---
title: "Excellent Companies 'Empower' Distributors, Mediocre Companies 'Use' Distributors!"
description: "In market visits, a phenomenon is observed: many top regional distributors have grown alongside one or two excellent brand companies, with partnerships lasting 5, 10, or even 20 years, significantly enhancing their operational capabilities. Conversely, some distributors with growth potential stagnate or decline due to their brand partners. For brand companies, marketing teams prefer to 'attach to big names' and seek strong distributors to ensure sales targets, but the reality is that top distributors are limited. The article argues that excellent companies 'cultivate' distributors, while mediocre companies 'use' them, and discusses how to define and improve distributor relationships."
author: "高级研究员 海游"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2022-08-22"
language: "en"
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# Excellent Companies 'Empower' Distributors, Mediocre Companies 'Use' Distributors!

> In market visits, a phenomenon is observed: many top regional distributors have grown alongside one or two excellent brand companies, with partnerships lasting 5, 10, or even 20 years, significantly enhancing their operational capabilities. Conversely, some distributors with growth potential stagnate or decline due to their brand partners. For brand companies, marketing teams prefer to 'attach to big names' and seek strong distributors to ensure sales targets, but the reality is that top distributors are limited. The article argues that excellent companies 'cultivate' distributors, while mediocre companies 'use' them, and discusses how to define and improve distributor relationships.

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In market visits, there is a phenomenon: many top regional distributors have largely grown up alongside one or two excellent brand companies, with partnerships lasting 5, 10, or even 20 years. Along the way, distributors' operational capabilities have significantly improved. Of course, there are also distributors with opportunities for rapid growth who stagnate or even decline due to their brand partners.
For brand companies, marketing teams like to 'attach to big names' and seek strong distributors, so that future sales targets are not a worry. But in fact, top regional distributors, when counted by category, can be counted on one hand, and they cannot all cooperate with you. What to do? My view is: **Excellent companies 'cultivate' distributors, mediocre companies 'use' distributors!** Today, let's talk about how companies define their distributors.
**01** **Brand companies should treat existing distributors like 'students'**
A class has many students. If we had to label them, there are three types: first, excellent students, naturally smart + eager to learn; second, average students, naturally smart + not eager to learn, or not naturally smart + eager to learn; and third, poor students, not naturally smart + not eager to learn. As a teacher, you can label them based on exam scores, daily learning performance, and other indicators, treat them differently, and formulate different improvement measures.
Similarly, companies have distributors who are excellent, average, or poor. How to label them? We can correspond: 'natural talent' corresponds to distributor 'capability', and 'eagerness to learn' corresponds to 'willingness'.
Careful study reveals: **As long as students are eager to learn, few are poor, while naturally smart students can be good or bad.** So in terms of market operations, we can also judge from a macro perspective: **Markets where distributors have strong willingness to cooperate rarely become poor markets; willingness is more important than capability.**
**A good teacher will formulate different assistance plans based on the actual situation of each type of student, making the poor better, the average excellent, and the excellent even more outstanding. The same applies to good brand companies.**
Of course, some company marketing personnel might think that poor distributors can be replaced, but in reality, there are several issues: Can you find a better replacement? Will replacement definitely work? Should you assist first or replace directly?
My view is: In fifteen years of practice, having served hundreds of distributors, at least 80% of distributors only know how to 'sell', not 'operate'. Those who can keep pace with the company and actively or passively execute the company's marketing ideas belong to the 'naturally talented' part. So **distributors need a good teacher.**
**02** **How do brand companies label distributors?**
The purpose of labeling distributors is to distinguish excellent, average, and poor, and then apply targeted remedies.
**1. Analysis of willingness indicators:**
**Willingness is a result of comparison, not a specific value at a certain time!**
**a. Sales comparison:** For example, take the sales data of the past three years. If there is growth every year, and the growth rate is higher than the company's overall, we can consider it high willingness (self-motivated). If the growth rate is the same as the company's overall, we can consider it medium willingness (willing to accompany the company's development). If the growth rate is lower than the company's overall, we can consider it low willingness (falling behind).
Of course, you can also compare within the distributor's region, but it is worth reminding not to be deceived by those large distributors with high absolute sales but negative growth year after year. Yili's sales exceeded 100 billion, and some large distributors with annual sales over 100 million and high willingness are still actively seeking growth.
**b. Network quantity and quality comparison:** Obviously, a high-willingness distributor's network will gradually increase. The higher the increase rate, the stronger the willingness, matched by increases in personnel, vehicles, and warehousing. When the network quantity reaches its peak, the quality of the network begins to upgrade, manifested in the gradual increase of high-sales outlets, the gradual increase of fortress customers, and the gradual strengthening of channel competition barriers.
