SALES ANALYTICS

10 Ways to Improve Distributor Sales Performance

As a business owner or marketer, boosting your company’s sales revenue may highly lie in how you strategize with your distributor. 

Especially for B2B companies that primarily sell their products with a distributor, knowing how to maximize distribution channels and fostering good professional relationships with your partners are essential for a higher chance of success.

Since selling through a distributor also comes some challenges, you must be ready to address issues and offer alternatives during your partnership. After all, they are also independent companies that want to foster a long-term mutual working relationship with your business. How can you make the most of this partnership and let it pave the way towards sales growth? 

What are the ways to increase distributor sales?

Do you want to improve your sales performance? Here are 10 strategies to guide you:

1) Expand your distributor network

As mentioned earlier, distributors are independent companies that usually sell a variety of products. If you want to improve your sales margin, expanding and partnering up with more than one distributor can lead to better profits. 

Just make sure expectations are properly managed on both ends.  If you have a strong relationship with one distributor, use that as a benchmark for how processes should flow with the new distribution partnership.

2) Focus on your leads

Having lists of well-defined lead criteria makes for a more convenient distribution and selling process. 

Since delays can be expensive and could critically affect the turnover time of products, be clear with who your ideal consumers are and let your distributors know your strategy. Doing this allows them to prioritize leads and increases conversion rates.

3) Let your distributor leave feedback

This industry lies on a “give and take” connection. Be open to constructive criticism and give your distributor the chance to provide feedback to your business. What are their current troubles with your products? Are they having problems with your leads? What are the steps they would suggest in making the distribution process more convenient? 

Always be open to feedback. Distributors have their own areas of expertise and may even help you be more productive with your time. 

4) Leverage tools and technology

Certain pieces of technology exists because they’ve evolved through years of testing and feedback.  Don’t hesitate to make use of this technology that save quality time and company resources. As an example, investing in an order management system software that can be accessed by both parties can cut a huge chunk of time to track important data.

When investing in technology and software, it’s hard to go wrong with industry standards that have proven to be flexible, efficient, reliable and secure. You wouldn’t want to invest your money on something that could cause distribution delays down the road. Also, invest in solutions that are simple, intuitive, and user-friendly for people of all ages.  Trying to save money on a product with a lower price point could cost you big money in training your staff how to properly and effectively use the tool. 

5) Automate lead management

Using good CRM software that allows you to automate lead management is certainly a great investment for your business. 

Since manually collecting leads, putting them into spreadsheets, and getting them to your distributors can waste valuable time, CRMs make it possible to condense all pieces of information into one reliable system.

6) Provide helpful case studies

Improving your sales with a distributor will not happen overnight. Instead, you will have to be continuous with your efforts and follow a system-based approach for quicker results. One of the things that prove to be effective is providing helpful case studies to your partners.

The reason why this works is that these tools are able to represent the data that works for your products and goods. Just imagine, by giving them a report that includes illustration, metrics, and other pieces of information about how your products sell in specific markets, times, and other factors, your distributor can also apply them to their own selling operations. 

7) Nurture your professional relationships

The strategy behind a distribution channel (1) does not always have to be complex for it to work. Unfortunately, many companies are underestimating the importance of cultivating good relationships with their distributors. 

Loyalty goes a long way in this industry. Take care of your partners and ensure mutually productive connections. Although it may be difficult to foster these relationships at the start, committing to keep your existing team is so much easier and cheaper than on-boarding new partners again. 

8) Launch your products to your distributor

How can your distributors sell your products when they do not even know their value? 

For the best results, you should never presume that they already know everything about what you are selling. Always make it a point to “launch” your services to your distributor’s sales reps. 

Let them know why your products are different, which benefits set them apart from other competitors, and what your ideal prospect looks like. This will allow them to craft a distribution strategy and promote your goods that will fit your brand. Talk to your partners and see if they would be amenable to setting aside time for training and introducing your items. You can also set up a loyalty program that will give cooperative workers incentives and make the process fun and challenging.

9) Schedule regular sales conferences 

Encourage regular sales meetings with your distributors. You can do this by organizing meetups or by setting up online webinars. 

Make the get togethers exciting. Promote your products, give incentives, and offer rewards as it is also a way to improve teamwork while marketing your items.  

10) Make good data-driven decisions

Investing your time in studying your competitors, planning marketing strategies, and gathering data are the things that will help you increase your sales. Why? Because it allows you to make solid, data-driven decisions.  Based on certain data points (and assumptions), altering your sales approach, and recording the data accordingly can make a positive impact to the company’s revenue.  You should constantly be testing and tweaking and recording the data to see how these slight changes impact your overall revenue.

Understanding what makes consumers buy, what drives them away, and what services they prefer will greatly improve your distribution strategies. 

Increase your sales and improve your distribution 

With the 10 strategies we mentioned above, thoughtfully and consistently implementing them could definitely help improve your relationship with your distributor that should yield positive sales results. 

Is your company looking to grow?  Are you trying to reach a new revenue threshold?  Acquiring new customers is costly and time intensive.  ReconInsight’s Ri360 takes existing sales data from manufacturers, distributors, and wholesaler and presents it in an easy-to-understand format highlighting existing sales opportunities from current customers.  The answer isn’t always to get new clients!

References

1. Oberlo | What is a distribution channel?
   https://www.oberlo.com/ecommerce-wiki/distribution-channel

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