---
title: "Why Is Your Distributor Team \"Half-Dead\" and How to Revitalize It?"
description: "Focusing on process metrics for distribution and sell-through, motivating distributor cooperation and employee enthusiasm is key to both treating symptoms and root causes."
author: "高级研究员 海游"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
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published: "2023-06-05"
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# Why Is Your Distributor Team "Half-Dead" and How to Revitalize It?

> Focusing on process metrics for distribution and sell-through, motivating distributor cooperation and employee enthusiasm is key to both treating symptoms and root causes.

**Introduction:**
Focusing on process metrics for distribution and sell-through, motivating distributor cooperation and employee enthusiasm is key to both treating symptoms and root causes.

**Author:** Hai You | **Review:** Gou Gou | **Layout:** He Wen

The FMCG industry has always had a contradiction: the industry is labor-intensive, and product profits are generally at the bottom of the sales industry. In other words, there is a conflict between the ever-increasing demand for personnel and rising labor costs, and the increasingly compressed product profit margins. As a result, many brand owners have had to transform their workforce. Common approaches include: 1. Outsourcing personnel; 2. Brand owners only cover management costs, leveraging distributor sales teams for sales maintenance; 3. Manufacturers and distributors share sales personnel costs in some proportion. The second approach is more common, but it also faces issues with distributor personnel's enthusiasm and cooperation towards the brand. How can we improve the enthusiasm and cooperation of distributor personnel? Let's discuss this from two aspects today.

**Activating the Distributor Team: Improving Cooperation**

Distributor team cooperation is one of the key indicators for activating distributors. How to measure or quantify these indicators, and how to monitor them through digital systems, is particularly important. It is recommended to use the following formula:

**Distributor Team Cooperation = Existing Employee Online Rate * Visit Quality * Working Time Axis Compliance Rate**

**1. Existing Employee Online Rate** = Number of employees willing to use the SFA system for the brand / Total number of distributor team members. Obviously, the higher the online rate, the more importance the distributor team places on the brand, and the higher the cooperation.

**2. Visit Quality** = Salesperson Visit Frequency * Regular Visits * Visit Count Compliance * Quantifiable In-store Metrics * Visit Success Rate.

2.1 Salesperson Visit Frequency = Monthly Visit Count / Total Service Outlets / Visit Cycle. For example, if Zhang San visits 900 times a month, serves 150 outlets, and the requirement is one visit per week, then his visit frequency = 900/150/4 = 1.5 times, which is far from the required four visits per month. To improve cooperation, the visit frequency must be increased.

2.2 Regular Visits = Visits within the monthly route / Total visits. The higher the data, the more reasonable the route planning, the more regular the work, and the higher the cooperation.

2.3 Visit Count Compliance = Days when daily visits / required visits > 100%. If the salesperson meets the target every day, it shows higher importance to the brand.

2.4 Quantifiable In-store Metrics = In-store execution of display, merchandising, SKU, etc. * Scores for each action. Here, we should mention a points system. The so-called points system fragments the salesperson's in-store work, quantifying each action that benefits product sell-through and assigning corresponding scores to measure the salesperson's hands-on ability in the store. The higher the score, the more in-store sell-through actions, and the higher the cooperation.

2.5 Visit Success Rate = Monthly Transaction Count / Monthly Visit Count. This measures the outcome of visits. In a sense, the more orders obtained, the better the distributor's work, and the higher the cooperation.

**3. Working Time Axis Compliance Rate** = Number of days when first store time, last store time, and in-store time all meet standards / Monthly attendance days. If all three are met in a day, it can be quantified as a qualified attendance. The higher the compliance rate, the more standardized the work, and the higher the cooperation.

**Activating the Distributor Team: Improving Enthusiasm**

Distributor team enthusiasm is one of the key indicators for activating distributors. I suggest using the following formula:

**Team Enthusiasm = (Effective Outlet Compliance Rate + Outlet Quality Compliance Rate + Outlet Development + Performance Achievement) * Incentive Standards**

From the three-dimensional perspective of cognition, transaction, and relationship, "relationship" is not just acquaintance, but has an "emotional" attribute. The basis of this emotional attribute is "treating the customer's (outlet's) business as one's own (salesperson's and distributor's) business," which is exactly what all manufacturers and distributors urgently need. The core difference between "sell-through" and "distribution" is that placing goods on outlet shelves is just the beginning; if you cannot help the outlet achieve sell-through, the relationship will break and end. Therefore, the core logic of improving distributor team enthusiasm is to turn management into incentives, design distribution and sell-through logic that matches the product, and provide corresponding incentives to stimulate employees' subjective willingness, so they work autonomously. Specific measurement indicators are as follows:

**1. Effective Outlet Compliance Rate** = Number of outlets with active visits meeting standards within a unit time / Total outlets. For example, within a 30-day cycle, the number of outlets with active visits (orders) more than 2 times. The number of effective outlets determines the value of the salesperson's service.

