Are you in FMCG sales? Well, this is for you. FMCG Sales is about consistency.
The supermarket doesn’t care about your brand of product. What it does care about is that customers always find it on the shelf when they come shopping. It is this consistency that earns your product space in the store—and your presence at the negotiation table.
Steer clear of the notion that they need you more than you need them. They don’t. If you doubt it, try being erratic with your product’s availability and see how fast you’re replaced. Consistency is currency in FMCG, especially in modern trade (as industry insiders call supermarkets- as opposed to general trade like dukas and vibandas).
Writing taught me that FMCG Sales is about consistency.
Let me digress.
News is a fast(fastest?)-moving consumer good. The physical newspaper, therefore, qualifies as one too. For eight years, I ran a weekly sales column in the Business Daily – East Africa’s premier publication. One of the first lessons I learned about getting a column was this: demonstrate consistency before they consider, giving you a column, let alone, paying you.
In fact, you may have to submit six months’ worth of articles before a publication commits. Why? As one editor told me: “Because it’s our brand that suffers if your articles appear inconsistently. There are readers who will buy the Thursday paper (the day the column used to appear) because of your column. If it’s on and off, it erodes the reader’s experience. Eventually, they stop buying.” Indeed, FMCG Sales is about consistency.
I would pass on this wisdom to the many who asked how they too could get published:
“Start a blog, or post weekly on LinkedIn for three months. Prove to yourself—and to any future editor—that you can keep it up.” Very few would follow through. It’s not easy. Try it.
Marketing, not selling, wins in FMCG
FMCG sales isn’t selling in the traditional sense. It leans heavily on marketing.
If you’re in the industry, you’ve likely heard customers—even at a kibanda—reject a product with the words: “Sijaiona kwa TV” (I haven’t seen it advertised).
Even merchandising, when done well, is more about marketing than selling. (A merchandiser is the lady (it almost always is) that seeks to entice you to buy -or try- her product, different from the one you usually do). The same applies when dealing with supermarket managers responsible for product availability and visibility. You’re not selling to them—they’re not the end users. But you are depending on them for your product to be seen…and hopefully, bought.
Align with the supermarket’s objective
Your role is clear. But so is theirs—and it’s not the same.
Their loyalty lies with their shoppers. And therefore the shoppers’ experience. If your product is missing from the shelves three times in a row, that shopper is likely to shop elsewhere—somewhere she can find the milk, bread, and exercise book she needs, plus your product, all in one trip.
To maintain a smooth relationship with supermarkets, think like their shopper. Make their job easier by aligning your goals to theirs. Their objective is continuity. Make it yours too.
FMCG Sales is about consistency- The juggling act: logistics vs. availability
FMCG Sales is about consistency. I’m not blind to the logistical nightmare of ensuring consistent availability. It’s a delicate balance between producing enough to avoid stock-outs while minimizing storage costs.
Even global FMCG giants still wrestle with this challenge. But regardless, as the salesperson, your job is to keep juggling—and the heaviest ball you’ll keep in the air is product availability.
Because in FMCG, consistency doesn’t just open doors. It keeps them open.
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