t forget to book your End of Year Session with Tim, Link below: http://www.tlbconsulting.com/plws.html

As you know no business can survive without customers, however customers have many different retailers and businesses to choose from when deciding where to spend their money. When it comes to acquiring customers and keeping them for life you need an edge. Richard Shapiro is here to give us just that edge. Richard, who is the President at The Center For Client Retention, shares a wealth of knowledge on how to gain and retain customers. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain the edge you need over your competition. Richard Shapiro can be found at any of the links below: rshapiro@tcfcr.com http://linkedin.com/in/RichardRShapiro http://twitter.com/RichardRShapiro http://facebook.com/RichardRayShapiro http://www.tcfcr.com/ As you heard at the beginning of the show we have opened up some Work w/ Tim slots exclusively for our On The Shelf listeners. Don’t miss this opportunity to spend an hour one on one with Timothy Bush planning your success in 2017. Whether your product is for sale or going to be for sale Tim can help you streamline your year to take advantage of every potential opportunity for product distribution. Don’t wait, these slots will go fast. Click below to secure your spot. http://www.tlbconsulting.com/PLWS.html

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from Louie La Vella first hand as he walks us through the challenges of Social Media. Louie provides such tremendous insight into how creating documental content can put your product on the tip of everyones tongue. This is a different way of looking at marketing through Social Media and you will not want to miss a word. Enjoy! More about Louie: Bio Louie La Vella’s clients are entertainment personalities, nightclubs, concerts and festivals, and he creates brand and marketing strategies to engage and connect with their audience. Working within the ‘shark infested waters’ of the nightlife and music industry as a marketing and branding consultant, La Vella has been delivering high profit solutions to both live entertainment events, musicians and venues for years. With 20+ years experience in the nightlife industry and extensive development and production experience with national television projects. Author, Speaker, Event Producer and Coach. La Vella has produced and marketed over 30 live music concerts in the past few years. Winner of the Niagara Music Awards Promoter of the Year (2012). Juno Awards (Canadian Music) dance category committee. Has been called a Media-preneur: Combining a successful TV executive producer and host role with being a sought after marketing/branding consultant in the nightlife and music industry. In his television days he had the opportunity to interview the likes of Lady Gaga, Richard Branson, Backstreet Boys, and more. Social: http://facebook.com/louielavella http://twitter.com/louielavella http://instagram.com/louielavella

With pre holiday sales, holiday sales and post holiday sales it can be hard to remember or even accept when prices finally go back to normal. We had a Big Boxer write in with the Question “If I discount my product over the holidays will it hurt my brand?” If you have ever had a similar question don’t wait another minute to listen and find our the answer. Enjoy your Holiday Sales!!

No matter how much you prepare, how much you plan, how much you research sometimes things just do not go as planned. Although we have been in many successful buyer meetings we have also been in our share of meetings that did not go as planned. How do you come back from a bad buyer meeting? Listen and find out.

When is it time to approach a buyer for an in-store display opportunity? This was the question posed to us by Big Boxer Tyler Roberts of Game Time Sidekicks. In this episode Tyler agrees to come on the show to discuss this topic and several others. We had a really great time getting to know each while discussing a little business. Don’t Miss this opportunity to hear from a Big Boxer just like you. Let’s get right into it…..

TLB has always had a specific strategy we follow when launching new products for sale to the consumer. We follow a specific path that has been successful time and again. If you have patience and follow the path we cover in this episode, you also, will have success. Can’t wait to see your products on the shelf.