**Incentive Standard Logic: Reward for compliance rate.** For example, if the compliance rate is 30% in March, and the April assessment increases to 40%, reward 200 yuan. It can also be that for each percentage point increase in the next month's target, a certain amount is rewarded. The goal is to guide the sales team to activate outlets.

**2. Outlet Quality Compliance Rate** = Total outlet score in the current unit time / Total outlet score in the previous unit time. For example, if the total outlet score in March is 1000 points, and in April it is 900 points, then the April outlet quality compliance rate = 900/1000 = 90%, indicating that in-store work in April lagged behind March. (Note: consider months with 30 or 31 days; you can multiply by 30/31.)

First, understand that the points system logic is to fragment and score in-store actions that benefit product sell-through (e.g., the larger the display, the better for sell-through; one display can be 1 point; the more multi-point displays, the better for sell-through; one multi-point display can be 2 points, etc.). The higher the score, the more beneficial for sell-through.

**Incentive Logic 1: Score rewards.** Scores can be converted into money. Will this increase the brand's operating costs? Personally, I advocate for cost conversion. Previously, salespeople had a base salary system, buying their time, meaning regardless of performance or work status, the base salary was only related to time. But manufacturers are more concerned about what salespeople do during working hours that benefits product distribution and sell-through. Instead of buying time, it is better to buy work results. This is the value of the points system: let willing employees earn higher salaries, fully enhancing the enthusiasm of excellent employees.

**Incentive Logic 2: If the two-month score ratio is greater than 100%, reward 200 yuan.** As long as the points system is set reasonably, a ratio greater than 100% indicates that sell-through work is improving, sell-through will accelerate, distribution will accelerate, and giving incentives is an affirmation and encouragement of excellent personnel's enthusiasm.

**3. Outlet Development** = (Channel Attribute Compliance + In-store SKU Compliance + Display Compliance + First Order Amount Compliance + New Store Follow-up Compliance) * Outlet Level * Level Incentive Standard

Outlets are like human cells and need metabolism, so outlet development is a long-term process.

**Incentive Logic:** After the five attributes of an outlet are matched, development incentives are given. Of course, A, B, and C class outlets have different incentive levels. Let me briefly explain the five essential attributes for opening a new outlet: If the channel attribute is not met, it is like distributing products to outlets that cannot sell them (e.g., distributing condiments to commercial district outlets), which only accelerates product decline; if in-store SKU is not met, it is like distributing Nongfu Spring large water bottles to street convenience stores. Although Nongfu Spring sells well, not every SKU is suitable for every outlet; if display is not met, it means new products lack "momentum" at the outlet, and sell-through will inevitably be hindered; if the first order amount is not met, it means the outlet takes very little stock, not intending to sell well, with a mindset of "if it doesn't sell, we can consume it ourselves, no big loss," which greatly increases the chance of new product failure; if new store follow-up is not met, it means insufficient attention to the new product. If you don't pay attention yourself, how can the new product be effectively promoted? Therefore, the five attributes determine the core of new product promotion, the core of effective incentives, and the core of stimulating distributor team enthusiasm.

**4. Performance Achievement** = Current Month Sales Achievement / Current Month Sales Target * Reward Coefficient +- Current Month Sales Achievement / Same Period Last Year Actual Achievement * Incentive Coefficient. (If current month sales achievement / same period last year actual achievement is greater than or equal to 100%, there is growth, which is a positive incentive; if less than 100%, it is a negative incentive.)

**Incentive Logic: Task target incentives.** Pay attention to the incentive for growth or decline compared to the same period. The underlying logic of performance incentives is to protect existing volume from declining and stimulate new growth. Therefore, two factors must be considered: one is the current achievement rate, and the other is the achievement rate compared to the same period last year.

**Final Thoughts**

Without good processes, there will be no good results. Focusing on process metrics for distribution and sell-through to stimulate distributor cooperation and employee enthusiasm is key to both treating symptoms and root causes. All processes can be implemented through system tools like SFA and DMS, turning them into measurable, trackable, achievable, and specific digital indicators, thereby enabling comprehensive incentive management for distributor sales teams. When these process indicators are met, results will improve, incentives will increase, and the challenges of distributor team cooperation and enthusiasm will be resolved.

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**Extended Reading**


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