Happy Friday everyone! I run a marketplace that is connecting African brands to global retail stores. Does anyone have experience in reaching out to retailers? I would really like to have a meeting. Thank you

Hi Cynthia 👋 I have some experience in retail and marketplaces - altho not exactly what you’re looking for here. Maybe I can help you but I’d need to hear a bit more about your challenges.

Hey @Cynthia Asije, I've heard several examples from my friends working with retailers. The most effective way to connect the two parties, is to reach out to the global retail stores directly. But you should prepare for that outreach very good. 1. Find relevant tools for outreach (you can try Apollo, a tool where you can find contact details like phone number, email, LinkedIn profile..) and at the same time you can create email sequences to reach out to them or arrange cold calling tactics with your sales team. 2. You need to prepare your pitch presentations very well. Make sure to introduce the gains for the global retailers and shine a light on the products/brands that are already in the marketplace. 3. Build a strong sales team. 4. Last but not least, when the retailers are on board, make sure to prepare and execute a very good onboarding plan, so they stick to the marketplace and dont leave. Also I would suggest to try first with smaller retailers, because the bigger the company, the harder to start a conversation 🙂 I hope that you find this helpful.

Hello @Tina Thank you. Our challenge is in getting retailers to come on board and purchase from the brands.

No problem Cynthia, if you need any advice or a person to talk to regarding this challenge you can DM me any time 🙂 Im pretty active in this community