Brokers, Fractional Sales & the Real Mechanics of Retail Execution | Jonathan Skaare, Scout CPG

On this episode, we're joined by Jonathan Skaare, Founder & CEO of Scout CPG - the fractional sales and channel support firm built specifically for better-for-you CPG brands. 

Jonathan spent over 20 years in sales leadership roles at Kellogg's, Annie's, Vital Farms, and Acme Provisions before channeling all of that experience into helping emerging brands scale smarter without breaking the bank.

We dig into the real mechanics of how emerging brands should think about sales infrastructure - when to use a broker, when to go fractional, and when to bring someone in-house. Jonathan breaks down why the broker model isn't actually broken, but that most brands don't understand what brokers can and can't do, and why that misalignment is where things fall apart.

We get into retail execution, distributor velocity thresholds, and why getting on the shelf is only step one - getting off the shelf is the real work. Jonathan walks through his preferred approach to the natural-to-conventional transition, why he likes retailer-specific and regional brokers at early stage, and how Scout builds a financial model for every account before a brand sells into it to make sure the numbers actually pencil out.

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Episode Highlights:

🏗️ Why Jonathan built Scout CPG after 20+ years in sales leadership
🤝 Why the broker model isn't broken - brands just misunderstand it
💰 Broker compensation structures (retainer, commission, and hybrids)
🚀 Fractional sales vs. broker vs. full-time hire - how to decide
🛒 Why retailer-specific and regional brokers shine at early stage
📦 Mile wide vs. mile deep - why distribution strategy matters more than door count
📊 Velocity is king - the first 90 days on shelf
🎯 How to transition from natural/specialty to conventional retail
📝 What a great buyer deck actually looks like (5-6 pages max)
💸 Scout's "customer planner" - modeling profitability before selling in
⚠️ Common mistakes brands make in buyer meetings
👀 Why you should visit the store before you pitch the buyer

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Table of Contents:

00:00 – Intro
00:44 – Origin story and the why behind Scout CPG
03:05 – How Scout differs from a traditional broker
05:55 – Why the broker model isn't broken
07:16 – Broker compensation structures
10:05 – How Scout's financial model works differently
12:28 – Fractional sales vs. broker vs. full-time hire
17:00 – Regional vs. national vs. retailer-specific brokers
20:58 – Choosing the right channel and region first
23:42 – Retail execution: good ideas, bad implementation
25:44 – Going a mile wide vs. a mile deep
28:19 – The first 90 days on shelf
32:20 – Natural to conventional transition
35:33 – Building a buyer presentation that works
39:07 – The customer planner: financial modeling before selling in
42:13 – Where to follow Jonathan and Scout CPG

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Links:

Scout CPG – https://www.scout-cpg.com/
Follow Jonathan on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-skaare-b9126922/
Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/

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Shout out to my friends over at Glimpse, the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes.

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