The days, weeks and months immediately after signing a new international distributor are crucial for the distributor’s long-term success. One piece of advice I always share with clients regarding new distributors is this: You must be ready to guide them and help them hit the ground running from day one to launch the brand, start making sales and gain market share as soon as possible.
So, what can you do to help a new distributor have the best chance for success in the short term and build a solid foundation for long-term success?
Here are three practices I personally use to help new international distributors succeed and stay in our distribution network for the long term:
Spending time upfront with your new international distributor, helping them ease into your distribution network, making them feel welcome, setting up expectations about collaboration, and “showing them the ropes” will make a tremendous difference in the distributor’s confidence and performance.
Here is the simple onboarding schedule that I use and that some of my clients have modified to onboard and help their new international distributors get ready to launch a brand in their respective countries:
A common mistake I’ve seen exporters make is assuming that new international distributors know how to launch the brand, gain market share and grow sales year after year. Offering training is not only a critical element for success, but it can also be a source of competitive advantage for your company.
In my experience, I have found that most exporters are not ready to offer training to new distributors. However, developing a training program is not difficult. Most of the time, exporters and their teams have the information needed to create a distributor training program—this knowledge just has not yet been documented.
At a company I used to work for, there wasn’t a training program available for new distributors. I identified five training areas that would be valuable for new distributors. Next, I interviewed people in our company that worked in those areas. Finally, I documented the information and compiled it into one training manual. The result was a formal training program that covered the following critical areas:
Each section covered the following items:
You need to communicate often with new international distributors, to reassure them that you are with them every step of the way and that they made a great decision by becoming your distributor. The worst thing you can do is be silent. Remember, the first few days and weeks will set the pace and expectations for your relationship with the new distributor.
These communications don’t need to be complicated, but they need to be regular and scheduled. I highly recommend clients use multiple communication channels (email, phone calls, video conferences, in-person visits, etc.) and establish a communications schedule. Here is an example of a schedule I have used:
International distributors must also have the opportunity to provide feedback. I encourage distributors to provide feedback anytime, but I also establish a quarterly report where they can provide thoughtful, candid feedback and suggestions.
Through trial and error, I found that to receive these reports from our distributors, I needed to do the following:
One of the quarterly reports I established required distributors to report on the following five elements:
You can see the report template that I use here.
By providing new distributors with onboarding, training and two-way communications opportunities, you will be setting them up for success in both the short and long term.
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