For the fourth On the Shelf Flash Topic podcast -- in which the panelists (of which I am one of them) are emailed the topic ten minutes prior to the podcast recording -- the group discussed steps that startup suppliers with limited budgets can take to help drive sales of their products once they are on the shelf, including leveraging content, social media, in-store events and demos, as well as geo-targeting.

Included on the Flash Topic panel were Cairon Moore, a buyer for the University of Colorado's retail locations and regular ECRM EPPS attendee; and Salah Khalaf, a former Sam's Club buyer who has attended several ECRM EPPS meetings in the past. New to the Flash Topic panel -- but certainly not noew to ECRM or the On the Shelf audience, is Bill Carmody, CEO of Trepoint.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

Here are the profiles the panelists:

Cairon Moore:
After completing her MBA and moving to the US, Cairon owned and operated a successful restaurant in Central Jersey for twenty years. In order to find some work life balance she went to work for Rutgers University increasing their sales in Catering and Special Events by 1,166 %. Currently Cairon is the Associate Director for Campus Dining Services at the University of Colorado Boulder. She continues to do restaurant consulting and design work as well as Health & Life Coaching in her personal time.

Tracey Hazzard:
Tracy Hazzard, Inc. Columnist and Product Strategist for Hazz Design has co-designed and developed 250+ consumer products generating more than $1 Billion for her e-commerce and original brand-building clients. She is the co-host of WTFFF?! 3D Printing podcast and the members-only Product Launch Hazzards podcast.

Salah Khalaf:
Corporate and retail growth strategist and business development consultant Salah Khalaf has over 25 years of merchandising and operations experience in the retail and warehouse club industry. He most recently led the Supplier Diversity Department at Sam’s Club, where his business unit created solutions to meet the needs of the millions of small business owners that Sam’s Club serves. Additionally, Salah also served on the boards of several national minority organizations representing Walmart Inc.

Bill Carmody:
Bill Carmody is the CEO of Trepoint. He was a founding partner and CMO of Seismicom, a leading brand promotions agency. He is the acclaimed author of the book “Online Promotions,” and has contributed to various marketing publications. Bill has presented at dozens of industry conferences and tradeshows across the globe. Bill is passionate about integrating wireless, online, sponsorship, events, and traditional marketing disciplines.\