Hey Big Boxers have you ever struggled with vendor paperwork? Trying to get all the required information together and fill out all the forms can, at times, be daunting. Getting this paperwork back to the retailer in a timely manner can either accelerate your on-boarding process or slow it way down. TLB is about to share one of our best kept secrets with you, For FREE! Not only do we cover some great tools to tackling this task, we are also offering our audience the exact form we use to make our vendor on-boarding process a snap. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to get your FREE Vendor Prep Worksheet. Just click the link below and claim your worksheet. Free Vendor Prep Worksheet

If you have a product concept or maybe you have a prototype and are wondering how to get it across the finish Line, don’t miss a minute of our conversation with Filip Valica, founder of The Product Start Up. In this episode we discuss how Filip got his start, what he is passionate about and how he helps his clients take their products from concept to reality. Filip Valica has been a mechanical engineer and engineering manager for 12 years- designing, testing, and building products from cradle to grave. He has worked for a broad range of companies from mom-and-pop small businesses to some of the largest corporations in the US. His hands-on point of view resonates with other action-oriented small business owners and entrepreneurs. Filip is the founder of The Product Startup, a site that provides a step-by-step blueprint to aspiring product creators wanting to bring their ideas to market. Through interviews with successful small business owners, inventors, and Shark Tank winners, he explores DIY Product Development. Filips Links: Website: http://theproductstartup.com/ Podcast: http://theproductstartup.com/listen Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheProductStartup Twitter: @productstartup

Understanding what buyers need and want from you and your company is the key to giving it to them. In this episode we explore some little known facts about what buyers are looking for and how you can rise to the top by providing these items. Don’t miss a single word. We spoke about the Private Label World Summit kicking off today and I wanted to provide you the link to securing your spot. https://plsummit.com/private-label-world-summit?affiliate_id=510236 We also spoke about our 3pk pricing worksheet product being on sale for 50% off. If you ever wanted to create multiple pricing strategies, this is the product for you. Don’t miss your change to save 50%. http://www.tlbconsulting.com/do-it-yourself.html

Business is, by nature, unstable, and entrepreneurs recognize that dealing with setbacks is just another facet of their job. Entrepreneurs live in a world of constant flux, and things can change on a monthly, weekly or even daily basis. If you’ve been in business long enough, you would know failure and disappointment like the back of your hand. Yet entrepreneurs, by virtue of being entrepreneurs, have the gall to get back up and thrive even with this constant barrage of problems, barriers and backtrackings. How do they do it? Join Timothy Bush as he distills the things he learned from his 11-year entrepreneurship journey into a 5-step strategy and learn how you can apply it to your own business.

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Hey Big Boxers welcome to a special episode. Not only have we reached our 70th episode, but this episode marks On The Shelf’s 1 year anniversary. We would like to say a huge thank you to all of our listeners for helping make this show possible. We have enjoyed bringing you content week after week and look forward to what this next year will bring not only for our show, but for you, the listeners, as well. Get ready to take notes Big Boxers, it is time to go to school. Bill Carmody, founder of Trepoint, walks us through the core of digital marketing and how to make it work for you. He shares little known secrets and breaks down cutting edge techniques to help grow your business. Don’t miss a single word. To learn more about Bill and his company see all his contact information below. Influencer Marketing – http://www.trepoint.com/influencer-marketing Bill’s Company – http://www.trepoint.com 225 Inc Articles – http://www.inc.com/author/bill-carmody 66 Youtube Videos – https://www.youtube.com/user/billcarmody Twitter: @billcarmody Bill’s Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/marketingwhisperer Bill Carmody is the CEO of Trepoint. He was a founding partner and CMO of Seismicom, a leading brand promotions agency. He is the acclaimed author of the book “Online Promotions,” and has contributed to various marketing publications. Bill has presented at dozens of industry conferences and tradeshows across the globe. Bill is passionate about integrating wireless, online, sponsorship, events, and traditional marketing disciplines.

Hello Big Boxers, at times we can be to close to our products. When this happens it is difficult for us to see them for what they really are or what customers will actually pay for them. Having a retail price that is to high and not justifiable can hurt your sales and ultimately affect your entire project. In this episode we offer 4 areas to consider when looking at your retail pricing. Is your retail price to high? Have a listen and find out. For those of you wanting to check out the Private Label World Summit please click the link below. https://plsummit.com/private-label-world-summit?affiliate_id=510236

Hey Big Boxers, January is just around the corner. If you hold off on preparing for 2017 until January, it will be to late. Once January hits you will be slammed with running your business and being on top of buyer deadlines. This is not the time to get away and begin planning for business that is already happening. It is crucial that you and your support team spend time now working on your 2017 plan. We hope this episode gives you a head start on those plans. We look forward to your feedback. Happy listening.

