flyhigher87 Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 I'm killing myself for not thinking about this before I signed the contract. I asked my distributor how much he would contribute to our marketing budget(monetary). They said $0 per forever. So I'm not excited about that. Anyhow, do your distributors contribute to marketing? If so how much? And in what ways? I.e. Pay for ads, buy coasters/stirrers Pos stuff. Please help I don't want to start a fight I shouldn't. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluestar Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 No. In fact, the other way around, expect us to share costs associated with their sales activities: split sample costs, pay for tables at industry events, provide swag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGL Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 A distributor distributes what sells. You make, market and sell spirits. If you don't think you should be the one marketing and selling, your distributor won't be distributing very much. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captnKB Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 Bluestar hit it right. When the time comes to push the sales of your spirits expect your distributor to come to you looking for money, to "help" make it happen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Pine Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 The distributor I've been in discussion with as I get close to having my first product ready has told me we'd go 50/50 on marketing materials (posters, signs, table tents, etc). Now that's not in writing so could change when paper hits pen but I'm still an optimist enough to believe they'll follow through on their word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefish_dist Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 At the whiskey summit this weekend, someone really summed up what a distributer does: they take orders, warehouse product, and deliver product. Salesmen or brand ambassadors are the ones who really do the work to drive the sales. The best way is to have your own brand ambassador and let the distributer handle the delivery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyhigher87 Posted October 23, 2017 Author Share Posted October 23, 2017 Thanks guys this has definately cleared up a few things for me. I think my distributer was just sweet talking me into a contract. They told us they would be out selling everyday and promoting like crazy, which they were doing when we were in negociations. Pretty much the ink hadn;t even dried when they decided to compeletly stop promoting. Major disappointment for a newbie that was really hoping for a little help to get our product out the door and starting to move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenlyon Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 Ahh, ye ‘ol distribution conundrum. How do you get these guys to actually shift product? Coming from the TV biz, I have had a LOT of experience with distributors of all kinds. I can tell you, it will be very difficult for you to really get their attention and here is why... In a nutshell, their business model is fundamentally different from the distiller. The distillery model seems straightforward. Brew up some hooch give it to the distributor and let the cash roll in. The key being - the distributor has to sell ALL of your product for you to succeed. The distributor though, knows that he probably won’t sell much of your stuff unless there is something super special about it. But, he needs it in his catalogue to make him look like he has a comprehensive selection to offer. So, in his business model he only needs to sell a few cases of a wide variety of products to make money. This diversification ensures the distributor can pay the bills and make a profit, but it won’t help you at all. If you look closely, you’ll probably see the distributor has 2 or 3 big offers and everything else is fair to middling. That pattern builds up because of how a distribution company grows from their first big client. I’ve dealt with this frustration for years, as I continually berate my poor distributors to get off their asses and do some work, but the reality is - they are largely order takers and delivery people. Therefore, the solution is to drive the business to them and overwhelm them with how great your product turned out to be. A way to do this affordably, is to make sure you know who the company actually delivers to. Target the stores you want to be in. Get a map and map it out. Then get into the press with an interesting story: magazines, newspapers, tv news, radio, social media, or whatever in those areas and get people into those stores asking for your product. Positive stories and mentions in media will do more for your brand than almost anything else. Then make sure you don’t fully fulfill the orders coming in, keep em backlogged - yet random. Build pent up demand. This old school marketing strategy is very tactical, takes time, and is not easy. But, nothing in this business is, except tasting the product of course... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyhigher87 Posted October 27, 2017 Author Share Posted October 27, 2017 Thanks for all of the replies guys. I just hate the fact that this distributor got one over one me. Promising to sell constantly and promote our product like their company depends on it. Anyhow we have a great brand ambassador now and he s doing a great job. And a lady who is helping us with events and publicity. Both are doing great jobs. Just hope a few orders start rolling in to get a little cash flow. And help me sleep a little better at night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlickFloss Posted November 17, 2017 Share Posted November 17, 2017 We have what we call LMFs set up where the distributor and I both put a buck a case into a local fund for use in that market. This is money to help cover cost of tastings, special menu printings, specialty POS items, events and promotions, cosponsored marketing material, help offset cost of holiday VAPs etc. We monitor the balance of the account with the distributor and we both have to agree for any money to be used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluestar Posted November 18, 2017 Share Posted November 18, 2017 5 hours ago, SlickFloss said: We have what we call LMFs set up where the distributor and I both put a buck a case into a local fund for use in that market. This is money to help cover cost of tastings, special menu printings, specialty POS items, events and promotions, cosponsored marketing material, help offset cost of holiday VAPs etc. We monitor the balance of the account with the distributor and we both have to agree for any money to be used. My previous distributor had a "program" to split the cost of tasting reps for events. My current distributor sometimes arranges events for all their brands, requests our participation, and charges a table fee (more or less, depending on if we supply personnel). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyhigher87 Posted November 23, 2017 Author Share Posted November 23, 2017 Thanks guys. We are looking for a new distributor now. I'll certainly be pushing for Slickfloss's set up. dollar for dollar sounds fair to me. Or even less but something would be appreciated they are making money off of my product too. In my mind they should contribute to marketing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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