289. The Fact-Based Selling Formula Retailers Trust Most
Release Date: 01/24/2026
317. Your Competitors Are Using Demos Wrong (And You Are Too) With Andrew Therrien, Samplers
Bulletproof Your CPG Brand
317. From Checkpoint to Growth Engine: Reimagining In-Store Sampling Most brands treat demos like a checkbox. Hand out samples, move on, hope sales follow. That approach fails—and it matters because you’re wasting money while missing one of the most powerful growth levers in retail. In this episode, I sit down with Andrew from Samplers to break down how in-store demos should actually work. You’ll learn why demos are not events—they’re systems, how to turn trial into repeat and habit, why base sales (not spikes) are what matter, and how professional execution, training, and...
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316. CPG Brands Are Doing This Wrong | Retail Strategy
Bulletproof Your CPG Brand
316. You have data. Reports. Dashboards. And still… you don’t know what to do next. Which SKU should you scale? What should you produce? Why didn’t that promotion work? That’s not a data problem—and it matters because guessing leads to wasted spend, missed opportunities, and slower growth. In this episode, I break down why most CPG brands get stuck even with great data—and how to fix it using the Retail Clarity Framework™. You’ll learn how to move beyond internal reports by understanding shopper behavior, shelf dynamics, and competitive context so you can make better decisions...
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315. The CPG Strategy That Extends Your Runway With Mark Samuel, Mark's Snacks
Bulletproof Your CPG Brand
315. You don’t need to work more hours to grow your brand. You need more clarity, more discipline, and better focus. Most CPG founders are burned out, overwhelmed, and stuck reacting—because they’ve stopped prioritizing the one thing that drives everything: their health. In this episode, I sit down with Mark Samuel, founder of Mark’s, to break down how discipline, routines, and personal accountability create a massive competitive advantage. You’ll learn why most founders are less productive than they think, how prioritizing your health sharpens decision-making, why smaller focused...
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314. Where Your Trade Spend Is Quietly Bleeding Cash
Bulletproof Your CPG Brand
314. You’re looking at your trade spend, your promotions, your deductions—and it feels like you’re spending too much. But here’s the truth: most CPG brands don’t have a spend problem. They have a visibility problem. And that matters because the money you can’t see leaking is the money shortening your runway. In this episode, I break down the three places your trade spend is quietly bleeding cash: ineffective promotions, poor timing vs competitors, and weak placement at shelf. You’ll learn why your data can’t show these leaks, how missed visibility leads to bad decisions, and...
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313. Why Community Is the Shortcut to CPG Growth With Kristine Carey, Naturally Colorado
Bulletproof Your CPG Brand
313. Building a CPG brand can feel isolating. You’re making decisions alone, solving problems from scratch, and trying to figure out retail, marketing, and operations without a roadmap. That’s expensive—and it slows your growth. In this episode, I sit down with Kristine Carey, Executive Director of Naturally Colorado, to break down why community is one of the most overlooked competitive advantages in CPG. You’ll learn how the right network helps you avoid costly mistakes, accelerate learning, access mentors, and build relationships that open doors to retailers, investors, and strategic...
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312. Your Margins Are Unpredictable - You're Optimizing Trade Wrong
Bulletproof Your CPG Brand
312. You’ve invested in better dashboards, better reporting, and better trade marketing software. You’re tracking everything—promotions, lift, ROI, deductions—and yet your margins still feel unpredictable and your growth still feels inconsistent. If that sounds familiar, here’s the truth: what you think is giving you control is actually holding you back. In this episode, I break down why trade marketing software isn’t the problem—but it’s not the solution either. Most tools show you what happened, but they can’t tell you why it happened or how to win next time. That blind...
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311. The Trade Marketing Reality Check Every Brand Needs
Bulletproof Your CPG Brand
311. Trade marketing feels like a tax for most CPG brands. You spend money, run promotions, follow retailer plans—and still watch your margins shrink, cash flow tighten, and growth stay unpredictable. The problem isn’t trade marketing. It’s that you were never taught the system. In this episode, I break down how trade marketing actually works—and why 70%+ of trade spend is wasted. You’ll learn why promotions should drive behavior change (not just volume), how to distinguish incremental sales from subsidized sales, why retailers want better promotions—not more of them—and how...
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310. Why Most CPG Advice Fails (And What Works)
Bulletproof Your CPG Brand
310. You’re doing everything “right”—promotions, social media, brokers, distribution—and still not growing. Your cash flow feels tight. Your strategy feels reactive. And your product is at risk of being discontinued. The problem isn’t you. It’s the advice. Most CPG advice fails because it’s incomplete. It focuses on tactics instead of systems and ignores how retail actually works. In this episode, I break down why brands struggle—and how merchandising, execution, and alignment silently determine success at shelf. You’ll learn why velocity without profitability destroys your...
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309. Why Your Products Aren't Selling? It's Not What You Think
Bulletproof Your CPG Brand
309. You’re not losing at retail because of weak marketing. You’re losing because you don’t understand how the category works. Most brands rely on reports, velocity, and promotions—but retailers don’t buy products, they buy category performance. In this episode, I break down True Category Management—the strategy that separates brands that win shelf space from those that get delisted. You’ll learn how to think like a category leader, turn data into actionable insights, map how shoppers actually buy, identify assortment gaps retailers can’t see, and position your brand as a...
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308. Your CPG Brand's Biggest Retail Problem
Bulletproof Your CPG Brand
308. Most CPG brands think promotions grow sales. They don’t. Pricing strategy does. If your pricing architecture is wrong, deeper discounts and more promotions will only destroy your margins, train shoppers to wait for deals, and drain your cash flow. In this episode, I break down the pricing and promotion architecture that premium brands use to scale profitably. You’ll learn how to price for your core shopper instead of competitors, build a pricing ladder that protects margin at every level, design disciplined promotion strategies, use contribution — not velocity — to justify...
info_outline289. Retailers don’t choose brands with the best charts—they choose brands with the clearest story. In Day 17 of 30 Days to Profitable CPG Growth, I break down fact-based selling: how to combine POS data, real shopper insight, and clear recommendations into a story retailers act on. You’ll learn why push-button reports fail, how to stand out in line reviews, and how emerging brands earn influence, space, and growth without buying it through trade spend.
Fact-based selling, a crucial skill for competing with big brands, involves using data, shopper insights, and clear recommendations to tell a compelling story. This approach goes beyond traditional category management by providing retailers with actionable insights and solutions, rather than just data points. By combining POS data with shopper insights and community feedback, brands can create personalized, impactful stories that resonate with retailers and drive growth.
For additional inspiration listen to the following Bulletproof Your CPG Brand podcast episodes:
🎙️ 45 The Importance Of A Solid Business Strategy Today, TJ McIntyre with BOBO’S
🎙️ 59 Fact-Based Selling Stories Transform Your Sales Strategy, Steve Hughes with Sunrise Strategic Partners and Boulder Brands
🎙️ 88 Category Leaders Open Doors & Grow Profitable Sales Effectively, Russ Forester with Hain Celestial
Day 17 of the Free 30 Days to Profitable CPG Growth
Tip of the day: Fact-based selling is advanced story telling - what I call true category management. Fact-based story telling includes actionable recommendations with measurable results to give you the edge you deserve.
You can get the episodes free guide and todays show notes at: RetailSolved.com/session289