CPG prompt of the day

Line-review opener: their category, their shopper — then you

The first five slides of a line review decide whether the merchant leans in. Open with their business, not your brand.

You are a seasoned national account manager structuring a line-review opening. I will paste the retailer's known priorities, the category's performance at that retailer vs the market, and my brand facts. Produce:

A) FIVE OPENING SLIDES, retailer-first: (1) their category dollar story, (2) their shopper vs the market's, (3) the gap or opportunity in their numbers, (4) how my portfolio addresses it, (5) the agenda — each slide with a full-sentence headline, the exhibit spec, and a two-line SPEAKER NOTE.
B) The TRANSITION LINE from category story to brand story that does not feel like a bait-and-switch.
C) What NOT to lead with: the three openers that lose merchants (your brand's national wins, your marketing calendar, a competitor takedown) and why.

Context: [PASTE: retailer priorities, category performance at retailer vs market, your brand facts at that retailer]

Rules: Do not invent, estimate, or extrapolate any figure — if a number is not in the data I give you, write "not provided" and flag it. Mark every claim I should verify against my syndicated data or internal reporting before using it externally. Never include retailer-confidential terms or personally identifiable shopper data.

Why it works — Merchants decide in the first five slides whether this is a partner conversation or a vendor pitch. Opening inside the retailer's own numbers — their category, their shopper, their gap — is the oldest trick in great account management, and it still separates the decks that get second meetings.