Randy Schneider in Start Up Nation with partner Allen Evans

Savvy Sell-Through Tips to Keep Customers Coming Back for More

If you want to understand how important sell-through is to the success of your product, consider the case of Contech Electronics.

By focusing on shelf space and sell-through at such big-box retailers as Home Depot, the Victoria, British Columbia, startup is on pace to produce $4 million in revenues this year, and more than $8 million in ’07, compared with six-figures a couple of years ago.

“It takes more than a good product to sell well,” says CEO Mark Grambart, whose company makes motion-activated sprinklers meant to chase wild animals from lawns and gardens. “You need to spend as much creativity and innovation to sell your product once it’s on the shelf as you did in creating the product.”

Get all exclusive with your major retailers

Shelf-space is one thing, but it’s quite another to get a major retailer to give your product a chance to prove itself. One way to do it is by promising exclusivity. In an era of homogenous big-box retailing, this can be very tempting to Wal-Mart, Target, Lowe’s or other major chains.

Robin Gohsman believed Target would be the perfect retailer for Be Bars, a line of nutrition snacks he was creating. He studied similar products offered by the Minneapolis-based chain, and the gaps in its lineup. After he impressed Target buyers, they agreed to significant test marketing of Be Bars – if they could be the exclusive retailer.

“We convinced them we had the potential to increase their business because this was a line of products that was marketed and packaged differently from everything else in the marketplace,” says Gohsman, founder of Be Unlimited, in Milwaukee. “And we were willing to go it alone with them.” After a 200-store test of Be Bars in 2004, Target rolled out the line nationwide in early ’06.

Mix it up – extend your product line

With new products constantly entering the market, retailers have to be stingy with shelf space. Ironically, one way to carve out more for yourself is by offering to fill more! Once it’s clear there’s consumer interest in your product, introduce new versions and other products that make sense for your brand for a more varied mix.

Tom Szaky came up with an organic fertilizer made worm from droppings, then quickly turned his attention from large commercial sales to consumer uses. He packaged TerraCycle in eco-friendly used soda bottles, and got it on the shelves of Home Depot and Wal-Mart. Then it was up to him to keep it there.

The key was coming up with new sizes, packaging and varieties. It assured his retail partners that TerraCycle’s innovations and staying power would hold customer interest.

“We’re going to be up to 12 or 13 total products by next year,” says Szaky, co-founder and CEO of the Trenton, N.J.-based company. “And we’ll be close to hitting $6 million in sales next year after just $70,000 in 2004.”

Spread your product’s back-story

Consumers will be curious about your product once they see it on store shelves, even if they don’t buy the first time. Be ready to tickle and feed their interest – and encourage a sales by telling the story behind your product.

Figure out what makes your product, your company and even you interesting or unique. Put the facts together in a simple description or narrative or get the help of a good writer. Then tell that story in every space you can find: on the back of your package, on your Web site, in a press release to local media.

Randy Schneider and Allen Evans launched Generator Nation in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., a couple of years ago after seeing the need for emergency power sources during natural disasters. Part of every sale is donated to hurricane-relief charities. They worked with a local PR firm to get their timely story out to South Florida media, helping produce strong demand at Sunbelt Rental, the retail chain that stocks Generator Nation products.

No ad budget? Go to grassroots

Chances are you won’t be able to support your retail presence right away with a full-blown ad campaign. In that case, rely on grassroots marketing tactics. Ask if your retailer will let you hand out product samples or other freebies in the store. Start a blog that includes customer testimonials about your product. Enlist friends and family as product evangelists. Ride around your first metro markets in a panel van painted with product images and info. The methods are limited only by your imagination!

Our Bottom Line

Landing those first retail deals is only the start. From then on, it takes innovation, imagination and work to get the sell-through that keeps your retail partners coming back for more – while you watch your company grow.

Entrepreneur Magazine, Randy Schneider

Knock, Knock...

Door-to-door sales are back.

By Gwen Moran | Entrepreneur Magazine - August 2006

Randy Schneider, 32, and Allen Evans, 39, partners in Generator Nation, found direct selling to be a very effective way to reach out to hurricane-ravaged communities that needed the permanent and portable backup power systems their Fort Lauderdale, Florida, company sells.

In the wake of the National Do Not Call Registry, some companies are going door-to-door as an alternative outreach option. The Direct Selling Association, a direct-sales industry trade association, has seen an increase in inquiries about door-to-door sales. But don't knock until you've tried this:

• Check local legislation. "It does seem like there have been some increased efforts on [the] local level to put restrictions on door-to-door sales," says John Webb, associate legal counsel for the DSA. Some communities ban door-to-door selling, while others require sellers to register at the town hall. Call the municipality you're targeting to find out specifics, or you could face fines.
• Shelve the hard sell. "We ask if there is a time when we can come back and give a consultation--we don't sell right off the bat," says Schneider. This helps Generator Nation reps gain trust.
• Be identifiable. Wear a badge or other identification to show customers that you're with a legitimate company.

Randy Schneider in USA TODAY

Bush tries to soothe storm-weary Floridians

By Donna Leinwand, USA TODAY

BOCA RATON, Florida — President Bush toured battered areas of South Florida on Thursday and said "life will get back to normal" for millions left without power and other necessities after Hurricane Wilma.

		After relief delays and lengthy lines at the Orange Bowl, a Miami resident adds a meal pack to her load of ice and water.
		By Alan Diaz, AP

"Things don't happen instantly," Bush said to a crowd of volunteers serving hot meals in Pompano Beach. "Soon, more and more houses will have their electricity back on, and life will get back to normal. In the meantime, the federal government ... is responding as best as we possibly can."

