Understanding the motivation of partners can have a positive effect on your business. Below is a report of an interesting meeting that I chaired within the Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce yesterday.Mike Feinson of (Mulberry House Consultancy) introduced a simple, obvious yet very underused strategy in his talk on Motivating Agents and distributors to an audience at the International Sectors workshop on Managing Agents and Distributors on Wednesday, 19th September.
Getting to know your distributor involved trying to understand what they wanted and needed – which included not only a good product but also principals who knew how to provide the most effective assistance for mutual profit. Endless negotiations with unprofessional manner, a lack of consideration and indeterminate responsibilities were most likely to consign the products of a principal to the C category in the ABC of client groups for distributors – and being a C class principal means that your products are unlikely to ever emerge from the distributor’s briefcase! Distributors are NOT your customers, they are sales people that need to be convinced about your product and that you are serious enough to provide suitable continued support.
Stuart Gibbons (LeMark) recounted his first foray into the international market with BlackTak, a masking foil used in the theatre and filming industry, which through having established a good distributor relationship in the US has actually become synonymous with efficient light leakage blocking (as in “I went round the set and BlackTakked all the light leaks!”). Since then LeMark has expanded internationally country by country, bringing new distributors on board with regular visits and newsletters that keep them on board, engendering the feeling that they share in the success of the venture.
Chris Kubicki (International Sector Chairman, UKTI) rounded off the talks with a timely reminder of not only the OMIS market research facility and financial support to new market entrants but also some initial feedback on the successful link between the Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce and the US East Coast.
As ever in these workshops, the audience also played a vital role for a significant proportion of the meeting, with Chris Thomas (Dale Carnegie) facilitating small group discussions on items arising from the talks. The topics raised questions that were answered by both speakers and other participants with relevant experience in a lively exchange of practical knowledge.
The Workshop format has been highly successful; increasing numbers of participants with interests in international business from the novice to the expert have been attending.
We therefore look forward to the next workshop, to be held at Taylor Vinters (
Photo: Mike Feinson (Mulberry House Consultancy), Stuart Gibbons (LeMark) & Chris Kubicki (UKTI)
No comments:
Post a Comment