One of the most important parts of building a brand in the U.S. market is the distributor. As we’ve laid out before, the distribution system in the U.S. means that the distributor’s incentive is aligned with yours, so in theory you can get them to help you quite a bit.
The reality is sometimes different, but the practices remain the same. In general, distributors can help you scale your brand at best, and at worst, they can block all your hard-earned efforts.
Below are eight ways to help you better engage your distributor’s sales team.
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Patience – It Takes Time. It takes time for a group of reps to be aware of and remember your brand. Reps know that brands take time to get into the heads of their consumers (usually a multi-year lifecycle) and that is true for your brand.
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Think and Act Positively. One of the rookie mistakes when dealing with distributors is getting pushy. I’ve personally made this mistake a lot, particularly early on. But remember the old adage “honey attracts more than vinegar,” and remind yourself that the sales process is fundamentally an emotional one. So enthusiasm and passion cand take your brand a long way with distributors.
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Financial Incentives. Who doesn’t like money? While positivity and patience take you far, financial incentives take you there faster. Work on creating ways to bring value to the sales team representing your brand in their portfolio. It’s a two-way street where if you make money, they can too.
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Build those Relationships. As the wise Ted Roman, who advised us for many years and used to run sales for Pernod and WG&S, always said, “Nate, it’s a relationship business”. Build the relationship first – this will allow you to make asks. There’s a lot of fly-by-night
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Be the Squeaky Wheel. Part of winning is just reminding the rep that you exist. Your EQ here is everything, and you want to make sure you understand their world, not yours, but gently and firmly keep the pressure on them to make sure that as opportunities come up, the rep reacts to them. This is reliant on number 3 above as you can’t be the squeaky wheel without a relationship. Know also that your ability to be the squeaky wheel is going to depend on a lot of things out of your control (focus period pressure from their managers, other brands in the portfolio, market conditions, etc).
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Know the Followup is On You. This can be frustrating, but keep a strongly tracked lists of specific promises and make sure you follow up regularly. You’re the only one that will do it.
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Show them Wins. If they have 10,000 products in your portfolio, they will naturally focus on the ones that feed themselves and their families. And, as we said, the sales process is fundamentally an emotional one – not a logical one. If you think about it, this is true for everyone. So if you see something exciting happening, you tend to go towards it. As the brand, your job is to make the rep feel like if they invest more time in your brand versus someone else’s, it’s a win-win for everyone.
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Your Brand Manager is Important. Your distributor brand manager is your link within the organization and you should be speaking with them a lot, staying organized, and developing a relationship with them.
Need help enticing a distributor? Start here with Part 1 of How to Get a Liquor Distributor for Your Brand.
Looking for more advise? Reach out to use at inquiries@helmsmanimports.com to see how we can help!
