Starting A Distributorship

[ep2002]

Hi everyone,

I had someone in Singapore (a client of mine) who wanted to sell one of my books, so I got some consulting (sort of) from someone re: how to start a distributorship package. He did it for free, & we spent a long time on the phone, so I thought he was giving me accurate advice.

Me & the potential distributor agreed on all the details, I had a contract created, he reviewed it, & by the end of this week he was supposed to sign the contract & wire me the money, so yes I have already given him all of my banking details.

I haven't heard from him in 2-3 days now which is unlike him. He's usually a very nice & on the ball guy & he had just gotten back from traveling, so I know he was in town but tired.

I called him, left him a message because I thought maybe something happened to him, & he didn't address my phone call either.

So I'm looking for some advice only from people who are very knowledgeable in this area...

1. Even if he comes back to me (unless there's a really good reason), should I say forget it, you are too irresponsible?

This is my book/name on the line here.

2. Should I raise the price as a penalty?

3. Are there usually signing/finance deadlines written into the contract?

4. Not sure if I should change my bank account number or what now.

This so called consultant who advised me on how to set it up later on changed his tune about how I should set it up & what I should charge, but everything had already been done, & I was happy with the details, so I left the setup as is, but now I'm a little confused on which way to turn for the next person, as I do want to really start building this part of my company.

Thanks a ton for any help you can give me.


Michelle

[DennisChang]

Maybe you should send an email to him and wait a little longer. If he still doesn't get back to you, then probably he has changed his mind.

I have been dealing with quite a fair amount of distributors / resellers. Some appear quite enthusiastic but eventually just disappeared without reasons.

As for whether you should raise your price, its all up to you. For me I normally don't because I believe in preserving in a long term good relationship, and having some leeway for people.

As for your bank account, I don't see any reasons in changing it.

[ep2002]

Thanks Dennis. I won't be e-mailing him again, I don't believe in chasing people, & I won't do business with him in the future.

Part of any healthy relationship (biz or personal) is honest & open communication. I don't believe in stringing people along. I did a lot of work to do this for him, as I didn't even have the distributorship program in place.

If he changed his mind, that's fine, I should have been told. I don't trust people who are that flaky & unprofessional.

Take care


Michelle

[DennisChang]

Hi Michelle, I understand how you feel, but on a positive note at least you did not lose any money. I once lose a hardware that cost me a few hundred dollars to an irresponsible business owner who claimed interested to be my distributor in UK. I actually worked closely with him to get the system worked within his region, but when I send him the invoice he just disappeared.

The thing is there are a lot of such people in this world, and what we need to do is to maintain professional and not let any emotions take over control. Think positively, the stuffs that you are doing might come very handy when you are dealing with the next potential distributor/reseller.

[ep2002]

Hmm, sorry to hear that.

I guess it's a good thing I asked for the money upfront & I don't deal with really expensive hardware. Why didn't you ask him for the money upfront?

When the consultant consulted me, he told me the distributor is responsible for all his own marketing, etc. I was just going to put a link on my site looking for more distributors & showcasing him, but we never got around to that.

I see you are in Singapore. Are there sites/forums I can advertise on to find another distributor? I feel it's a great market for my products.

Thanks


Michelle