How to Grow Your Business with a Field Team with Nadia Leonelli

Have you considered hiring a field team to promote your brand? Our guest for today's show, Nadia Leonelli of Element Snacks, says it's not just for the big companies. In fact she has used the field team strategy in the early stages of her business to get her products into stores nationwide. Nadia has created healthy yet yummy and satisfying snack options with Element Snacks. Born out of necessity, Nadia and her husband have worked tirelessly knocking on doors, visiting retailers and pounding the pavement to get the word. They've also tapped into a marketing strategy that has paid dividends for them: a field team. Their field members also work hard to get the Element Snacks products into the hands of as many customers as possible. On this episode of Launch Grow Joy Nadia shares how and why to use a field team effectively, her early business challenge of isolation and the three ways she tackled that problem and simultaneously grew her business. In this episode, you’ll also hear about: When should you work with an accelerator or incubator? What grassroots approach did she and her husband use to spread brand awareness? Why people want to see you, the person behind your brand. What's the cheapest way to get your product into people's hands? Why do you need to meet your customers and clients in person at events? And so much more! Nadia created Element Snacks because she's gluten-free and was traveling a great deal. Regularly she was faced with the dilemma of what to bring on her flights to eat. Rice cakes were convenient and easy to carry, but dry and boring. Putting her entrepreneur's cap on she developed Element Snacks: gluten-free, GMO-free, sweet, delicious AND healthy snacks. Once the product was created she was faced with another challenge: how to become known and connected in an industry she had never worked in. Previously Nadia was a corporate strategy consultant who helped big brands with global launches and product strategies. She found three effective ways to become immersed in the community: live events like trade shows, networking with other women-owned businesses, and becoming a part of an accelerator. With that challenge faced and conquered she faced another one: how best to spread the word to retailers and potential customers about Element Snacks? After all no one could buy her product if they didn't know about it! So she enlisted her own army: a field team. She educated them, trained them and continues to treat them like part of the family. Nadia and her husband both know what it's like to cold call on retailers and they help their field team do so effectively, while also continuing to do it themselves! The field team strategy is a powerful one that has worked well for Nadia and Element Snacks. Tune into this episode of Launch Grow Joy to hear what else has worked for Nadia. Resources: Element Snacks website Element Snacks on Twitter <a href="http://www.accelfoods.com" target="_blank