Bush said lack of electricity is the biggest problem in the storm's aftermath. He said about 6,000 out-of-state power workers are in the state to help get electricity restored as soon as possible. (Related items: Video | Photos)

Hurricane Wilma struck South Florida on Monday. It killed 14 people and left more than 3 million homes and businesses without electricity. About 2 million customers were still without power Thursday, according to Florida Power & Light (FPL). Estimates of the storm's damage could reach $10 billion.

Problems are likely to linger. FPL says south Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties might not have power fully restored until Nov. 22.

Fuel and ice remained scarce Thursday. Residents stood in miles-long lines for gas. Ice and water were snatched up moments after they came in to distribution centers. Long lines of people stood outside The Home Depot in Boca Raton at 5 a.m. to buy generators.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said that 121 water trucks, 136 ice trucks and 27 food trucks arrived in the area Thursday.

Florida residents, many of them veterans of hurricanes, have been coping with problems as well as they can. Dozens of small businesses have begun to reopen, fueled mainly by ingenuity.

Outside an empty storefront along the railroad tracks, Randy Schneider, 32, of Boca Raton, posted a hand-lettered cardboard sign offering generators for sale. Schneider usually sells his generators online at Generatornation.com. But with electricity out and the Internet inaccessible for almost all Floridians, Schneider came up with a new sales plan: He loaded up his minivan with generators from his warehouse in Pompano and set up a site in Fort Lauderdale and another in Boca Raton. "It's all word of mouth," he said.

After two days of roadside business, Schneider had sold 65 to 70 generators in Fort Lauderdale and another 30 in Boca Raton. Prices range from $500 for the smallest model to $1,200 for the largest.

"I discounted a little," Schneider said. "I don't want to gouge. It's my reputation. I'm trying to brand my company. And you feel sorry for people. People are desperate."

Burgers and chicken were on the house Thursday in the parking lot of Boca Ale House in Boca Raton. "We thought it would be a nice gesture," says general manager Adam Mesmer, 34. "And if we don't cook it, it'll just go bad."

One of Mesmer's suppliers loaned the Ale House a refrigerated truck, which they'll run until the gas tank is dry. On Wednesday, he sent an employee on "an all-day ordeal" to buy a barbecue grill at The Home Depot, he said. Power came on at the restaurant late Thursday, so he'll open today.

Rooms To Go, a furniture store whose exponential growth was fueled in part by rebuilding after Hurricane Andrew, reopened at 5 p.m. Wednesday. By Thursday, two customers had strolled in, and two others had called asking about delivery of sofas, manager Vincent Rosati said.

"When people start settling insurance claims, we'll see a lot of business," Rosati said.

"We opened because our Rooms To Go employees need to make money and people need furniture," he said.

The Jaffe Animal Clinic in downtown Boca Raton never closed, says veterinarian Paul Jaffe. Last year's storms left the clinic powerless, forcing Jaffe to care for injured and sick animals in the parking lot for two weeks. This year, he purchased a generator and had it integrated into the building. The clinic boarded animals during the storm and continues to have a full house as residents leave the area to stay with friends or in hotels that have electricity.

"We've had emergencies, all types of illnesses," Jaffe said. Animals have gotten dehydrated, sick from bad water and injured from debris, he said. "I grew up in Boca, and I feel it's an obligation to the community to stay open if I can."

Randy Schneider, South Florida CEO

Board’s Up

Wakeboarding = meditation for Full Spectrum’s CEO.

By Oriane Lluch


Randy Schneider wakeboards when he wants to clear his head.

Growing up in Wisconsin surrounded by farmland, Randy Schneider always felt like a “frustrated surfer,” he says. It is part of the reason the CEO of Fort Lauderdale-based Full Spectrum Media, a communications firm with revenues just under half a million dollars last year, chose to make South Florida his home. And Schneider is no longer frustrated. Now, he wakeboards at least twice a week, and skateboards as well.

“I love board sports,” says Schneider, 32, who hopes to compete in a wakeboarding contest next year. He says it is “truly time for me to clear my head.” If you cannot find him in the offices of his 10-employee company, chances are he is hitting the water at a local cable park, where overhead wires enable watersports enthusiasts to try out different moves.

Wakeboarding is similar to a snowboarding on water while being pulled by a boat, preferably in calm waters. It evolved from the techniques used in water skiing, snowboarding and surfing: Wakeboarders strap their feet to the board, hold onto a tow line, and ride on top of the water behind a boat, getting enough speed to do tricks. “When I’m behind a boat or at Ski Rixen, the cable park, there is no better feeling than flying through the air at 20 miles per hour, holding a handle and flipping or spinning your body,” Schneider says.

“The adrenaline rush is indescribable, especially when you learn a new trick. The high lasts for a week.”

Although Schneider still surfs and skateboards, he explains that since he picked up wakeboarding in the early 1990s it has been his passion — despite having “blown out” both of his knees and injured a rotator cuff. He attributes these bodily sacrifices to his affinity for learning new tricks. Today he owns seven wakeboards and dozens of skateboards. Even though he practices yoga, Schneider finds his wakeboarding hobby to be his real form of meditation. “Luckily, I’m now in a position where if I wanna go, I go,” he says.

Schneider’s entrepreneurial instincts came as early as his interest in boarding sports. By 13 he was selling skateboards from his parents’ basement. A self-taught businessman, Schneider decided to find a way to turn his adult passion for board sports into a business, too, and founded 5boards.com, a Web site that sells wakeboards. “If I love something, I spin it into work,” he says of the site, which gets almost 200 visitors each week and updates fellow boarders about local events. Anyone who contributes work to the site gets a share of its profits. “Someday that site will be very busy,” he believes.

His ultimate goal, though, is to resemble a fellow wakeboarder who is 75. “He is in incredible shape. He loves wakeboarding, and it’s his only exercise. I could only dream to be like that [at his age].”