Is there any advantage having a larger company act as an agent?
Question
Is there any advantage having a larger company act as an agent?
This question was asked at our recent webinar – Finding the right agent or distributor to grow your business overseas
Answer
Hi Peter
In my experience it really depends on a couple of things…
Larger companies acting for you will tend to have more muscle, they usually have good connections, a salesforce, marketing departments, logistics , warehousing etc etc.
So whats the negative here?
Answer – You can get lost in the ‘noise’ of their business if your not big enough.
If you were on the webinar last week, you will have heard me talk about ‘share of voice’
meaning the amount of time and attention they give you.
But if you feel you can command their attention, and service and support them you will get the benefit of that ‘muscle’. If you get it right, business flows in volume.
However, Smaller/Medium distributors can be much closer to you and your business and respond quickly viewing your product as their product and want success as much as you. I’ve worked with some smaller family distributors in the Med /Arabic region who really value the product and especially the relationship. Most cultures value this most of all.
Hope that helps, Good luck
Steve