Direct sales or partners: what you trade off
Selling directly gives you control over the customer relationship and the full margin, but you need your own team, warehouses and logistics. Selling through partners gets you regional reach faster, plus the partner's customer base and local knowledge, with less investment. The price is a share of the margin and a share of control.
Many companies end up with a mixed model: large accounts and Tashkent handled directly, regions and smaller buyers served through partners. It's a sensible place to start and easy to adjust as you learn.
Partner types and choosing a B2B distribution model
Be clear about who does what before you sign anyone:
- Distributor: buys in volume, holds stock in the region, supplies shops and smaller wholesalers.
- Dealer: sells to end customers under their own name, often with advice, installation or service.
- Agent: doesn't buy stock, finds customers and earns a commission.
- Market and wholesale-centre traders: fast turnover, thin loyalty.
How to vet a distributor or dealer
Promised purchase volume is the worst single criterion. A big number in a meeting says little about how the partner behaves six months later. Look at the whole picture: reputation and experience in the region, customer base, warehouse, vehicles and sales staff, financial stability and how reliably they pay.
Check the portfolio too. If the partner already carries three competing brands, yours will be fourth in line for attention. Ask directly whether they're ready to invest time and money in your brand.
Visit in person. Walk the warehouse and the shop floor, and talk to the partner's customers. Half an hour there tells you more than a deck. And avoid tying a whole region to one large player: if they leave or switch to a competitor, you lose that market in a single quarter.
What the contract should say
In a network, the contract is the rulebook. The clearer it is before launch, the fewer arguments later. Grant exclusivity only after a trial period, and have a lawyer check the pricing clauses, since rules on dictating prices may apply.
- Territory and channels, and whether exclusivity applies.
- Conditions for withdrawing exclusivity if targets are missed.
- Pricing: recommended retail prices, discount tiers, volume bonuses.
- Purchase and sales plans, and what happens if they aren't met.
- Payment terms and deferral rules.
- Obligations on display, stock levels and promotion.
- Warranty and returns, reporting, and how the agreement ends.
Supporting dealers so they actually sell
Partners push what is easy to sell. Signing is the start of the work, not the end of it. Train the dealer's managers, supply catalogues, photos, samples and point-of-sale materials, answer technical questions quickly and keep stock available.
Your own marketing helps as well. You can run brand ads on Instagram and Telegram aimed at a specific region, add targeted and search campaigns, and pass the enquiries to the dealer who covers that territory. The dealer gets leads, and you get brand visibility and a clear view of which regions respond.
Conflicts and end-customer data
The usual flashpoints: partners undercut each other on the same buyer, the manufacturer sells directly to a dealer's customer, a dealer sells outside its territory, a partner resells but invests nothing in promotion, and disputes over returns and warranty. You can't eliminate them, but you can agree in advance how they get resolved.
The most sensitive issue is end-customer data. Partners fear the manufacturer will use it to cut them out, so they share nothing. Agree what data is passed on and in what form, and put a clause in the contract that it won't be used to bypass the partner. In return, offer something of value: market analytics, joint planning, help with large deals. Without this information you don't actually know who buys your product.
What to track and where to start
Track numbers per partner and region: sales, plan completion, stock in partner warehouses, price compliance, outlet coverage and overdue payments. Meet the network at least once a quarter and go into the market yourself, because the shelf and the price tag show the real picture. Change the rules only after talking to your partners.
If you're choosing a distribution model, preparing partner terms, or want to link the network with advertising and analytics, the markdev team can work through it with you at the strategy level. Tell us about your product and regions, and we'll discuss where to begin.
FAQ
What is the difference between a distributor and a dealer?
A distributor buys in volume, keeps stock in the region and supplies shops and smaller wholesalers. A dealer sells to end customers under its own name and often provides advice and service.
When should I grant exclusivity?
After a trial period in which the partner has shown results. Write the targets and the conditions for withdrawing exclusivity into the contract from the start.
How do I prevent price wars between dealers?
Set recommended prices, discount tiers and volume bonuses in advance, and check compliance with visits to outlets. Have a lawyer review the pricing policy wording.
Why won't partners share customer data?
They worry the manufacturer will start selling directly. Agree on the data scope, forbid its use to bypass the dealer, and offer analytics and support on large deals in return.
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