This week we are continuing our 3 part series on the 3 Ps of Retail; Product, Packaging and Pricing. In Part 3 we cover 4 key parts of building a great pricing model. Thank you for listening and continuing to provide your thoughts and questions. Keep it up. Happy Selling. If you are interested in learning more about TLB Consulting’s great retail pricing templates click here!

This week we are continuing our 3 part series on the 3 Ps of Retail; Product, Packaging and Pricing. In Part 2 we cover the main pieces of creating packaging that will engage the consumer and ultimately help them make a buying decision. Thank you for listening and continuing to provide your thoughts and questions. Keep it up. Happy Selling.

This week we are starting a 3 part series on the 3 Ps of Retail; Product, Packaging and Pricing. In Part 1 you will learn how to determine what type of product you have and how that determination will help in your overall sales strategy. Thank you for listening and continuing to provide your thoughts and questions. Keep it up. Happy Selling.

In this weeks “Mistakes to Magic” we cover the importance of reading through your vendor paperwork carefully. Listen to the story of a company whose mistakes cost them their profit and how you can turn their mistake into magic for yourself. Happy Listening.

In our final installment of the series “Common Mistakes Companies Make When Pitching Their Products To Costco” we will cover three main areas to consider when trying to unseat the current vendor for your product. If you have a product and Costco carries a competitor you will not want to miss this episode. Happy Selling!

In today’s debut episode of “Mistakes to Magic” #M2M, we share a true story of a PO that was canceled just prior to delivery, what mistakes were made to facilitate the cancelation and how you can turn those Mistakes into Magic. Don’t miss it! If you are interested in learning more about TLB Consulting’s great retail pricing templates click here!

Hey Retail Suppliers, we are back with the 4th installment in our series “Common Mistakes Companies Make When Pitching Their Products To Costco”. Today we are discussing the feasibility of wanting to take your product to Costco first. If you have ever wanted to know where Costco should fit in your overall retail strategy, don’t miss this episode. Happy Selling Tim If you are interested in learning more about TLB Consulting’s great retail pricing templates click here!

Things will never be as they were before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and marketing is no exception. With a lot of people staying at home, digital marketing is making its way to the mainstream at an unprecedented and unforeseen pace. For the longest time, however, the industry has been dominated by the bigger players, and smaller businesses are having a hard time making their voices heard in digital platforms. Carolyn Lowe, the Cofounder and CEO of ROI Swift, is passionate about helping emerging businesses grow by amplifying their voices in a noisy digital market. Tune in to this On the Shelf episode as she talks to host Timothy Bush about some digital marketing strategies that small businesses can use to up their game in the new normal.

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If you have ever wanted to pick the brain of an actual retail buyer, this is your episode. Salah Khalaf, former buyer for Walmart and Sam’s Club for over 20 years shares his experiences and expectations as a retail buyer. This episode is not to be missed. It contains little known insight direct from the buyers we try to connect with everyday. Also back for a second time is Joe Tarnowski from ECRM. Joe and Salah have become friends through work and together they add a dimension to the episode that makes it a must listen. We look forward to your thoughts and questions on this episode. For more information on Salah: Salah Khalaf Cell (479) 270-9676 khalafsa@outlook.com Twitter ID is @khalafsa and Linkedin is Salah Khalaf.

In part 3 of our series on common mistakes companies make when pitching to Costco we cover logistics and how to ensure you are covered long before making your pitch. Don’t miss next Monday’s Podcast where we will be having a conversation with a former Sam’s and Walmart buyer. Get ready to hear your questions answered from the inside, right from the buyers who receive the information you send everyday. Don’t miss the chance to submit your questions and have them answered right on the show. We will be taking twitter and Facebook submissions up to Wed night at 12pm EST. We look forward to hearing from you and getting your questions answered on the show. See you there.

