Three sure-fire ways to put DSRs asleep when promoting your products

Everybody wants to know how to get DSRs' attention... but equally important is how NOT to put them to sleep!  Remember, DSRs have the attention span of a Miss Teen USA Beauty Pageant Winner (Bill's comment!).

But brand marketers seem to only focus on worn out clichés (Dave's comment!).

In this video... DSR Live co-hosts DSR Dave Miesse and Bill Hornung yak about some things NOT to do if you want DSRs to care about your products...

• Don't state the obvious or unimportant in your DSR communications. Like saying "best value." What the heck is that? A free prize in every box? By saying "best value," you're suggesting that DSRs who don't sell your products must be selling inferior competitive items(that's an insult to DSRs' judgment). Prove the "quality" claimthrough examples, not simply saying it.
  
  "Best quality" and "best consistency" are also useless statements. Everybody assumes you have relatively good stuff (unless your positioning is "hey, our products are mediocre... but they sure are cheap!"). Most features and benefits are NOT differentiators. Save the F&Bs for your PDF sell sheet. Offer DSRs ongoing training that provides real insights on HOW to sell your product to certain types of operators. Or WHY operators should care... like specifics on how they can make more money, or how other operators are succeeding with the product.
• Don't talk about your brand legacy. There's little relationship to when Grandpa Jones started out selling turnips 80 years ago and today's mega food company. Besides, DSRs and operators want to know what you're going to do for them today... they're simply too busy to watch a Hallmark television special about your brand.
• Don't separate DSR communications from the rest of your marketing. It's really simple... DSRs sell what they know. Operators buy what DSRs recommend. So, the only way DSRs will influence operators about your products is if they know and love them. It's no different than an advertising campaign... DSR communications and training initiatives are effective when they are consistent, frequent and are relevant to the audience. Don't waste your money if you plan to communicate meaningful information only once a year (case rebates and short-term promos don't count as they do little to sustain sales). Your products will join the other 8,000 SKU's in the warehouse that they never hear anything about, thus DSRs won't spend much time recommending them to customers.