Another point to ponder. Retail merchants have computerized the bulk of their operation; thus allowing them greater ease in tracking those things needed to survive in a high-tech, sharply competitive retail world. Computerization gives them the ability to scrutinize with crystal clear detail in real time such operational details as gross margins, turnover, sales per square foot, sales per lineal foot, sales per square inch, advertising costs related to cost to sell factors, and on and on. The computer is a wonderful tool for corporate retailers. I can well remember the RTC Factor (resistance to change) when the first computerized inventory tracking system was installed in the first store of the chain I was with. We had all watched countless times as inventory services had came into the units to inventory the stores, carrying their small computerized units and inventorying a forty-foot gondola in twenty minutes when that same gondola would have taken us two hours via the old paper method, but little did we realize at the time just how streamlined the computerized system could be, and what it would save in labor costs alone, not to mention paper costs and postage. But the one thing it took forever to understand was the computer's keen ability to be totally objective, to immediately spot trends and store them, thus making the buyer¹s job much easier. If the computerized sales showed an item was moving, for example, ten items per week, and paying only a 30% margin, it was quickly identified and dropped from the inventory. There were an are still exceptions to this, such as a riding mower that is a large-ticket item, or a product that some vendor had subsidized the advertising program through a cooperative agreement, but it would almost invariably catch up with new products struggling to make their niche in the marketplace.

One final thing that really irked me during my buying days. If your product has stood the tests of positioning, the demographical work and market research is completed, and you are ready to launch into the marketplace, don't make the mistake of mailing out samples to prospective corporate buyers. As a buyer, I would routinely visit with 300-400 representatives of various products in the course of a normal week. Those who presented via postal service were seldom read, if ever. Unfair, probably, but the prevailing thought was and still is that if it is good enough to sell in "my" chain, it is good enough to be presented in person. Anything less than that is substandard, and it greatly diminishes your opportunity to tap into that particular market. Another thin g you should consider also is that most inventors do not make really good negotiators, they are intrinsically tied to their product very closely, and don't handle rejection very well. Do not be afraid to retain the services of a competent professional, but first, of course, ask for references of companies he deals with on a routine basis, and what his or her background qualifications are. Chances are good if they cannot sell themselves to you; they can't sell your product line into the marketplace. As a former buyer, I have found that former retail buyers and intelligent women make the best representatives you can use, as the former buyer can identify with the prospective buyer from a unique position, and there are increasingly more women being placed in corporate America's buying offices.

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