Distribution from the eyes of an ex-reseller

Be specific in the requests that you send in to a distributor. If you ask for “switches”, be assured that you will be asked which brand, what size, etc, etc. This is a waste of your and the distributor’s time. Better to contact the presales team and ask for some advice.

When ordering, provide all the information, don’t hold back and keep anything from them, you will be asked for it later, especially if it is important to enable the order to be processed.

Always remember that the distributor is there to help you. If you hold out on a special low, discount price, and still don’t win the business, it is worth speaking to the distributor to see what you could have done differently, apart from a lower price.

When asking for a special price for your client, tell the distributor all of the information that they ask for. If you hold out on the name, the contact, the address, you may find that another reseller beats you to the deal, with an additional discount above yours. They would have got this from the manufacturer, after being able to show that they were working in the account. If you are the incumbent, and are beaten off by another reseller, it may be that you didn’t give the distributor enough information.

If you have an account manager assigned to your company, meet with them regularly. Not only can they update you on product trends, but they can also let you know about the market – some account managers find out about company mergers, companies that have decided to close, who have moved where, and what new promotions are coming up.

Distributors are there to help you. But they need you to achieve their goals, otherwise they won’t be around much at all.