What Buyers Really Want to See in Your Sales Deck (and What They Don’t)

Your product might be innovative. Your brand story might be inspiring. But if your sales deck doesn’t speak directly to what U.S. buyers care about, you’re unlikely to get a second meeting—much less shelf space.

Retail and wholesale buyers see hundreds of product pitches a year, and they all start to look the same. Beautiful slides filled with lifestyle imagery, founder backstories, and aspirational mission statements… But very few that actually address the commercial realities of retail.

If you’re preparing to pitch your product to buyers in the U.S. market—especially in a competitive region like the Northeast—this article will show you:

  • What information buyers actually look for
  • What turns them off
  • And how to build a deck that positions your brand as a serious, ready-to-scale player

What your sales deck must include to be taken seriously

✅ 1. A sharp value proposition tailored to the U.S. market

Buyers don’t want to figure out what makes your brand special—you need to spell it out in the first 60 seconds. That means:

  • A clear category and subcategory definition
  • A 1-liner that defines your unique value in simple terms
  • Specific relevance to U.S. consumers, not just international success

🚫 What not to do:
“Premium product from [Country] using ancestral ingredients and handcrafted processes.”
✔️ What to do instead:
“First-to-market frozen snack that brings Latin American street flavors to U.S. retail in a ready-to-heat format.”

✅ 2. Your hero SKU and unit economics

Buyers aren’t evaluating your brand—they’re evaluating what SKU will sell and how it performs on shelf.

You should include:

  • The hero SKU you’re leading with
  • Case pack, size, MSRP, and all dimensions
  • Suggested retail price and expected margin for the retailer
  • Promotional pricing strategy and calendar

If you don’t show this clearly, you signal that you’re not commercially ready.

🚫 What not to do:
A portfolio dump of 10 SKUs with no explanation of what leads
✔️ What to do:
“One hero SKU with proven traction. 12oz bag. SRP $5.49. Retail margin 40%. TPR scheduled for launch window.”

✅ 3. Velocity proof or traction signals

Buyers want evidence that your product moves. If you’re not yet in U.S. retail, you can use:

  • DTC performance (with regional sales data if possible)
  • Sell-through results from independent or international retail
  • Sampling or pilot program results
  • Consumer testimonials or digital engagement rates

The key is to show that there’s real-world demand, not just potential.

🚫 What not to do:
“High engagement on Instagram” without tying it to behavior
✔️ What to do:
“70% sell-through in 4 weeks at 30 NYC independents. 3.4x reorder rate. 50% of online sales come from NY/NJ zip codes.”

✅ 4. Marketing and retail support plan

Retailers are not your marketing department. They want to know:

  • What are you doing to drive foot traffic and consumer demand?
  • Are you investing in geo-targeted digital or influencer campaigns?
  • Do you have field support for merchandising and store visits?

This is where you prove you’re not just asking for shelf space—you’re investing in performance.

🚫 What not to do:
“We plan to do social media campaigns.”
✔️ What to do:
“$8K allocated to geo-targeted IG/Meta ads during launch window. Sampling support at priority locations. Weekly merchandising visits across all stores.”

✅ 5. Retail-readiness and operational confidence

Buyers need to know:

  • Are your labels U.S. compliant?
  • Is your UPC registered and scan-ready?
  • Do you have a 3PL partner or distribution strategy in place?
  • Can you fulfill orders on time and in full?

Your deck should signal: we’re ready to ship, support, and scale.

What buyers don’t want to see in your deck

Buyers are short on time and long on options. Avoid these common mistakes:

❌ Overly long founder stories

They care about your product, not your life journey.

❌ 15-slide mission statements

You can talk about values—but keep it relevant to what it means for the shelf.

❌ Vanity metrics without context

“50K followers” means nothing if it doesn’t connect to demand or sell-through.

❌ Unclear asks

If your CTA is vague—“we’re looking for opportunities”—you’ll get vague responses.

Conclusion: Design your deck for the person who has to justify putting you on shelf

Buyers don’t need inspiration. They need confidence. Your deck needs to answer the question:

“Why should I take shelf space away from a proven product to give it to you?”

At Group MCC, we help CPG brands build sales decks and retail narratives that speak the buyer’s language—clear, data-driven, commercially sound, and tailored to the realities of the U.S. market.

