Introduction: A few days ago, this public account published an article titled 'Ten Sins of Agents in the Eyes of Salespeople', which sparked extensive discussion among manufacturer and distributor friends. One friend wrote an article titled 'Ten Sins of Manufacturers', which I have reposted here for reference and welcome comments. Today, the editor of Distributor Home saw a platform post listing ten sins of distributors as accused by manufacturer salespeople, which really angered me! You should know that Distributor Home is a representative serving distributors. Do we distributors deserve those accusations? Having seen much in the distributor industry, based on my experience and cooperation with manufacturers, I have compiled the following ten sins, directly getting to the point: Sin 1: Big manufacturers bully distributors. We all know that when manufacturers are small, they pat their chests and guarantee distributors can make money, treating them like brothers and sisters, calling them 'big brother' and 'big sister' to help sell. Once the factory business improves and grows, they become arrogant! Not to mention treating them like brothers, how many bosses still regularly contact distributors? Some large manufacturers even demand annual growth rates, prepayments, deposits, and impose strict conditions for expense verification. This is typical bullying! Typical unequal terms! Brands are built by distributors nationwide; why should they act superior to distributors? Water can carry a boat but also overturn it—remember that! As for new product distribution and promotions, every product competes for market share. If you don't offer more than competitors, how can you overturn established brands? In China, first-mover advantage dominates; Uni-President's inability to beat Master Kong for years is a classic example. Distributors show you the way, but if you refuse to take it, you can go your own way! Sin 2: Don't expect distributors to single-handedly counter huge manufacturer brands. We often encounter manufacturers who think that finding a larger distributor is like buying insurance. They ship goods and then disappear, assuming distributors are gods who can sell well. They don't realize that other manufacturers help their distributors, which is why they have current market positions! Any market performance is the result of good cooperation between manufacturers and distributors! Haven't you seen how competitors support their distributors? The market is now oversupplied, and every industry is fiercely competitive. Competitors are offering buy-one-get-one-free, while you give distributors a 20+1 deal and think it's huge support. Distributors are not gods; they can't afford to lose money to counter competitors! Moreover, some large manufacturers have too many management layers; by the time reports reach leaders, the product is almost dead. Distributors need partners who can support them timely to counter competitors and boost sales. Sin 3: Whoever offers benefits is the boss; management is chaotic. Everyone has felt that in recent years, both retail and wholesale have seen slower growth. Under such market conditions, sales targets are huge, and distributors struggle to grow sales. At this time, everyone wants growth, and rising labor costs force distributors to develop, needing sincere cooperation and strong support from manufacturer allies to overcome difficulties! But we often see unscrupulous manufacturers and their salespeople, under pressure to meet targets, shift all blame for declining sales onto distributors, making them scapegoats! To complete their own tasks, they treat whoever offers benefits as the boss, develop new accounts (actually just to push inventory), without considering long-term market development. They live month to month, and maybe after two months, they 'communicate' with leaders to transfer away, leaving the market ruined, causing some big brands to struggle to find good customers. Sin 4: Harsh expense verification for promotions. Some manufacturers play word games with market expenses, causing many distributors to fail to get timely and full reimbursement. Worse, some manufacturer salespeople deceive distributors about promotion expenses, withholding approvals or not following leaders' instructions, making distributors pay out of pocket to feel satisfied. Wanting to sell more is fine, but you need proper methods! How long will you keep deceiving distributors? Some manufacturer personnel even embezzle distributor expenses. Distributor Home often receives complaints about expenses not being reimbursed for two years, leading to breakdowns. Additionally, manufacturers attach numerous harsh conditions to reimbursement approvals; getting expenses is not easy! Without distributors' 'gratitude', you can't get expenses! Sin 5: Some manufacturers shift all risks to distributors.

  1. Some unscrupulous manufacturers hold 'grand' new product launches just to raise funds, fooling distributors into paying deposits but delaying shipments. At that time, they might not even have bought the machines! They operate entirely on distributors' money. This is common in Fujian; 'love to fight, will win' refers to distributors, not them—maybe one day distributors will lose everything. I know a brand's agent in Shijiazhuang paid 1 million yuan, and after a year, goods were still not fully delivered.