Sending a buyer sample is exciting! It is a critical step in getting your products on the shelf. It means you have convinced the buyer review your actual product, not just paperwork. How do you ensure this process goes smoothly? How do you prepare the products you will be sending and what needs to go with them? These questions and more will be answered in this weeks episode. Thanks to Kim for submitting the question. Listen and enjoy. Happy Selling

We are back with the 2nd common mistake companies make when taking their products to Costco. Thinking Costco will change their business model to accommodate your product is #2 on our list of 5. Why won’t Costco bend to the will of your product? Have a listen and find out. Happy Selling!

Hey folks, There are many mistakes companies can make when pitching their products to retailers like Costco. Believe me, I have already made most of these and learned the hard way. So that you don’t have to learn the same why I did we have narrowed it down to the top 5 mistakes we feel are most common. These will be coming to you in 5 short podcast over the next couple weeks. Listen and enjoy. Cheers and happy selling, Tim

Based on popular demand we hit this topic again. Pricing your product for retail is so important you definitely do not want to leave these key costs out of your model. Retail returns Freight to the retailer Marketing Development Fund Markdown Fund Have a listen and let us know what you think. Is there anything you plan into your pricing that we have not mentioned? Let us know. Happy Selling!

In one of our most exciting discussions yet, the Team at ECRM walk us through the ECRM platform and how to get the most out of the opportunity. If you are interested in getting your products in front of no less than 60 buyers in less than 3 days you will not want to miss this episode. I had a great time with Joe and Sarah from ECRM and appreciate them taking the time to come on the show. If you are interested in attending an ECRM Show please click here. Look forward to seeing your products on the shelf.

If you have ever wondered “Are bugging your retail buyer by following up to much?”, this Podcast is for you. Learn how to follow up in a professional manner that will get you the results you are seeking. Enjoy!

Everyone knows that sales can sometimes slowdown in the summer. Vacations, heat, kids out of school can disrupt the normal sales cycle. At TLB we teach our clients that you do not simply have to accept this slowdown. There are systems you can put into place avoid and sometimes even reverse your summertime sales slowdown. In this episode we cover 4 different strategies you can use to save your summer sales. Listen up!

When you are in a slump and your product sales slow down, it might be time to hit the road. Sometimes getting out into the field can be the best possible thing. Today’s episode is a “Start Your Week Wisdom” encouraging everyone to change things up once in a while. If what you are doing is not working, do something different. Last week we took a road trip to sell some product and help one of our clients. The trip really helped them get back on track. We hope this podcast will be just the motivation you need if your product sales are in a slump. Enjoy! If you do something different to get out of a slump please let us know, we would love to hear it.

Whether you’re an inventor wondering how to manufacture your product and expand into sales or an Amazon seller looking to expand into retailers, the fact is the ability to sell product right now is big. On today’s show, Timothy Bush talks to Steven Selikoff of the Product Development Academy, a company that teaches everything you need to know – from unique product concept, through factories and manufacturing, to getting your products onto retailer’s shelves. Want to know all about developing a product from the onset all the way through to getting to retail? Then this is an episode you don’t want to miss.

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Getting paid for your product is one of the main reasons you do what you do. Getting paid is what funds everything. More product, better systems, more help etc. If you are not going to get paid, what is the point? Right? This, our 50th episode, covers the “when” & “how” related to getting paid for your product. Enjoy! We look forward to your feedback and seeing your products on the shelf. Happy Selling!

There are a ton of moving parts that go into launching a product. This episode covers an often missed part of the process that could cost you thousands, even millions. If you are launching or just began selling a product you do not want to miss this episode, it could save your business.

In this weeks program we offer some sound reasons why you should always have and maintain your own website. A website if for more than just selling product, take a listen and see if you are using your website for all the right reasons. Don’t forget to leave us a comment and let us know how we are doing. Let’s keep the conversation going. Keep selling.

