At One to One Interactions, we have the unique opportunity to work with some of the finest corporate vendor partners every day. You might be sampling Giant Eagle BBQ ribs one day, Charmin Toilet Tissue the following day and Pepsi Cola the next. Our vendor partners go through an extensive process to schedule their products to be sampled in a specific way and on a specific day. And it’s important that we do our best to deliver on their requests. After all, almost half of our business comes from our vendor partners. We depend on them just like they depend on us to sell their products.
Many of our vendor partners send us kits to use at their events. They spend their marketing dollars to provide you with tools to help sell their products. It’s important that if an event includes a kit, the kit is used and the items are properly displayed. Lead Sales Advisors also should be sure that event kit contents are displayed in the event pictures taken on the tablets. This lets our vendor partners see that we conducted a professional event and utilized the material that they provided to us. Failing to do so could cause a vendor partner to schedule fewer events with us or even stop doing business with us at all. We don’t want to cause any vendor hard feelings by not using their materials. So use and display those kits prominently. There is no sadder coupon than a coupon that goes through life never being passed out.
Nothing is more frustrating than setting up for an event, only to find that the product is unavailable. Many times when a vendor’s product is not in stock, the store management will offer another product to be used instead. This isn’t an option, in most cases. If a vendor partner is paying for an event, they want THEIR product to be used. They won’t pay for an event when we use another vendor’s product instead of their own. If you see a vendor’s name on the DEER (Daily Event Expense Report) that means that they are paying for a part of the event. So dance with the one who brought you and make sure to use their products. When a question arises about a replacement, always get your Area Manager involved. They are the only folks authorized to choose a substitute product. It is not up to Giant Eagle store management.
We appreciate the hard work that you do, and our vendor partners appreciate it, too. You are the voice of the product, in the aisles where buying decisions are made. Nobody sells better than our One to One team. Thank you and Happy Selling!!!
