Everything I Know About Sales,
I Learned in Kindergarten, Part One

By Janis Dalessandro

Editor's Note: As part of our continuing commitment to industry education at the Fiery-Foods & Barbecue SuperSite, we are pleased to present a new, three-part article for our College of Chile Knowledge e-zine. Here are the techniques that a former newbie to the industry used to put her gourmet products into stores all over the country.

As those of us who have taken the leap and established our own companies know, there really isn’t a formal course you can take to learn how to most effectively move your product from the warehouse to the consumer’s table. While our industry can sometimes be difficult to navigate, I’ve found that the basic life lessons I learned way back in elementary school can make the twists and turns of our business a little less daunting while delivering the marketing successes for which we all strive.

Here then, are the things I’ve learned that have helped d’Oni Enterprises pave its own road to success:

Be Like the Little Engine That Could

I guess you could say I am lucky. I've picked my projects carefully and can honestly say I haven't failed. Not to say that breaking into the gourmet foods industry has been easy -- it hasn't. As with everything, the ebbs and flows of small business are filled with mountains and valleys. In the end, it's really how you climb or cross them that means the difference between success and failure.

I started my company with no formal sales experience to speak of. I suppose you could count my years as a darned good cocktail waitress; I could upgrade anyone from Smirnoff to Absolut or from Moet to Cristal in a moment, but that really is the extent of it. In my last job, I'd attended Tom Hopkins and Zig Ziglar sales training seminars, but that really didn't translate well to the realities of the gourmet foods industry (wait, you want me to break down the cost of my Burning Desire Habanero Hot Sauce to the ridiculous? Why?)

So what helped us put d’Oni products on shelves throughout the United States and Canada? Tenacity, that’s what. I know I have a good product and I know that if given the opportunity, others will come to know that, too. Like that little train we all read about as children, "I think I can." And as a result, I have. Sure, it takes time. And yes, it takes effort. But oh, how good it feels when that train finally pulls into the station and you get to put your feet up and celebrate your success.

Do Your Homework

Arming yourself with market stats, your company's stats, and offering them up with a dose of personal sincerity is going to take you a lot further than quoting Dale Carnegie to a buyer who may have already read the same books you did. As a result, I quickly formulated my own personal theory about sales: a buyer's job is to buy, but they don't necessarily want to be sold. They want to see products that have merit, either through quality, niche market--or in a lot of cases, products that will make their stores turn their real estate into a profit. Talk may be cheap. But numbers provide actual proof.

Preaching the importance of market analysis seems silly because it’s so basic. But I’ll say it again -- break down your market to numbers that tell your story beyond the usual sales buzzwords that buyers hear ad nauseum. In my case, it was easy. I was my own market. I led an active, busy life. I worked full-time. I didn’t have hours to spend preparing meals yet I wanted the food I ate to be something better than the relatively unhealthy and bland prepared foods that busy people often pick up on the fly. In a nutshell, I wanted healthy food with a gourmet flavor but without the time and effort that goes into preparing a gourmet meal. And if I wanted that, I was willing to bet that others did, too. From there, I just had to find the numbers to justify the notion. And lo and behold, when I did the research, they were there.

Bottom line: numbers don’t lie. And the marriage of solid marketing data and a quality product makes your pitch stronger and increases the likelihood that the busy buyers you’re contacting will put your products on more shelves.

Get That Gold Star

We really began our business by entering contests. Our Burning Desire Habanero Hot Sauce and Moondance Marinade won a contest put on by Hot Licks in 1996. A first place ribbon let me know that more than just my mother would like our sauces. Since our launch in March, 2000, our products have won three Scovie Awards, one Chile Pepper Fiery Foods Challenge, and one Texas Fiery Foods Shootout award.

In fact, our most recent Scovie was awarded to d’Oni’s newest product: VIBE Grill/Glaze/Dip, which won’t hit the marketplace until the next National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show in March, 2002. But having that award under our belt is a powerful selling tool, not to mention a strong motivator.

But you can’t win unless you’re in the game. So find the right contests for your products and start submitting those entry forms. And remember: everybody loves a winner.

Pick the Right Playground

Remember that old Sesame Street song that went "One of these things is not like the others?" The same holds true within our industry.

We might use the same ingredients as you do. We might even use the same bottles. But if your product label shows a flaming body part and features a name that would make your grandmother blush, we’re probably not meant to sit next to each other on the shelf.

d’Oni products were created for the gourmet hot sauce and condiment market niche. That’s not to say that we think there isn’t a place for those bold and bawdy products that so many consumers love; it’s a wide-open industry and there’s plenty of room for everyone. But our product labeling, sales materials, marketing collateral, and our selling technique all clearly indicate that our products are targeted to a very specific audience. And while gourmet products can be called fiery, not all fiery products should be thought of as gourmet.

Because we have a very clear picture of what our products are, who they are targeted to, and where those people shop, it’s easy for us to devise a marketing strategy that successfully delivers those products to the end user. We don’t aspire to placing d’Oni products on every shelf in the world because we want to stay true to the niche market we identified when we went into business. But that’s OUR plan. YOUR plan may be entirely different. And that’s as it should be. You’ve got to pick the placements that are right for you and in alignment with your corporate goals.

An unforeseen benefit of staying true to our plan has been the interest we’ve received from well-known corporate entities who want to private label our products for wide-scale distribution. Despite our short business tenure, the d’Oni label has already become known for its quality because of its strong orientation as a gourmet product line. And while we feel products carrying the d’Oni name will always belong in carefully selected retail settings, private labeling will deliver the broader distribution and sales volume that all small businesses dream of achieving some day. It’s really the ultimate win-win for everyone involved.

Play Nicely with the Other Kids

It’s easy to look at other companies as simply the competition. We’re all marketers and we know that identifying the other players within the marketplace is a key component of business success. But we’ve found that also going a step farther and taking the time to look at other companies as potential allies may be infinitely wiser over the long haul.

When we began seriously thinking about starting our company, we had millions of questions about just about every part of the process. And who better to answer them than someone that has already been down that road? We were blessed with wonderful advisors, some of whom we now consider dear and lifelong friends, who graciously shared their successes and steered us away from possible failures. As a result, I can’t emphasize enough the importance of and the long-term benefits that can result from establishing a professional network among your industry colleagues.

My most valued networking relationships don’t necessarily have the same market niches than our company’s. We often bounce ideas off each other and find not only solutions to the challenges at hand, but identify new ideas, markets and resources that create entirely new opportunities for success. d’Oni products might not sit next to yours on the shelf, but our business approaches might be found side by side much of the time.

One of my fondest memories since the inception of d'Oni Enterprises was an out-of-town contest featuring the winning products of each category. The contest was a competition where the number one's competed. You would think that this type of competition could get ugly. Not in our industry. Together we prepared, we partied, we cheered, we congratulated. And I hope in my lifetime I don't forget the kindness, camaraderie and friendship I felt those few cold NYC days. It's not every day a person can say that they are friends with a Gecko, a hurtin' heini, a big pepper guy, a CaJohn and some after death people.

Contact: janisd@d-oni.com

Web: www.d-oni.com

Part Two

Online College of Chile Knowledge

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