If you’re preparing to pitch to retailers or wholesalers and want your sales materials to stand out and convert, contact us. Our consulting team can help you build the strategy and structure that opens doors—and keeps them open.

How to Run a Competitive Audit Before Entering U.S. Retail

The U.S. retail market is one of the most competitive in the world. Every week, new products are launched, but most are delisted within months. The reason? They entered the market without truly understanding the battlefield.

Before you talk to a wholesaler, pitch a retailer, or even finalize your packaging, you need to answer a simple but crucial question:
Who exactly are you competing with—and how are they performing in the spaces you want to enter?

A competitive audit isn’t just about “checking who else sells snacks or sauces.” It’s about deeply analyzing how your category behaves in retail, where there’s room for you, and what it will take to win.

This article will walk you through how to run a competitive audit before investing in the U.S. market—and why skipping this step could cost you shelf space, buyer trust, and ultimately, your business.

Why a competitive audit matters before your launch

Too many brands rely on assumptions like:

  • “Our product is better quality.”
  • “There’s a growing trend in this category.”
  • “No one else is doing this exact thing.”

But none of that matters unless:
✅ Buyers see it as a true differentiator
✅ Consumers understand it at a glance
✅ You can prove it with performance or positioning

A well-run audit helps you:

  • Define your real points of differentiation
  • Identify pricing and margin benchmarks
  • Spot gaps in the shelf (and avoid saturated areas)
  • Prepare smarter sales materials for buyers
  • Avoid the fatal mistake of entering a crowded space unprepared

Step-by-step: How to conduct a retail-focused competitive audit

1. Visit target stores—physically, if possible

Go to the stores where your product would likely be sold:

  • Whole Foods, Wegmans, ShopRite, Sprouts, or regional independents
  • Focus on locations in the region where you’re planning to launch

Walk the aisles, take photos, and answer:

  • What’s the shelf layout in your category?
  • Which brands dominate facings and visibility?
  • What formats, sizes, and claims are most common?
  • What price points are consumers seeing most often?

This gives you real-world insight into what your product would be surrounded by—and what it has to compete against.

2. Analyze product positioning and packaging

Take a hard look at your competitors’ packaging and brand language. Identify:

  • Front-of-pack claims (organic, gluten-free, zero sugar, etc.)
  • Design trends (clean/minimalist, nostalgic, loud colors, etc.)
  • Category tone (playful vs. clinical, traditional vs. functional)
  • Callouts for retailers (promotions, value packs, family size)

Then compare this to your own packaging and messaging:

  • Does your product look like it belongs on that shelf?
  • Or does it risk being misunderstood, ignored, or mispositioned?

This step helps prevent expensive packaging redesigns after buyers give feedback or consumers ignore your product.

3. Map price architecture and margin viability

Build a pricing map based on what’s already in-store:

  • What’s the average MSRP in your subcategory?
  • What are the low-end, mid-range, and premium tiers?
  • How does your pricing (after logistics, duties, and promotions) stack up?

If you find that your product will land significantly above the high end, that’s a red flag—unless your value proposition is crystal clear and justified.

This step is crucial for avoiding rejection from buyers who see your price as out of range or uncompetitive.

4. Evaluate brand velocity signals

In-store presence doesn’t always mean in-store success. Look for signs of real velocity:

  • Multiple facings across stores
  • Secondary placements (endcaps, shippers, cross-merchandising)
  • Promotional tags or TPRs (temporary price reductions)
  • UGC on social media tagged at specific stores

Velocity matters to retailers. If you identify brands that consistently hold space and run activations, you’re seeing who’s performing—not just who’s present.

5. Identify white space opportunities

After your shelf research, ask:

  • Is there a format or consumer profile not being served?
  • Are there claims or narratives missing in the current category?
  • Is there a flavor, pack type, or usage occasion that you can own?

This is where your product can win—not by copying competitors, but by strategically filling the right gap.

Conclusion: Your shelf strategy starts with clarity

Launching in the U.S. without a competitive audit is like entering a battlefield blind. But brands that invest time upfront to study the shelf, the pricing, the messaging, and the gaps—those are the brands that enter prepared.

At Group MCC, we help brands not only understand their competitors but position themselves strategically to outperform them. Our consulting services include full retail audits, category mapping, and launch playbooks tailored to your region and segment.

Before you invest in shelf space, invest in knowing what you’re walking into. Let us help you turn competitive clarity into a real retail advantage.