When you take feedback from your buyer meetings and incorporate it into your product development, good things happen -- as in major retail deals.

Nikki Parmar, Owner of Bodyform, knows this firsthand. When she goes into a buyer meeting, she is not only looking to secure distribution for her brand's line of feminine care products; she’s also seeking out valuable intel on how she can adapt her products to meet each buyer's specific needs.

In this clip from her interview with Joseph Tarnowski, recorded on location at ECRM's Personal Care Session in Dallas, Nikki shares how Bodyform solicits detailed buyer feedback during its ECRM meetings and then acts on that feedback, whether it's related to packaging design, size, or to the products themselves. And when she meets with the buyer again and shows how this input was incorporated into Bodyform’s offerings, they are always blown away.

Parmar also discusses how she leverages LinkedIn to share content related to Bodyform's mission of eliminating Period Poverty, as well as to help buyers get to know the brand and the people behind it, staying front-of-mind with buyers in between meetings.

While Nicobi Foods may seem like an overnight success with its recent deals that include Walmart, Wakefern, and Ahold USA, it's really just the culmination of a journey that began many years ago -- and A LOT of hard, grinding work.

In his recent interview with ECRM's Joseph Tarnowski, Co-Founder Obi Linton shared his journey from Baltimore detective to an owner and operator of a restaurant operation with his wife, Nicole, to his current role as a brand owner, and how their past experiences have given them the tools and knowledge that have helped them succeed today.

Obi also goes into detail about his approach to leveraging RangeMe and ECRM to engage with retailers and create long-lasting relationships that have significantly expanded their distribution to thousands of stores nationwide.

This approach includes a lot of preparation and research, a dogged pursuit of EVERY possible opportunity, and authentic relationship-building efforts that would make Dale Carnegie proud.

To truly understand a buyer's needs, you need to ask a lot of questions. Detailed questions. Strategic questions. And then, you need to listen. Listen MUCH MORE than you speak. The result: You'll be armed with the information you need to direct you on the path to closing a deal.

Argires Snacks' George Argires is a case in point. For years, he was having trouble landing deals at ECRM Sessions. After connecting with Emily Anne Page of Start to Sold for some coaching, he realized he was spending too much time pitching and not enough time getting to know what was really important for the buyer.

He didn't ask enough solid questions.

Together, George and Emily worked on developing a curated list of specific questions that he asked during an ECRM meeting. In fact, he spent 80 percent of his time asking questions and LISTENING. Armed with this information, he developed a plan to address the buyer's specific needs, which he shared in his follow-ups, and landed the deal.

His products will be on the shelves this fall.

In this interview, recorded on location at ECRM's Snack Session in Dallas, George and Emily share how the right questions in a buyer meeting can make the difference in whether or not you land a deal, and why this strategy matters to buyers.