---
title: "When Distributors Complain, What Should a Regional Manager Do?"
description: "As a regional manager, hearing complaints from distributors is normal. However, handling them improperly can escalate issues, potentially leading to collective rebellion. This article provides techniques for distinguishing genuine complaints from false ones and offers strategies for addressing real issues, including emotional guidance and problem-solving."
author: "马坚行"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2018-05-18"
language: "en"
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# When Distributors Complain, What Should a Regional Manager Do?

> As a regional manager, hearing complaints from distributors is normal. However, handling them improperly can escalate issues, potentially leading to collective rebellion. This article provides techniques for distinguishing genuine complaints from false ones and offers strategies for addressing real issues, including emotional guidance and problem-solving.

As a regional manager, hearing complaints from distributors is a normal part of the job. Complaints like "Your company's shipping is so slow that customers have canceled orders," "All other manufacturers are running promotions, but you're doing nothing," or "Your products have problems again; I won't promote your brand anymore" are common. In a marriage, occasional quarrels are part of real life. Are there distributors who never complain? Yes, those who don't take your brand seriously and don't care about sales volume.

Although regional managers hear many complaints, they should not take them lightly. If handled improperly, things can become serious, even leading to a collective "rebellion" by distributors. Therefore, handling distributor complaints requires skill.

Just as in retail, when a customer says the price is too high, the reason could be that they genuinely think it's high, they don't want to buy and are making an excuse, or they like the product but want to negotiate. Distributor complaints can also be genuine or false. Determining their authenticity is the first step in handling them.

**How to judge the authenticity of complaints? Use the "one look, three questions" method.**

**1. Look at the timing.** If the complaint occurs when you are setting tasks, requesting resources, or announcing "unfavorable" news to the distributor, it is likely an excuse to make a fuss.

**2. Ask "Why?"** "Why do you think that?" "Why do you think this method is not good?" After asking, listen to the distributor's response. If they speak generally or change the subject, it's a false complaint. If they go into details, it's a genuine complaint.

**3. Ask "What should we do?"** "What do you think we should do?" Listen to the distributor's solution to understand their real needs.

**4. Ask "If this problem is solved, can you achieve your goals?"** See if the distributor dares to accept the challenge. If they do, it's a genuine complaint.

In market operations, some things do harm distributors' interests. So, if a complaint is genuine, how should a regional manager handle it? Eight words: soothe emotions, solve problems.

Three methods to soothe emotions: **sincerity, recording, and empathy.** Some problems can be solved by the regional manager, while others cannot. Regardless, you should be sincere, take notes, and show empathy to ease the distributor's emotions.

When it comes to solving problems, it requires ability, but more importantly, a correct mindset. Don't fear difficulties, withstand challenges, and endure grievances. Many problems are categorized by regional managers as "beyond my ability," but they can actually be solved with some thought. Before the Chinese New Year, I did training for a well-known small appliance brand. During pre-training interviews, I learned about a situation. The brand had been dominant in the market but had shown a decline in recent years. The company implemented a series of reforms last year, which were effective and greatly enhanced product strength. At the same time, the company adjusted its after-sales service policy. Previously, distributors could return or exchange goods at will, which increased costs for the manufacturer. Now, the return/exchange policy has been standardized. However, the new policy caused strong backlash from distributors. Each distributor's warehouse and network had many slow-moving items from years past, and not being able to return or exchange them freely would cause significant losses. Distributors work hard all year, with net profits of about 4-5%. After inventory checks, slow-moving items could wipe out half a year or even most of a year's profits. Naturally, distributors were unhappy. One distributor even told their stores to stop selling the brand in front of the regional manager. Many regional managers hated the new policy and complained that it was unreasonable. However, some regional managers handled this problem well. Manager Chen, responsible for the Henan market, also found the issue tricky, but since the company had set the policy, he tried to handle it well. After thinking it through, he took a series of measures to reduce conflicts between the manufacturer and distributors over after-sales issues:

> 1. Policy advocacy: ensure distributors fully understand the policy to reduce resistance.
>
> 2. Inventory review: check distributor and channel inventory, and use promotions to clear slow-moving items.
>
> 3. Coordinate exchanges between distributors.
>
> 4. Assist distributors in network communication (especially core networks).
>
> 5. Promote new products (slow-moving items are old products with poor quality and style; new products are better in both).
>
> 6. Manage inventory well: avoid overstocking, and order reasonably based on sales performance of different products.
>
> 7. Apply for special policies or use promotional policies to compensate in individual cases.
>
> 8. Strengthen product sell-through.

The final result, in his words: "Turn big problems into small ones, and small ones into nothing." He and his team did a lot of work. When you work seriously, distributors see it, and they will develop recognition and respect for you. You can even turn bad things into good, and problems into opportunities. There is no perfect manufacturer or perfect product, but a regional manager can reduce distributor complaints through effort and achieve a perfect result.

Ma Jianxing, practical channel marketing expert, terminal operations management expert, founder of MSS Sales Training System, guest lecturer on channel marketing management at Peking University and Tsinghua University, and one of the "Top 100 Lecturers in China" by Chinese Lecturer Network/NetEase Cloud Classroom.

Source: Ma Jianxing on Marketing

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