A number they agreed to, not one you sent them.
Targets that mean something to both sides.
A minimum volume written into a contract that the distributor never believed in is not a target, it is a formality both sides ignore until the relationship ends. A number they helped build is something else entirely.
Targets that mean something to both sides.
The problem
Most distributor targets are fiction agreed by both parties.
You want a big number to justify the territory. They want a small one they cannot miss. What gets written is usually neither useful nor believed.
The number nobody owns
It came from your export plan, not from their market. Nobody in their building feels responsible for it.
No consequence
The target is missed, nothing happens, and everyone learns the target does not matter.
Rebates that reward nothing
A discount for volume they were going to do anyway. You paid for sales you already had.
The honest part
You cannot set a credible number from outside the market.
A realistic target comes from what their sales team can actually reach this year, which is knowledge only they and someone local hold.
- Their pipeline and their capacity are things you cannot see
- Local buying seasons and tender cycles shape what is possible
- The competitor they must displace determines the pace, not your ambition
- A target set without their input gets quietly written off in month three
What we do
We build the number with them, then make it worth hitting.
Targets tied to specific activity, with support attached and a consequence that both sides accepted in advance.
Build the number
From their pipeline and their capacity, not from your export plan. In a meeting, with their sales lead present.
Attach the support
What you provide so the number is reachable: training, samples, marketing, lead time commitments.
Design the incentive
A reward for growth and for the behaviour you want, not a discount on business you already had.
Agree the consequence
What happens if it is missed, decided while everyone is still optimistic.
How a round runs
Set once a year, reviewed every quarter.
A target that is never revisited stops being a target by spring. It belongs in the quarterly review cycle.
Baseline
What they actually sold, in what mix, to whom. Often the first time anyone has assembled this.
Workshop
We sit with their team and build next year from their pipeline upward.
Structure
Target, support, incentive and consequence written down in both languages.
Review
Progress checked each quarter, with the number adjusted when the market genuinely moved.
We had a contractual minimum for three years running. It was missed every year and nobody ever mentioned it, on either side.
Questions
Answered plainly.
Should targets be in the contract?
Yes, and tied to something meaningful such as keeping exclusivity. A minimum volume with no consequence attached is decoration.
What if they refuse to commit to a number?
That is an answer in itself. A distributor who will not commit to any volume is not planning to build your line.
Do incentives have to be money?
Often the strongest ones are not. Priority lead times, extra territory, marketing support, and first access to new products all work, and they cost you less than a rebate.
How do we track it without a system?
We help you get to a simple monthly report from each distributor. If you want it in a pipeline you can see, that is the CRM module on the sales-force side.
The first move
Does your distributor have a real target?
Tell us what was agreed and what they actually sold. We will tell you whether the number was ever realistic.