BlackwaterTM Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Happy Memorial Day Weekend! We've been considering how to continue pentrating our market. We have a good relationship with our distributor and they did a great job out of the gates getting us into accounts. We have been on the market for about seven weeks and are in over 200 on and off premise locations. We're trying to focus now on volume in the locations we're in rather than just getting in front of consumers. That and penetrating the bar side of things better, as our distributor is stronger in restaurant/off-premise environments. We tend to over analyze a little bit, at times, so I thought we would throw this out to the group to see if it passes the blush test. Anyone have sales folks working for them on 100% commission? I know other industries do this, and in a down economy, thought we might be able to find a model that helped us establish a greater presence in certain types of accounts. My thought was to approach the distributor on this topic and suggest that if we could bring someone in, they could remove their commission percentage from their markup to help us make it work financially. One requirement would be that this person sell to new accounts, so they would be gaining accounts for lateral sales within, as well. Seems like a good quid pro quo to me (but I am not them!). Before suggesting this, I thought I would just take the temperature on the idea here. I don't want to approach them with it if there is no way the math would work for either party, too. What percentage do you give the sales person so that you aren't giving up too much revenue and they are in a position where they feel fairly compensated? For any deal to be a good one, it has to be good for both parties. Thanks everyone! And if you're in the mid-Atlantic, give Sloop Betty Vodka a try! Jon Cook - COO Blackwater Distilling www.sloopbetty.com www.facebook.com/sloopbetty @sloopbetty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Fiore Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Jon, My friend its seems to me you are in for a rude awakening don't forget you are in the state of Maryland and when it comes to the three tier system and it comes to their empire, distributors look at someone like us as a nucance......I had to go with a distributor because my production was over 40 thousand gallons....I paid a heavy price for being with a distributor and I'm paying every day. I would like to share with you what I have learned in the mean time please, before you do anything call me you have my number, and I will gladly fill you in with some my expierence that I have learned from with these parasites. I would like everyone to benfit from what I have learned. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Martin Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 I would like everyone to benfit from what I have learned. Mike, I too am really interested in learning more (from you and from anyone with experience!). Is there any way you could share some of your experiences here on the forum for those start-ups like me, or, at the very least, may I call you too? -Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newbie in CA Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Hi Mike Id be interested too in any advice in dealing with distributors (even though we are in different states) Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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