---
title: "17 Types of Successful and Failed Distributor Mindsets: Which One Are You?"
description: "Profit lies in the market, not in the factory. Many distributors fail to grasp this, blaming upstream issues and dreaming of strong brands, heavy advertising, low prices, good policies, high rebates, and many gifts. However, every lure hides a hook. It's better to build the market solidly and honestly. In this changing competitive landscape, if you don't truly know yourself and think a little effort deserves immediate resources and support, your intentions are impure, and manufacturers dislike such distributors. We need to know ourselves and control the overall situation. Below, based on years of market experience, I compare successful and unsuccessful distributors to help you self-reflect and find your own market approach."
author: "盛运涛"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2015-08-01"
language: "en"
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# 17 Types of Successful and Failed Distributor Mindsets: Which One Are You?

> Profit lies in the market, not in the factory. Many distributors fail to grasp this, blaming upstream issues and dreaming of strong brands, heavy advertising, low prices, good policies, high rebates, and many gifts. However, every lure hides a hook. It's better to build the market solidly and honestly. In this changing competitive landscape, if you don't truly know yourself and think a little effort deserves immediate resources and support, your intentions are impure, and manufacturers dislike such distributors. We need to know ourselves and control the overall situation. Below, based on years of market experience, I compare successful and unsuccessful distributors to help you self-reflect and find your own market approach.

Profit lies in the market, not in the factory. Many distributors fail to grasp this relationship. In their minds, everything is the upstream's problem. They fantasize about having strong brands, explosive advertising, low prices, good policies, high rebates, many gifts, and little after-sales service. These are just pipe dreams of unrealistic bosses. In reality, behind every lure is a hook waiting for you. It's better to be plain and honest, building the market solidly for peace of mind. In this ever-changing market competition, if you truly don't know yourself and think that a little effort should immediately warrant resources and support, your intentions are not pure, and manufacturers don't like such distributors. In the future market, we need to know ourselves and control the overall situation. Below, based on years of market operation experience and analysis, I present the differences between distributors with good business and those with poor business. We can compare ourselves to see which type we belong to, enabling self-reflection and finding our own market operation methods.

**Analysis of Failing Distributors:**

1. **Relying on Manufacturer Support:** If the manufacturer supports me, I'll stock up; if not, I won't. If the manufacturer supports me, I'll do promotions; if not, I won't. If they support salaries, I'll hire salespeople; if not, I won't. If they support my business trips, I'll go; if not, I won't. "Rely" is their keyword.

2. **No After-Sales Capability:** They lack professional after-sales personnel, and crucially, they don't understand after-sales themselves and are unwilling to outsource it. For them, a small problem can become a big one. They often blame the manufacturer for quality defects and poor quality, complaining all day.

3. **Waiting for Windfalls:** They sit in the store all day like urban white-collar workers, unaware of market changes. Selling two units makes them proud for a week. They spend time on the computer playing games or watching boring videos and news, hoping that one day the brand will become famous and they'll make money. They don't realize that brand building requires accumulation, and success requires accumulation too.

4. **Blaming the Market:** Their constant refrain is, "The market is bad now; business isn't as good as two years ago; it's raining today so no one comes; it's harvest time so no one comes; it's hot at noon so no one comes; it's evening and few people come." They constantly emit negative, decadent, and lazy signals. They only sigh and complain, never exploring market trends.

5. **Procrastination and Slowness:** They are slow in everything. Choosing a brand takes half a month, discussing with ten people, delaying openings, postponing promotions, and hesitating to hire staff. They claim they are carefully studying the market and employees, not wanting to waste a penny. In reality, they are just making excuses.

6. **Shifted Focus:** They have found a new love, seeking new excitement and goals. In their hearts, they believe that poor market performance is never the market's fault or their own ability, but the brand choice. So every year, they must choose a new brand, repeating this wasteful cycle.

7. **All Talk, No Action:** We find many customers who are very articulate, sounding correct and logical. They talk a lot and for years, but they rarely practice. Even if they act, it's just a token effort and they stop immediately. There's no effect, but they still talk endlessly.

8. **Obsession with Ultra-Low Prices:** Many have been through generic, low-end brands, making them more price-sensitive than anyone. If you set a price, they think it's too high because in their minds, only cheap items sell well. But consider: if we use a 2x markup as sales profit, compare a 600-yuan shower set with a 300-yuan one—where is the profit more substantial?

9. **Confused Thinking:** They don't even have a coherent plan; they just go with the flow, drifting with the market. Or they hear something and secretly note it down to try, without consulting others. They work alone. They need to communicate more with others and truly understand customer needs.

**Analysis of Successful Distributors:**

1. **Building a Sales Team:** First-class distributors build teams and expand scale; second-class do marketing and strategy; third-class sell products and compete on price. They focus on talent development and use, boldly introducing talent. They don't care about short-term profit loss or if employees' salaries exceed their relatives'.

2. **Clear Goals and Progress:** They clearly know their target market, progress, time, and methods. They effectively use feasible measures to achieve their goals and execution plans. They break down big goals into many small ones and tackle them one by one.

3. **Continuous Activities:** With 160 customers, each doing 2 activities a year, that means they have one activity every day. They schedule activities at various times, so their market has customer activities daily. Although they are numb to it, customers are always fresh because the location changes. They have turned their business into an ecosystem.

4. **Focus on Store Image:** They are particularly sensitive to signage, image walls, and display racks. They insist on correcting even small details to meet their standards. They are perfectionists. They not only care about their own store's decoration but also the image of channel agents. Such customers have no reason to fail in the market.

5. **Self-Service After-Sales:** They have professional after-sales personnel and a dedicated parts warehouse, with common parts on designated shelves. They can fix small problems themselves, and for big ones, they can even use welding to repair products. They often communicate effectively with manufacturer engineers.

6. **Knowing Where Profit Lies:** They don't care about overall sales volume but focus on profit sources. They fear that at year-end, the account will have no money. They clearly know where their profit comes from.

7. **Perseverance and Consistency:** Once they make a choice, they don't give up easily. They will cooperate with you for 2, 5, 10 years or more, following your lead. They actually support a person. They will continue to support and follow you.

8. **Quiet but Effective:** You rarely hear from them, but they do well, meeting basic sales targets every year. They solve small problems themselves and even see big problems as solvable.

**Editor's Note:** From nearly 1,900 articles published in this official account, I have selected 1,067 quality articles, divided into 14 categories and 57 knowledge points, systematically organizing frontline marketing management content into a library for your learning. From market to customers, covering practical combat and management, all are valuable. Follow the official account and reply with the number "1" to browse the following content: Sales Improvement Tips (73 articles), Sales Supervisor Skills (74), Terminal Visit Management (82), Distributor Market Operations (118), Distributor Development (91), Distributor Internal Operations Management (89), Team Management (53), First Lesson for New Salespeople (96), Efficient Distribution Techniques (117), Sales Manager's Eighteen Skills (90), Managing Distributors (47), KA Operations (35), Internet and Brand (47).


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