Click 'Read Original' for details. Some "old" distributors who have been selling a company's products for a long time, or some who are good at building relationships (so-called "savvy" ones), gradually develop a bad habit during their interactions with sales reps: they ignore the sales rep's feelings and instead report directly to the sales rep's supervisor or boss, seeking more favorable cooperation terms, better support, or policies, thereby maximizing their own interests. However, this practice of bypassing procedures to gain more favor brings great distress to the sales reps dealing with such clients: communication is hindered, they suffer in front of the distributor, their image is damaged in front of their superiors, and obstacles arise in their work. Sometimes, sales reps feel furious but helpless, wishing they could give the distributor a piece of their mind! What to do? How to adjust and improve so that distributors will communicate respectfully with you, while also reassuring your boss about your work with distributors? Script 1: "Brother Li, although you are a client of our company and the company has assigned me to handle business with you, I have never regarded you merely as a client, but as an elder brother to me, a young newcomer. As a rookie, my work experience is short, my professional skills are not yet refined, and my social exposure is limited... In many aspects, I still need your guidance as an elder brother, and opportunities to improve. So, if I fall short in many ways—such as being immature in handling matters, speaking too directly, or not considering all angles—please bear with me and give me your feedback directly! If there are issues, I will correct them! Today, our company has launched a promotional policy. I'd like to take a moment of your time to 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 small brand you carry. However, as a sales rep, it is my duty to convey company policies to you, discuss market trends together, and serve the market more effectively. If I fail to communicate with you on these matters, it is my dereliction of duty, and neither I nor my boss would forgive me. You might think my authority is limited and I can't provide more support, but as a frontline sales rep, I can quickly report the facts and analysis from our discussions to my supervisor. This will enable my supervisor to communicate with company leadership faster and find solutions for the market. So, please allow me to take a little of your time..." From these two scripts, the first reflects a sales rep using humility to break through the defenses of arrogant or proud distributors, making it hard for them to refuse a smiling face. This sales rep reasonably flatters the distributor, shortening the psychological distance, making the distributor find the rep endearing, and thus willing to communicate. Even if the rep lacks authority and cannot make immediate decisions to solve the distributor's problems, the distributor is willing to let the rep report the situation to the supervisor, rather than bypassing the rep. This is a relatively basic solution to the problem of distributors bypassing sales reps—letting them know you are humble and cautious, not representing the company to show off or act condescendingly. Now, the second script reflects how sales reps from weaker brands can deal with powerful distributors, making them lower their stance and communicate with the rep instead of always reporting to the supervisor and ignoring the rep. When other methods fail, the sales rep must formally, seriously, and clearly state their attitude and basic responsibilities as a sales rep in communicating with the distributor, essentially blocking the distributor's intention to bypass the rep. This is a slightly more advanced method—clearly stating your stance (implicitly indicating that even if the distributor talks to the supervisor, they may not get extra support or the results they planned for!). Of course, in reality, there are many other methods to deal with distributors who disdain communicating with regular sales reps. These are mostly about skills and attitudes; the above does not cover everything. Many frontline sales reps may have developed their own ways to handle distributors bypassing them. However, beyond skills, there are some basic principles to follow when dealing with distributors' bypassing communication. As a sales rep, understanding and memorizing these principles can help you stay calm in crisis, turn conflict into cooperation, and turn enemies into lifelong friends. 