---
title: "Marketing Executives Talk (Part 1) - What to Do When Distributors Bypass You and Report Directly to Your Boss?"
description: "This article discusses how sales representatives can handle distributors who bypass them and report directly to their supervisors or bosses to gain more favorable terms. It provides two sample dialogues and five basic principles for dealing with such situations, emphasizing understanding the reasons, standing firm, communicating with superiors, proving oneself through market results, and being a valuable member of both teams."
author: "谭长春"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2016-09-22"
categories: "Dealer Operations, Management & Methods"
language: "en"
canonical: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/marketing-executives-talk-part-1-what-to-do-when-distributors-bypass-you-3b9e8494/"
markdown: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/marketing-executives-talk-part-1-what-to-do-when-distributors-bypass-you-3b9e8494.md"
original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/1qFubhfsTPmlNMz6mR9ppg"
translation: "https://xinjignxiao.com/zh/articles/%E8%90%A5%E9%94%80%E4%B8%BB%E7%AE%A1%E8%B0%88-%E4%B8%80-%E7%BB%8F%E9%94%80%E5%95%86%E8%B6%8A%E7%BA%A7%E6%B1%87%E6%8A%A5%E6%80%8E%E4%B9%88%E5%8A%9E-3b9e8494.md"
attribution: "New Distribution — https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/marketing-executives-talk-part-1-what-to-do-when-distributors-bypass-you-3b9e8494/"
citation: "谭长春. “Marketing Executives Talk (Part 1) - What to Do When Distributors Bypass You and Report Directly to Your Boss?.” New Distribution, 2016-09-22. https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/marketing-executives-talk-part-1-what-to-do-when-distributors-bypass-you-3b9e8494/"
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# Marketing Executives Talk (Part 1) - What to Do When Distributors Bypass You and Report Directly to Your Boss?

> This article discusses how sales representatives can handle distributors who bypass them and report directly to their supervisors or bosses to gain more favorable terms. It provides two sample dialogues and five basic principles for dealing with such situations, emphasizing understanding the reasons, standing firm, communicating with superiors, proving oneself through market results, and being a valuable member of both teams.

