Choose Your Partners Wisely

“ A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers.”
~Plato

Not a day goes by without an industry supplier contacting me wanting to handle our business in their product category. Regardless of past experience they want to be our “preferred supplier” for bags, calendars, pens, mugs - you name it!

After I respond that we think a preferred supplier designation is a bit silly, to pick a few and insult the rest, I offer to let the supplier explain what makes them different. For nearly 30 years I have helped run the oldest and one of the largest promotional specialty advertising distributor firms. If we have been successful year after year with the established suppliers we work with, why should I consider a new source?

Many go right to the numbers which Plato warned us about! Sure numbers are important but other things do matter. The problem is that many things that differentiated in the past are now expected. We can start with competitive price, then add quick (even 24 hour) production, special shipping considerations, rebates, virtual samples, free spec samples, sales literature, printed and digital catalogs, even dedicated contact people are now similarities not differences. So what makes the difference?

Relationship and attitude rule! Relationship covers a lot of ground. There is the personal relationship between a person or people at a supplier company and the decision maker at the distributor. Some are strictly business while others are friendships that may have existed before it became a business relationship. The old adage ‘people do business with people they want to do business with’ sums it up nicely. You need to be that person! This holds true for the distributor/end buyer relationship too.

Many people rely on socializing and entertaining to build the relationship. This is perhaps the oldest method, yet it is the preferred way for the youngest people in the industry. And with the help of social media the time between actual meetings can still build relationships. Provide useful information, comment on awards or news about your contact or ask about a situation you hope is improving. Lean towards personal communication appropriate for a public venue.

Attitude is a completely different thing! It can destroy a good relationship or build one in need of attention. Both suppliers and distributors have to realize that they are partners, not sellers and customers. Whenever a supplier sees a distributor as a customer the attitude is always going to be a bad fit! When a distributor declares “the customer is always right”, they make the same mistake. In the promotional product industry, suppliers and distributors share a common customer. Distributors do not buy from suppliers, they sell what suppliers produce. Nothing happens until an end buyer decides to buy!

Suppliers, your hope is that when an appropriate item is selected to carry and deliver a message it will be your item. Here are a couple of suggestions on how that can happen more often. Treat small one-man operations and distributors with several or many sales counselors differently. Trying to push past HQ to deal directly with the sales people generally will not garner the support you want from the owners. Having owners (managers, executives) help get your company promoted has far more impact.

When structuring incentives for distributors think like a distributor. Telling a distributor they will eventually get better pricing or bigger rebate once they reach an arbitrary sales total is the same as telling them they are at a competitive disadvantage because other distributors get better pricing and rebates! This is just one example. In general, the simplest is the best. Determine (guess) the potential of the relationship and price accordingly. If the distributor has a million dollar potential make it incredibly easy for them to do business with you. If the potential is a single $800 order, you can likely save the red carpet for another prospect!

Distributors, be a good partner with a good attitude. Help suppliers help you. Give them honest, accurate information. If you really have 10 days to make delivery, don’t tell them 7 to “be on the safe side”. Work to make your profit on the sell, not the buy. Suppliers need to make a profit or distributors will have nothing to sell.

So why give a new supplier a chance? Unique product, amazing decorating method, greater choice for clients, potential for stronger margin, fantastic attitude, great support materials, ironclad quality guarantee or maybe it is an old friend representing a new supplier. The more you know about the supplier you chose to partner with the greater chance of success you both will have.

Gregg Emmer is chief marketing officer and vice president at Kaeser & Blair, Inc. He has more than 40 years experience in marketing and the promotional products industry. His outside consultancy provides marketing, public relations and business planning consulting to a wide range of other businesses and has been a useful knowledge base for K&B Dealers. Contact Gregg at gemmer@kaeser-blair.com.