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.