Have you ever shopped at Walmart and thought... I need to get my products on those shelves. Did you spot the perfect place for your new product and think, Bingo, that's where my product will go. I think I'll give them a call.

The truth is, Walmart receives hundreds of calls each day, asking the same question, "How do I become a vendor?" For many people getting your products on the shelves of Walmart is the pot at the end of the rainbow. Thoughts of millions of dollars race through their heads. For some, Walmart is the pot of gold they searched for. For others it will be another day in bankruptcy court.

The road to the corporate Walmart headquarters can be a long one, it can also be the best road ever traveled. Before even approaching such a large retailer, you must do your homework. The first step to being a Walmart vendor is to go online at www.walmartstores.com and submit detailed financial info about your company. You can also call corporate headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas at (501) 273-4000. Operators will refer you to the appropriate department for the information you need. You also must be listed with and order and pay for two Dun & Bradstreet reports. Walmart wants to know you can handle your biz.

In addition to following these steps, you must apply for Universal Product Code (UPC), meet applicable liability and workers compensation insurance requirements, pass quality assurance testing, and meet Labeling and Packaging requirements. If you survive this round, you might just find yourself in the big ole parking lot filled with rental cars from fellow vendors... your competition. Don't worry, there will be many scared faces to match yours.

Before you submit that questionaire remember you usually have ONE chance to sell those buyers. The buyers at Walmart have become even more demanding. In fact, these days, vendors have to prove they have what it takes to handle Walmart size returns long before negotiations begin. You can't even get past the front door without showing proof that you have adequate financing.

Step two for potential vendors is to go to a Walmart Super Center and figure out where your product should be placed. If you find a spot you think should overtake then you best be ready to say, "Why your product is better and can be sold cheaper." Get to know your competitors and who they are.

One of best kept secrets to Walmart is their LOCAL VENDOR PROGRAM. This program is one of the easiest ways to become a vendor. Your products usually need to be unique and have a local reference in some way. This program is the best way for small local business to set up shop with Walmart which allows smaller orders to be distributed in your local area. Starting at a slow pace can let you get a feel of how Walmart operates. What I did was call my local Walmart store and ask to speak with the general manager. We then set up a time for him to look over my product. After this meeting he gave me a local vendor application. I filled out the application and brought it back to him to send in with his referral. Store managers have the power to refer any new product they think would be good for their store. This usually pushes things along along easier and faster than going to headquarters.

Walmart information contributed by Cindy Jones at http://howtosellyourproducttowalmart.com

RELATED ARTICLES It Isnt A Sale Until Youre Paid Back in the days when I sold for CTV and CBC Television I had a manager that once said " It isn't a sale until you're paid." Most salespeople absolutely HATE calling their customers to ask for payment as they feel like the GOOD GUY and BAD GUY rolled into one!Hey - we have all been there. In Sales Service Means Business Some businesses flourish while others slowly fade away. There's usually a good reason. Lock, Stock, and Barrel! The other night I was watching a classic western from 1969, Sergio Leone's "Once Upon A Time In The West". There's a scene in this movie where an auction is being held for the widow Jill's land holdings. Making the Sale When the Customer Wont Buy Ever had a party online or offline, and had guests say "I love that item, but I can't afford it right now", or "It's so hard to decide, I want all of this!". This is a perfect time to sell all those items to your customer without them having to pay a dime. Sell With KISS, As In Keep It Simple, Stupid One of the most useful and fundamental communications lessons that has been repeated to me over the years, ever since my earliest days of formal business training, is the fabled, famous, and fabulous "KISS" formula.In my college marketing class we were told "Keep It Simple, Stupid!" When I entered my three-month sales-training orientation at New York Telephone way back in 1968, it was a more refined "Keep It Short and Simple. Write Fundraising Letter Overlines That Donors Cant Resist (Includes Samples & Examples) The headline that appears over the salutation in a fundraising letter is known as the overline. Overlines have one goal: to persuade your donor to read your letter. Its Better When They Tell Them You know that word of mouth can grow your business. You hear your customers say nice things about your company all the time. The Best Day In The Week The best day of the week is TODAY, of course.� Yesterday's are lost forever, and we know only too well that tomorrow isn't promised to anyone. Business is Great; I'm Just Not Selling Anything! Awhile back you had a great idea. An idea that you thought could make you a decent income, with very little effort. Ask for the Business Many times in the process of making a sales presentation to a potential client, we will break down our product piece by piece, explaining all of the features and benefits it has to offer, then we expect our customer to have immediate buy in, and purchase our product based on the presentation they just heard.Unfortunately, it does not work that way. Keep the Referrals Coming A key method of our survival in the business and retail world is referrals. Referrals are always nice, because they come from someone on the outside of your company who has enough trust and faith in you to refer someone in your direction. Program Your Biocomputer For Sales Success Selling isn't something you do to people, it's something you do for them. If you feel as though you're being pushy or twisting arms when you are interacting with prospective customers or clients, you might be doing just that. Selling Skills - How to Handle the Dreaded Question Whats The Price? I've written previously about how to attract customers and how to manage the sales process. But one thorny issue keeps popping up for my clients? what should they do when a potential customer asks "How much will it cost?" as one of their opening lines. Leave a Better Voice Mail Message Yesterday I received a call from a financial planner named Richard doing a cold call. My policy is to always return those calls which help me to understand why I would personally benefit from doing business with a sales person. Breaking Through The Comfort Zone Barrier After completing a workshop on personal productivity or time management, we usually find participants react to the instruction on goal-setting in one of three ways:1. Some workshop attendees really don't want their lives to change nor does a greater level of achievement appeal that much to them. Five Things More Important to Buyers than WHAT Youre Selling - I Article I of a two-part series.No matter what customers say they want, what they're really looking for is "something special. Solution-Sell is a Myth! Who among us is not already up to here with the omni-smarts who wax poetic the benefits of "Solution Selling." Now it may seem strange for me, the author of the book "Up Your Income! Solution Selling for Profitability" to cast aspersions on the merits of this approach. Sorry, But Im Not Buying From You! Former General Electric CEO and legendary manager, Jack Welch, nailed the problem recently when he said there's just too much beating around the bush and indirectness in corporate communications. People are more interested in not hurting each others' feelings than in improving productivity, and we simply need more frankness, says Welch. Going the Extra Mile and Getting Referrals Successful salespeople have the ability to turn the customers they serve into advocates. They don't directly ask for assistance, they do it by going the extra mile when providing service. The History of Sales: Dale Carnegie is Still with Us I've recently been hearing sales companies talk about how they are 'helping their buyers buy' with a system that is the 'next thing' after Consultative Selling. After becoming familiar with their concepts and methods, I've come to believe they are correct: they are definitely on to the next iteration.