It's also more likely now that an experienced broker like Traylor would guide someone like Misuraca through the process. With his blue jeans and checkered shirt and southern accent, Traylor seems right at home in Bentonville. And while he isn't a native--the Traylors come from Shreveport, La.--he might as well be. Fred's father was a traveling salesman for Aladdin lamps, and one of the elder Traylor's earliest customers was a fellow named Sam Walton. "This was at his original five-and-dime store on the square," recalls Traylor. "My daddy sold to Mr. Sam from day one, and as a little kid I used to come along with him."
Tall, bearded, still ruggedly handsome in his mid-50s, Traylor runs a brokerage in Bentonville that specializes in matching up clients with Wal-Mart. The retailer--officially, at least--frowns on having to deal with brokers. In the words of executive vice president/general merchandise Don Harris: "We struggle having an open relationship when there's a third party involved."
But for some reason--no one seems quite sure why--the Sam's Club division has been more open to the presence of brokers. And it's with the Sam's Club that Traylor does most of his brokerage business. His own biggest selling point: himself. "They know me across the street," he says, pointing to the neighboring Sam's Club headquarters.
Without him and the other brokers, Traylor claims, it would be next to impossible for a first-timer to get the ear of the buyers: "Wal-Mart will tell you to go through new product development, but you'll be one of thousands. You'll get lost." For 2% to 4% of a client's gross, Traylor claims that he can "pick up that phone, call the right buyer, talk to him or her personally, and get you a hearing."
Almost as important, Traylor might be able to persuade the buyer to get up from his or her cubicle and walk over to his showroom, where a vendor can set up his wares in advance and make sure that everything's just right. "If I have a strong relationship with the buyer, I can say, 'Hey, come by and see it for yourself."
Still, he warns, "in the end, however hard I work for you, whatever strings I can pull, the buyer'll either like the product--or he won't. These folks don't do noth'n for love." I
First Person: I Was Inspired When I Got There
John Keeler, CEO, Blue Star Food Products, Miami
It's so well-organized and so low profile. You check in, get your badge, and wait for your number. You have to go through security. You enter a main hall, where they have cubicle-type rooms. Sam Walton's picture and their core values are in each office, which is important to know, honestly. The buyer was so easygoing. You would never imagine that someone who makes such an important decision would be so down-to-earth and human. He was like your neighbor next door, not a hotshot. That relaxed me. I realized I just had to be myself. The meeting lasted 15 to 20 minutes. My marketing and sales team leader gave a presentation about our crabmeat. And when I had a chance to talk, I told them what it meant to be there. I shared my core values--we care about each other, we care about our customers. And I told them we would care about Wal-Mart, too. That wasn't something I planned to say ahead of time. I was inspired when I got there. Honestly, it wasn't hard for me to say it. The buyer was such a nice guy. I think Wal-Mart has its own culture, a different culture from the image I have of corporate America. It's Wal-Mart America.
First Person: Be Honest
Jeff Lakes, president, Kuji Sports North America, Bentonville, Ark.
I've been selling to Wal-Mart for almost eight years. We make Wal-Mart house brands, that's our approach. Selling to Wal-Mart was a paradigm shift for our company: Do we want to manufacture our own brand or do we want to sell sporting goods and other items direct to the world's biggest retailer? We want to be Wal-Mart's partner. Wal-Mart is very stringent with their house brands because they want them to be equal to or better than national brands. Really, Wal-Mart is very fair with their vendors, and you always know where you stand. They really don't play games. It's very fact-based. It's based on the quality of your product. Does it offer a great value at a great price? You're always looking at ways to cut costs. We're always looking at what the branded people are doing and making sure we're offering better improvements. One of the bigger lessons I've learned is that the best policy is honesty with Wal-Mart. Be transparent and have a low resistance to change, and always make sure they know what you're doing--good, bad, or indifferent.
First Person: Why Should I Buy Anything From You?
Christopher Baker, CEO, ZonePerfect Nutrition, Beverly, Mass.
Going into the meeting I was under the impression that by bringing a CEO in with salespeople, you'd be able to make an impact on the Wal-Mart people, and that was as far from the truth as it could be. I walked in with the head salesperson and our broker. We go into a room that must have been three feet by three feet, and we set up our nutrition bars. I don't mean to say it in a pejorative sense, but the buyer looked like he was from Bentonville. And his first question was, "Why should I buy anything from you?" I hardly spoke at all. I backed off and let the salesperson and the broker go forward, and I watched the buyer's body language. He tears open the bar, tastes it, and slams it into the garbage can. They probably heard it two states away. But he got ahold of one bar that he really liked, and he couldn't put the damn thing down. He kept eating it. So I gave him the line, which I believe, which is that we want to establish a joint venture. We want to be able to build the brand with you as a partner. We gave them a price, he batted it around a little bit, and I told him point-blank I couldn't go any lower than that. He eventually said, "Okay, I understand that." And we had a deal.