This weeks main podcast is all about understanding how Costco Roadshow works and is it the right place to sell you products. Getting into Costco can be a daunting task which is why Costco Roadshow can make a lot of sense to get things started. Give it a listen and decide if Costco Roadshow is for you. Leave some comments and let us know if there is anything about the program you would like to know that we did not answer. Happy Selling!

In this weeks “Start Your Week Wisdom” we discuss the dangers of putting to much pressure on sales to solve all your problems. It is true, sales can cure a lot of issues, however setting a sales budget that is a complete fabrication simply because that is what you need to stay afloat is a recipe for disaster. Have a listen and weigh in with your opinion. Thank you for your part in making this a great Podcast.

Our “Question Answered” for the week related to stock on-hand. Our listener wanted to know if he needed a lot of product on-hand before approaching big box retailers and if so, how much should he have? Press download to hear the answer. Thank you for the questions and please keep them coming. Have a great weekend. Happy Selling!

Selecting the right retailers to launch your product and brand can make or break how your brand will be perceived long term. Don’t miss this in-depth discussion with “Brand Guru” Ellen Rudy from Polyphony Branding where we cover everything you need to know when looking for retail partners. Check out Ellen Rudy’s website! As always, we look forward to your questions and comments. Happy Selling!

We know that everyone has struggled with the question: Is my product on the right track? Is my product going to make it? To help answer these questions we have put together a short 3 stage checklist to help you know if your product is heading in the right direction. Some of the inspiration for this list came from the book; The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell. If you have never read this book, put it on your reading list. Click here for the link. Let us know how you like this episode and if you have any questions. We look forward to your comments and suggestions as they help us build this podcast into a real tool for all of you. Happy selling!

Have you ever found yourself with too many advisors? So many people giving their opinions that you can’t make a decision or stay on course for very long? This problem can sink a business fast and the worst part is you might not even know this is happening. In this episode we will talk about the 3 ways you can determine if you are in this situation and what to do about it. We look forward to your thoughts and comments. Happy Selling.

Should you give exclusivity to any distributor wishing to sell your product is our “Final Thought Of The Week”. This question comes up enough that we decided to address it on a podcast. Although this episode covers primarily International distributors the information can be used for all distributors. Thank you for keeping the questions coming, we appreciate the support you have all shown toward the podcast. We are interested in your comments as well so please let us know which podcast is your favorite. Happy Selling.

The world can be a scary place. We never know how many bad people are lurking out there. As fathers, we can’t help but be scared for the lives of our children who are out on their own. Departing from talks about products, Timothy Bush goes in-depth into a necessary topic that we must all learn, especially in these uncertain times: self-defense. Timothy invites over an expert, John Frederick from Frederick Tactical, to teach us how we can protect ourselves in times of trouble. Providing not only some tactical defense tricks, John also teaches how we can keep ourselves out of 90% of situations that could get into a violent encounter. Tune into this great episode to learn not only how you can defend yourself but also how you can send your loved ones out in the world safe and protected. 

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For our 40th episode we are answering a frequent question from one of our listeners regarding private labeling his product and if it is a good idea. I am sure you have asked yourself this question before as well. Have a listen to gain some insight and hopefully answer the question. Thanks for the question, keep them coming. On Friday we will be covering the topic of Distributor Exclusivity, don’t miss it.

Selling product to retailers is a calculated strategy. When and how you go to retailers matters as much as what you are selling them. In this weeks “Start Your Week Wisdom” we provide some key insight in to how you should set your sales calendars and what to consider when approaching retailers. We look forward to your comments regarding the episode and if it was helpful. Don’t forget to let us know what other topics you would like to see on the show. If you enjoy the show or know someone who would please pass it on.

Is your product not meeting your expectations with regard to sales? In this episode we explore several key exercises you can take your product through to help trouble shoot the issue. We would love to hear what challenges you are facing in your efforts to get your products on the shelf. Happy Selling