  2. Current transactions require payment before shipment, so distributors can't hold anything over manufacturers. Whether it's product quality issues or expense reimbursements, distributors bear the risk. Distributor Home often receives complaints: some manufacturers promise to cover store entry fees during recruitment, asking distributors to pay first and get reimbursed next month, but after entry, if sales are poor, they say reimbursement only after next order, or even require proportional reimbursement. Isn't that deception? Many distributors now demand net pricing, trial sales in circulation, and only enter supermarkets if products sell well and make money—all forced by unscrupulous manufacturers!
  3. Some unscrupulous manufacturers, relying on brand awareness, require deposits to prevent cross-region sales. When distributors stop, they don't refund promptly, or even at all! Worse, deposits and prepaid expenses can reach hundreds of thousands or millions, and they won't consider refunding for two years. How much profit is lost! Not only is money used for free, but some even lose everything. Sin 6: Unreasonable pricing and sales policies. Many manufacturers set high factory prices, leaving distributors with very low gross margins. They call it 'controlling distributors', meaning distributors can't promote independently and must rely entirely on manufacturers. Such distributors are just transporters, with sales depending on luck. If manufacturer promotions are strong, it's okay; if not, failing targets is non-negotiable. Do such distributors even have sales targets? Shouldn't targets be set for regional managers? Distributors don't earn your salary! Sin 7: Distributors are guinea pigs for new products. Some manufacturers treat distributors as 'guinea pigs' for new product launches, forcing them to take large quantities. If you have money in your account, goods are automatically shipped. If the new product sells well, you make money; if not, sorry, you handle it yourself. The company has stopped production, so no solution. Which company's products are all bestsellers? According to Distributor Home statistics, only about 20% of new products survive, meaning distributors are guinea pigs 80% of the time. That's also a cost for distributors! Sin 8: Not respecting distributors' core interests. Some manufacturer salespeople, when setting sales policies, fool distributors into giving up immediate interests for long-term vision. Yes, you don't invest, don't pay wages, and if things go wrong, you can leave, but what about distributors? Distributors usually aren't very strong; they are businessmen struggling forward. Monthly expenses plus wages are a heavy burden. The brand might not even be established before distributors go bankrupt. It's like manufacturer salespeople: if they don't get paid this month, they consider quitting next month! Sin 9: Unreasonable sales target growth. Every businessman wants to grow their business, unless they're fools! Manufacturer growth and distributor growth—what a great thing! But some manufacturers blindly set extremely high targets without considering how to achieve them: more market support, innovative new products, or higher distributor profits? Targets aren't set for distributors alone; they're for both parties! Once distributors see no hope, they give up, and everyone loses. Year-end is approaching; have you thought about next year's targets? Sin 10: Blindly developing multiple customers in one market, making distributors cry. Developing multiple customers in one regional market causes severe network overlap. No one wants to give up their customers, leading to cross-region sales and price undercutting. Some manufacturers fear distributors making high profits with low sales, so they deliberately create conflicts in regional markets, turning a blind eye to cross-region sales or even encouraging it, without considering distributors' reasonable profits. As long as their products are everywhere, they don't care if distributors make money! Summary: The content shared today by Distributor Home represents only the editor's personal views, aiming to remind manufacturers to consider distributors' interests when formulating sales plans, and to work hand in hand with distributors to innovate and create brilliance for the brand's bright future! Does the 'some manufacturers' mentioned in this article include your brand? Distributor friends, share this! You know what I mean! (This article is original by Distributor Home) -END- Content Selection Reply with the following keywords to search and read related articles: Sales Supervisor, Second-tier Management, Regional Manager, Distributor Management, New Channels, City Manager, Competition, 2015, Manufacturer-Distributor Game, Product Stagnation, Terminal Visit Management, Route Management, Deep Distribution, Internal Management, Sales Skills, Profit Enhancement, Recruitment, Distribution, Daily Management, Team Motivation, Trade Promotion, Sales Misconceptions, New Product Launch, Township Market, New Product Pricing, Sales Target Achievement, Closing Deals, Market Visit Inspection, Baijiu, Beer, Sales Growth, Agency Products, Cross-region Sales, KA, Terminal Merchandising, New Market, Market Operation, Learning, Book Recommendations, Inventory Management, New Salespeople, Consumer Promotion, Execution, Old Products, Expired Product Handling, Model Market, Recruitment, New Media, Distributor Development, Performance Appraisal, Assessment, Annual Planning, Shopping Guide, Morning Meeting, Display, Transformation, Inventory Pressure, Holidays, Distributor Cost Control, Channel Operation, Marketing Theory and Laws, Brand Truth, Order Meeting, Team Management, Training, Debriefing, Debriefing Report.