9781564149152.pdf

Deciding not to invest in a trade show you have historically

participated in may be the best decision you make all year.

Epilogue

Direct sales are an important category in the promotional

tool kit, but they might not always be as direct as you think.

A manufacturer may have a direct sales force on the pay-

roll, or it may sell its products through some sort of reseller.
Many choose to sell their products through well-positioned dis-
tribution companies, which
bring an existing custom-
er base to the table. This
distributor adds the manu-
facturer’s product to its
existing product selection.
This gives the distributor
something new to talk
about with existing cus-
tomers and often opens up
new target markets for the
manufacturer. Distributing
your product or service
through a well-positioned distribution company could help you
get your product to market much faster than going direct.

Quick Ideas 28 to 29

Assignment

Brainstorm about the

ideal sales force for your
product or service. What and
who would these salespeo-
ple know, do, and be that
would make them a great fit
to sell your products?