How to get your product in to Whole Foods Market – Part 4 What do I say? What will they ask?
Ok, so you’ve got your great product samples, you’re casually dressed, it’s 7:00 am in the morning and your ready to go to your first Whole Foods Market. First tip, always ask for the team leader. Reason why I say this is because if the leader is not around they will refer you to an assistant leader. Now the assistant leader may be a nice guy or girl (and most are) they do not have purchasing power. So if you leave a sample with an assistant, odds are it will never make it to the leader for a decision. If the team leader is not in, give a sample to the assistant (they will appreciate it), find out when the leader is working and come back with another sample for your team leader.
You can meet the team leader anywhere in the store, don’t feel awkward about standing right in a food aisle presenting to your leader while customers are walking around. If the leader likes your product he will ask you if you are local. ”Yes!” This is the magic answer. Leaders love to support local businesses. He will ask you how you will deliver. ’Direct’ is the correct answer, meaning you will likely drive it yourself to the store. ’Are you in the system?’ The leader will ask. This is a tricky one, because if this is your first store then the only way you can get on the shelves is to have someone in the regional office put you in the system. And the only way you can do that is to have a leader who believes in your product send it over on your behalf. This means you have to be ready with proof of insurance, business docs, bar code, and an ingredients listing sheet that proves all of your ingredients are approved by Whole Foods Market. The regional office will also set you up with direct deposit to get paid. Now the first leader of your first store is going to have to do a lot of work to get you in the system. This guy will launch your entire career at Whole Foods, no other leader will have to work as hard for you as your first leader. Every leader after that is an easier sell. And when you’ve gotten in to three stores you can petition regional to put you in DVO. What is DVO? Google it now to find out, or stay tuned – Next up. First delivery