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Some "old" distributors who have been operating a company's products for a long time, or some distributors who are good at building relationships (so-called "savvy"), will gradually develop a bad habit during their contact with sales representatives. They disregard the salesperson's feelings and instead report directly to the salesperson's supervisor or boss, in order to obtain more favorable cooperation conditions, better support or policies for themselves, and thus achieve greater benefits.
However, this practice of ignoring procedures and only seeking more favor brings great distress to the sales representatives communicating with such clients: communication is hindered, they are treated poorly at the distributor's place, their image is damaged in front of their leaders, and they face obstacles in their work. Sometimes, salespeople are very angry but also helpless, wishing they could give the distributor a piece of their mind!
What to do? How to adjust and improve, so that the distributor will communicate with you willingly, and your leader will be assured of your work at the distributor's place?
Script 1: "Brother Li, although you are a client of our company and the company has arranged for me to handle business with you, I have never only regarded you as a client, but as an elder brother to me, a junior. As a newcomer, my working time is not long, my work experience is not rich, and my social experience is limited... In many aspects, I still need your guidance as an elder brother, and opportunities to improve. So, if I do not do well in many aspects, such as being immature in my actions, speaking too directly, or not handling problems comprehensively, please bear with me and give me your opinions directly! If there are problems, I will definitely correct them! Today, our company has a promotional policy, and I would like to take a little of your time to first discuss recent market issues with you..."
Script 2: "Mr. Zhao, I know you have a large business volume and a tight schedule, and we are just a brand with not much sales volume for you. However, as a salesperson, it is my duty to convey the company's policies to you, discuss market dynamics together, and serve the market more effectively. If I cannot have some communication with you in this regard, it is my dereliction of duty, and neither I nor my leaders can forgive me. As for your feeling that my authority is limited and I cannot provide more support, as a frontline salesperson, I can still report the facts of our communication and the results of our analysis to my supervisor at the fastest speed. This also allows my supervisor to communicate with company leaders more quickly and effectively, facilitating the quickest way to find solutions to market problems. So, please allow me to take a little of your time..."
From the above two scripts, the first one reflects a salesperson using humility to break through the hearts of some arrogant and proud distributors, making the distributor "not hit a smiling face"; and the salesperson reasonably flatters the distributor, shortening the psychological distance between the two, making the distributor feel the salesperson's loveliness, and thus willing to communicate with the salesperson. Even if the salesperson has little power and cannot make immediate decisions to help the distributor solve practical problems, the distributor is willing to let the salesperson report the actual situation to the supervisor, rather than proactively contacting the supervisor, which would embarrass the salesperson. This is a relatively basic method to deal with distributors bypassing the salesperson - letting the distributor know that you are humble and cautious, not representing the company to show off or act bossy.
Looking at the second script, it reflects how salespeople from weak brand companies deal with strong distributors, making them lower their stance and communicate with the salesperson instead of reporting everything to the supervisor and ignoring the salesperson. When other methods are ineffective, the salesperson must very formally, seriously, and clearly state their attitude and their basic responsibilities as a salesperson to communicate with the distributor, essentially completely blocking the distributor's idea of bypassing the salesperson and reporting directly to the supervisor. This is a slightly more advanced method to solve the problem of distributors bypassing - clearly stating one's attitude (implicitly indicating that even if the distributor communicates with the supervisor, they may not get extra support, nor necessarily the results they have planned for!)
Of course, in reality, there are many other methods to deal with different distributors who disdain communicating with ordinary salespeople. These are actually matters of skill and attitude, and the above does not represent the entirety of communication with distributors. Many frontline salespeople may have their own ways to deal with distributors bypassing them.
However, besides some skills, upon careful consideration, there are still some basic principles to follow when dealing with distributors' bypassing communication. As a salesperson, understanding these basic principles and keeping them in mind can help you stay calm in crisis, turn conflict into harmony, turn the ordinary into the extraordinary, and change from an adversary to a permanent friend.
** _1_** Understand the situation - Why do distributors bypass levels?
Distributors sometimes bypass levels because they think communicating with someone with more power may yield more benefits or policies, while communicating with ordinary salespeople may sometimes be like "casting pearls before swine." These are the main reasons why distributors do not want to communicate with salespeople and only want to report directly to higher-ups. However, if there are also situations such as: the salesperson is not proactive, does not understand the market, does not actively visit the distributor to communicate (sometimes only by phone, sometimes not even by phone), does not help the distributor solve market problems together, and is idle; or although caring about the market, lacks the ability to solve problems, resulting in the distributor always getting fewer or smaller policies than distributors in other regions, unable to meet the distributor's reasonable requirements, often causing the distributor to miss opportunities; or after falling out with the distributor, not proactively interacting with them, leaving the distributor with no one to communicate with, etc. In these cases, one must look for problems within oneself.
If these problems occur, the salesperson should first proactively solve them from their own side, and sometimes may need to have in-depth communication with the supervisor to find solutions. If the distributor bypasses levels passively due to the salesperson's own reasons, the salesperson should proactively admit mistakes to the supervisor and the distributor, visit the market more, learn to analyze and research the market, think about market solutions from the distributor's perspective, communicate more about market solutions with the distributor, propose more ideas, do more things, keep a low profile in words and deeds, be humble and cautious, so as to completely change the distributor's view of you, making a 360-degree turn.
** _2_** Stand firm - Do your own duties well
Sometimes distributors develop this bad habit of bypassing levels, and even with your own ability, you cannot change them. At this time, many salespeople worry that this situation will be detrimental to them, so they may inevitably engage in some flattering actions to gain the distributor's "pity" - such as treating the distributor to meals, drinks, and entertainment before and after each communication, hiding unreasonable requests from the company, giving excessive support... Actually, this is a wrong solution based on a wrong premise. Because the distributor is the one in the wrong, and sometimes the distributor takes advantage of your weakness and lack of authority. At this time, implementing such methods to solve the problem only encourages the distributor's arrogance. Therefore, the stance at this time should be: stand firm, and base everything on doing your own duties well.
Now there are still some salespeople who treat distributors like lords, as if they are begging for food from them, so they are submissive and try to please them in every way, yet still end up in an awkward situation. So, if you feel you haven't made any major mistakes and it's mainly the distributor's bad habit, the more you need to stand firm, act righteously, and be neither humble nor pushy. Even if the distributor obstructs you, persist in doing your own duties well. Have a clear conscience and give a good account to your supervisor and yourself. This will make the distributor feel less confident and eventually adjust their attitude towards you.
** _3_** Communicate with superiors - Right or wrong, let the supervisor judge
Seeking leadership and communicating with them is an important principle for a salesperson to protect themselves. As your supervisor, they should be the most important source of solutions when you encounter problems. So, first, proactively communicate this issue with your supervisor, hoping they can help you find the problem (in fact, during the process of helping you find the problem, the supervisor will also realize that it is wrong to communicate directly with the distributor, and thus in the future, the supervisor will consciously let the distributor come to you to communicate). Second, find out some of the distributor's thoughts on communicating with the supervisor, so as to have more targeted plans when formulating policies for this type of distributor in the future. Third, let the supervisor contact the distributor with you, find an opportunity to communicate together, and during the joint communication, let the supervisor say some good words for you. When the distributor sees that your supervisor values you highly, they may also look at you with new respect. Through the supervisor's personal example, raising your status actually blocks a path for the distributor to communicate with the supervisor.
** _4_** Do more things, let the market prove that distributors don't need to communicate with the supervisor to achieve good results
A salesperson is mainly an executor. In fact, when the distributor hasn't taken you seriously yet, it is also the time for the salesperson to work hard and prove their ability. If the salesperson can calm down, think of more good market plans, and during execution, help the distributor more, letting market results speak for themselves. If the final market results are good and indeed help the distributor, the distributor will look at you with new respect.
** _5_** Be flexible - Be a part of both teams
In fact, a salesperson is not only a member of the enterprise, not only doing all the things arranged by the enterprise supervisor and stipulated by the enterprise's responsibilities, but also an indispensable part of the distributor's operations, a good helper in the distributor's business. With this understanding, the salesperson can find direction in their confusion. They are not only an important member of the team led by the supervisor, an indispensable organizational member whom the supervisor is willing to entrust with important market execution tasks, but also a think tank in the distributor's business team, an inseparable part of the distributor's success in selling products and making profits.
If a salesperson can always be aware of their important position, maximize their talents, and become an important bridge between the enterprise and the market, then no distributor would be so extreme as to bypass you and directly communicate with your superiors!
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## Citation metadata

- Publisher: New Distribution
- Author: 谭长春
- Published: 2016-09-22
- Canonical: https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/marketing-executives-talk-part-1-what-to-do-when-distributors-bypass-you-3b9e8494/
- Original source: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/1qFubhfsTPmlNMz6mR9ppg

## Copyright and AI use

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