Q & A Table of Contents
I Like All My Distributors. How Do I Choose Among Them?
From: Kevin, Scarborough, Ontario
Question: I supplied a product to 3 distributors in the same region last year. I would like to have only one distributor to distribute my product so that my own product will not compete itself in the market. I had to deal with these 3 distributors last year, only because each of them just wanted to try a small quantity since that was the first time they try this product (I can understand it), while it would not yield profit if the quantity is too small. That's why I supplied my product to all 3 distributors last year, and planning to just pick a good one for this year. Yet after this trial business with these 3 distributors, all are very satisfied at my product and I am very satisfied at all 3 of them too.
Now it make me very difficult to pick one as my distributor for this year's business. If I continue to supply all 3, it is not good for my product and each of them also wants himself to be
my sole distributor.
Do you have any good suggestion on how to pick one of them and how to respond them if they want to continue the business with me?
Response: You have done an excellent job identifying your own interest in determining how
many distributors make sense for your business. With that understanding of what is important to
you and why it is important, you have taken the critical first step in any collaborative decision-making process.
Your next steps should focus on what characteristics you will use to judge which distributor makes the most sense for you. If you prioritize the qualities you want in a single distributor speed of payment, quality and efficiency of delivery, capacity to store your product, etc. -- that should give you a good sense of what questions you need to ask each of your current distributors so you can compare them in a way that will help your decision-making.
If they all want the job, and if by some miracle each of them is equally-qualified, then you may
want to look to more subjective issues in determining which to choose. You may want to figure out whether any of them might carry competing products, whether you have a better relationship with any of the human beings involved, etc.
Once you make your choice of a single distributor, let your chosen distributor and the rejected
ones know that the initial sole-distributor agreement is for a defined period of time and will be reviewed according to clearly-stated criteria towards the end of that time. That way you are giving your sole distributor fair notice of what you expect and you are letting the rejected distributors know that you would like to keep the door open in case you decide to come back to them in the future. Dont burn bridges, give each distributor a fair opportunity to understand what criteria you are using, and you should end up satisfied with your choice and the process you
used for decision-making.
Good luck,
Steve
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