Distributor
sales meetings are perhaps the single most time effective way to make an impact
on your distributors sales force. It allows you face to face time with the
entire sales force and helps put a personal touch on your brand. Distributors
should allow you access to a group sales meeting on a quarterly basis. Sales
meetings can vary significantly from distributor to distributor. Some
wholesalers will only allow you a short 15 or so minutes, often sandwiched in
between numerous other suppliers also giving a presentation. Other distributors
may give you the opportunity to speak for most of the meeting.
How
to best utilize that valuable time? Here are 10 tips for conducting a
distributor sales meeting:
1. Have a plan - Have a written outline for your meeting and
stick to it. Writing it down helps you stay on course. Be concise and precise.
Have specific goals you want to achieve during the meeting; such as introduce a
new incentive program, present sales goals or increase sales of a new style.
2. Visual tools
- Visual tools add “color’ to
your presentation. But don’t overwhelm with a Powerpoint presentation or
handouts. These can be good in short blasts, but tend to draw focus away from
your presentation and from you. Hanging up banners or other POS, placing six
packs around the room or even a mock-up of a ten case store stack adds a
positive appeal and shows that you care about the presentation. Be creative!
3. Engage - Grab their attention right away! Be
self-assured, speak up so that all can hear, and start the meeting off with
something of interest. A short review of a humorous event during the day or
other short intro that is light, funny or of broad interest to the whole group
personalizes your presentation and gets everyone – including you – relaxed and
into a flow. Don’t pass out handouts before you get started! Wait until sometime
during or even after your presentation. Otherwise the sales staff will be
engaged with your handouts – not you.
4. Provide value
- Provide market or industry
information that the sales staff would not get otherwise such as industry stats
or trends in retailing. Provide them with tools that will help them sell not
only your brand, but make them better sales people. Make their job easier!
5. Motivate - How can you motivate the sales staff to sell
your beer? Have at least a few ideas for each meeting. If you can’t think of
reasons that they should be selling your brand over the brands in their
portfolio, then you can’t expect them to sell your beer.
6. Say thanks to reps who did
well – Always give notice to
specific sales people that have done well with your brand. Acknowledge them in
person and by name during the meeting. This shows the staff that you are in
touch with their efforts.
7. Ask questions
- Listen. Get input from the
sales staff – it shows that you care about what they think. It also allows you
to learn about the specifics of their market. Ask what barriers and problems
they have in selling your beer, and work though these problems by offering
solutions. Also ask them what works well – this will help share the positives
with the whole group.
8. Know the local terrain
- Use local examples, names of
local accounts and landmarks. This shows that you know and understand their
market. Know the top ten accounts in their territory, both on-premise and off.
Know the routes that have favorable demographics to your brand and other craft
beers.
9. Know your stats
- Study the depletions and
trends of the distributor you are meeting with before the meeting. Know which
sales people are selling your brand, where your brand is selling and how the
numbers are trending. Do your homework!
10. Review your meeting
- After the meeting, take a
honest look inward and review your performance. Did you meet your objectives and
goals? Did you motivate the staff? Did you make a difference and was the time
spent of value to the sales staff? Ask a manager who was in the meeting to give
you honest feedback about what worked and what didn’t. Make notes and apply what
you did right to your next meeting.
11. Bonus - Have Fun! If you don’t have fun at the
meeting, the sales staff won’t have fun.
Source: probrewer.com
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