**c. Business philosophy and reputation:** Distributors who clearly understand the brand company's next business ideas, understand and identify with the brand company's business philosophy, and have good reputation in serving the brand company's outlets (based on survey proportion) must have strong willingness.
**d. Learning enthusiasm comparison:** This is a soft indicator, difficult to quantify, but can be referenced. When brand company personnel visit distributors, if they actively discuss market operation plans, learn how excellent distributors operate, care about their annual progress or regional ranking, and actively participate in various training and benchmarking tours organized by the brand company, it indicates strong willingness.
Summary: **Brand companies should view distributors' progress dynamically. Distributors with continuous progress must be those with strong willingness and are the key cultivation targets for brand companies.**
**2. Analysis of capability indicators:**
**Capability is defined as the condition for being competent at a task, and it is a specific value at a certain time!**
**a. Logistics configuration:** Only with vehicles is there coverage capability; the number of vehicles determines the strength of coverage capability.
**b. Warehousing configuration:** Similarly, ensure safe product inventory and orderly management (distributors proficient in using inventory, sales, visit, or financial system software should be scored higher). The warehouse area determines the product throughput capability.
**c. Personnel configuration:** Based on the regional category network calculation method, the number of personnel should be sufficient, not more is better.
**d. Office environment:** Post-95s and post-00s employees value this, and it also reflects the distributor's overall strength.
**e. Capital configuration:** The proportion of self-owned funds in business operations; the heavier the proportion of self-owned funds, the stronger the strength.
Summary: First, after determining the evaluation dimensions, quantify the evaluation indicators, otherwise the evaluation structure cannot be implemented. Generally, there are two sets of standards: one is a 100-point system with set scoring standards, and the other is a ranking system with scores based on ranking. But it is worth noting that 'opinion-based' scoring content should be minimized to facilitate team consensus.
Secondly, the standard for brand companies to label distributors must be: Can they be used for me? The proportion of willingness evaluation must be greater than capability evaluation. The reason is simple: if a capable distributor treats your product as 'chicken ribs', then your market will not develop well. So **the best manufacturer-distributor relationship must be: strong willingness and matching capability.**
**03** **How to improve labeled distributors?**
The purpose of labeling is to classify and improve; otherwise, labeling is meaningless. In terms of capability and willingness, we can divide into four quadrants and assist each one.
**1. Distributor: strong capability + strong willingness** **Brand company: act as a good 'referee'**
For such distributors, the brand company's marketing team should fully delegate and ensure support, supervise the process and results, handle the manufacturer-distributor relationship well, and facilitate later use as a benchmarking site for other weaker distributors.
**2. Distributor: strong capability + weak willingness** **Brand company: act as a good 'coach'**
The coach's purpose is to supervise the athlete's training and correct any deviant thoughts. Brand companies should pay more attention to data, and if anomalies appear, provide immediate feedback.
**3. Distributor: weak capability + strong willingness** **Brand company: act as a good 'sparring partner'**
The purpose of a sparring partner is to accompany the athlete in training, not only providing guidance but also demonstrating in practice. In short, first teach you, then help you improve together, help you mount the horse, and then send you off.
**4. Distributor: weak capability + weak willingness** **Brand company: issue 'directives'**
When encountering such distributors, the company should first uphold the concept of saving and healing, solve the willingness problem first, then consider capability. Therefore, through detailed 'directives', forcibly 'cultivate' the distributor's willingness, gain benefits in the coercion, and stimulate willingness in the benefits.
Some might say that such distributors should be replaced. I do not oppose this, but the premise is whether you have the ability to replace them. For example, some customers who made significant contributions during the brand company's entrepreneurial development period are those without whom there would be no present, but with whom there is no future. The relationships are complex and deeply rooted. What to do? Then while reforming, also make preparations.
**04** **Distributor training should be included in the company budget**
We often say, first fill the mind, then fill the pocket. In fact, many brand companies do not pay enough attention to distributor training services. It should be known that distributors' perspectives are relatively narrow and need brand companies to broaden their horizons.
For example: help distributors establish advanced business concepts, provide necessary assistance in management and guidance, strengthen learning and exchange among distributors, and strengthen learning and exchange with external expert teams. This approach can empower distributors in both capability and willingness, allowing the distributor team to improve overall.
Finally, back to the theme: Brand company, are you 'empowering' distributors or 'using' distributors?
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