You signed the agreement, announced the partnership, and waited. Months later, orders are flat. The problem is rarely the distributor alone. A signed agreement is not a market.
Appointed is not activated
Without targets, support, visibility and governance, a distributor carries your brand passively. They will sell what is easy, and ask for what they need only when something goes wrong.
What an active distributor has
- Targets that mean something, agreed for the territory
- Support: technical information, training and introductions
- Visibility: you can see their pipeline and results, not only their orders
- Governance: a regular review, with named people on both sides
Make performance visible
Track their enquiries and orders in the same system as your own, using the same pipeline stages. When both sides can see the same numbers, conversations become about the next step, not about whose fault it is.
Review on a rhythm
A monthly review of results against targets, and of what support is needed, keeps the relationship active. Decide in advance what happens if targets are repeatedly missed.
When it still does not work
Sometimes the distributor is fine and the model is wrong for the region. Map how the channel is structured: who the partners and intermediaries are, and who controls access. The right model may need more than one partner, or a different kind.