Bestway is launching a new “sales academy” offering symbol retailers tailored business plans to help improve sales and merchandising.
The initiative will launch in September and be available across the wholesaler’s symbol estate. Business development managers (BDMs) are receiving additional training to help them identify opportunities for retailers to increase sales and footfall.
Support could include identifying missing categories, improving store layouts and highlighting products retailers may be overstocking. BDMs will then track the impact of any changes, with follow-up visits taking place several weeks or months later.
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Bestway regional controller Ben Pegler told our sister website Better Retailing: “We can offer a rebate and a new store format, but so can other symbol operators. The BDM team has gone through significant changes over the past 12-to-18 months to make sure we’ve got the best people around us, but we don’t want to rest on that.
“It’s about developing their skills to make sure they’re adding more value than anyone else when they go to visit retailers. That can be everything from listening skills to the more technical side, such as category analysis and profitability. It’s about really trying to look at the whole piece.
“We’re at the first stage of this and we’re planning to get the whole sales team trained by the end of September. The BDMs will be able to identify the strengths and weaknesses within their portfolio of stores. They’re not there to sell retailers a few boxes.
