The Four Angles That Actually Get Retailer Replies

What we actually say in these emails

You might be wondering what we actually say in these emails to get retailers to respond. So let me show you the mechanics.

There are four angles that consistently work in retail outreach. We test all of them for every client because different angles land with different retailers. There’s no single message that works everywhere. There are four messages that work somewhere.

Angle one: product line match

We reference how your product fits alongside what they already carry.

This works especially well for themed stores and boutiques where the assortment is curated. If a gift shop specializes in locally-made goods and your product is locally-made, that’s the angle. If a pet store has a wellness section and your product is a wellness product, that’s the angle.

The buyer can picture your product on their shelf next to what’s already there. That picture does most of the work.

Angle two: social proof

If you’re already stocked at recognizable retailers, we name-drop them.

A store owner who sees that accounts like theirs carry your product takes the pitch more seriously. It’s not “some brand I’ve never heard of wants me to stock their thing.” It’s “the store two towns over stocks this and it must be working for them.”

Social proof converts because it removes the question of whether your product is any good. Someone else already answered that.

Angle three: unique product benefit

Whatever makes your product different, we lead with it. The thing competitors can’t easily copy.

Sourcing. Formulation. Design. Function. Whatever it is that makes you not interchangeable with the next brand in your category, that goes first. Not in the third paragraph. First.

Retailers get pitched interchangeable products all day. If your email reads like every other email, you get treated like every other email. Lead with the thing that makes you different.

Angle four: brand and economics

If you have a strong social following, or your product offers better margins, takes less shelf space, or ships easily, we use that.

Retailers care about two things at the end of the day. Whether the product will move, and whether the numbers work for their store. If you can show them your product sells (strong social following) and makes them good money (better margins, smaller footprint, easy shipping), you’ve answered both questions before they ask.

It’s not volume. It’s relevance.

Every email we send uses one or more of these angles, tailored to the specific retailer.

That’s why our response rate is what it is. It’s not volume. It’s relevance.

We get one in every 188 stores we contact to ask for a sample. That ratio doesn’t come from blasting emails. It comes from putting the right angle in front of the right retailer at the right time.

If you sell a premium pet wellness product and your outreach goes to 50,000 random retail email addresses, you’ll get garbage or nothing. If that same outreach goes to 5,000 independent pet stores, natural grocers, and groomers who actually fit your category, with messaging built around the angle that fits each segment, the response rate is completely different.

Same effort. Different targeting. Different angle. Different result.

The takeaway for your own outreach

If you’re doing your own retail outreach, or evaluating someone to do it for you, the question isn’t “how many emails can you send?” The question is “which angles are you using, and how do you decide which angle fits which retailer?”

Volume is easy. Anyone can buy a list and send emails. Relevance is hard. That’s what separates outreach that works from outreach that gets marked as spam.

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Want to see what the replies to these angles actually look like? Check out real retailer conversations.