01 Understand the Situation—Why Do Distributors Bypass? Distributors sometimes bypass because they think communicating with someone with more authority may yield more benefits or policies, while talking to a regular sales rep might be like "casting pearls before swine." These are the main reasons distributors avoid sales reps and prefer to report directly to higher-ups. But if there are other situations, such as: the sales rep is inactive, doesn't understand the market, doesn't proactively visit the distributor (sometimes only calls, or not even that), doesn't help the distributor solve market problems, and is idle; or although caring about the market, lacks problem-solving skills, resulting in the distributor always getting fewer or smaller policies than other regions, failing to meet reasonable demands, and often missing opportunities; or after a falling out, the rep doesn't proactively engage, leaving the distributor with no channel for communication—these are issues to address from within. If these problems exist, the sales rep should first proactively solve them from their own side, sometimes even having in-depth discussions with the supervisor to find solutions. If the distributor bypasses due to the rep's own shortcomings, the rep should proactively admit mistakes to both the supervisor and the distributor, spend more time in the market, learn and analyze the market, consider solutions from the distributor's perspective, communicate more about market solutions, propose more ideas, do more work, stay low-key, be humble and cautious, and thus completely change the distributor's perception of you, making a 360-degree turn. 02 Stand Firm—Do Your Job Well Sometimes distributors develop this bad habit of bypassing, and even with your abilities, you can't change them. At this point, many sales reps worry about the negative impact on themselves, so they may resort to ingratiating behaviors to gain the distributor's "pity"—such as treating them to meals and entertainment before and after communication, hiding unreasonable demands from the company, or giving excessive support... Actually, this is a wrong solution based on a wrong premise. Because the distributor is the one at fault, and they often exploit your weakness and lack of authority. Continuing with such methods only emboldens the distributor's arrogance. So, your stance should be: Stand firm, and base everything on doing your job well. Now, some sales reps treat distributors like lords, as if they are begging for scraps, so they are submissive and overly accommodating, yet still end up in an awkward position. So, if you feel you haven't made major mistakes and it's mainly the distributor's bad habit, you should stand even firmer, act upright, and be neither humble nor pushy. Even if the distributor obstructs, persist in doing your job well. With a clear conscience, give a good account to your supervisor and yourself. This will make the distributor feel less confident and eventually adjust their attitude toward you. 03 Communicate with Your Superior—Let Your Supervisor Judge Right or Wrong Always go to your leader and communicate with them—this is an important principle for a sales rep to protect themselves. Your supervisor should be your primary source of solutions when problems arise. So, first, proactively discuss this issue with your supervisor, hoping they help you find the problem (in fact, while helping you, the supervisor will also realize that directly communicating with the distributor is inappropriate, and will thus consciously let the distributor come to you for communication in the future). Second, find out the distributor's reasons for wanting to communicate with the supervisor, so that more targeted policies can be formulated for such distributors in the future. Third, have the supervisor join you in contacting the distributor and arrange a joint communication. During that meeting, let the supervisor speak well of you. When the distributor sees that your supervisor values you, they may also view you differently. Through the supervisor's endorsement, your status is elevated, effectively blocking the distributor's path to bypass you. 04 Do More—Let Market Results Prove That Distributors Don't Need to Bypass to Get Good Results A sales rep is primarily an executor. In fact, when the distributor doesn't take you seriously, it's also a time for you to work hard and prove your abilities. If you can stay grounded, think of good market plans, and during execution, help the distributor more, letting market results speak for themselves, the distributor will eventually look at you with new respect if the results are good and truly helpful. 05 Be a Bridge—Be a Part of Both Teams In fact, a sales rep is not only a member of the company, responsible for all tasks assigned by the supervisor and company regulations, but also an indispensable part of the distributor's operations, a good helper in their business. With this understanding, you can find direction in your confusion. You are not only a key member of your supervisor's team, entrusted with important market execution tasks, but also a think tank in the distributor's business team, an integral part of their success in selling products and making profits. If a sales rep can always be aware of their important position, maximize their talents, and serve as a vital bridge between the company and the market, then no distributor would be extreme enough to bypass you and go directly to your superiors! On October 23-24, during the Autumn Sugar and Wine Fair, New Distribution will host the "2018 FMCG City Distribution Logistics Conference." We will invite industry experts, FMCG warehousing and distribution specialists, and distributors who have transformed into unified warehousing and distribution platforms to discuss and answer questions about the future trends of FMCG city distribution logistics and practical cases of distributor transformation. We hope it brings you new insights and inspiration! -END-