Here's the reality of the industry right now: no matter how your brand gets to market (a big house, a regional distributor, LibDib, or self-distribution), you need your own sales presence. Someone who knows your story, walks into the account, pours the product, and asks for the order. Distribution gets the case delivered. Sales gets it sold.
Distribution is not a sales strategy
This isn't a knock on distributors. They are built for volume, and their reps carry books with hundreds of brands. Small and emerging brands end up at the back of the bag.
Even the giants have figured this out. Rob Weir points out in The Dormant SKU that Sazerac said it spent close to $100 million building its own field team because its distributor wasn't selling. In The Broken Coin, he argues the brands most exposed today are the ones that never built any sales muscle of their own. And at WSWA Access Live, the advice to craft brands was the same: boots on the ground in key markets is what earns distributor buy-in.
If a company that size needs its own sellers, so does your brand.
The talent is out there right now
The distribution shake-up of the last two years has put a lot of great salespeople back on the market. Market exits and asset sales among major wholesalers have been tied to thousands of layoffs across the country. Others have trimmed staff as they shift some independent accounts to inside sales and e-commerce, meaning some buyers no longer have a rep walking in the door.
That's hard news for a lot of good people. It's also an opening. Seasoned reps with real account relationships are available, and the accounts losing their regular visits are looking for someone to show up. Now is the time to invest.
Shared feet on the street
Most brands can't afford a full-time rep in every market. That's where shared sales services come in. The most common model is simple: one rep, about four non-competing brands. Each brand gets a real person in front of buyers for a fraction of the cost of a dedicated hire, and the rep gets a portfolio worth the trip.
LibDib is working with several businesses that offer these services. They are all different. Some are strongest on-premise, some in independent retail, some in chains. Each one covers different parts of the country. The goal is to match your brand with the team that fits your markets and your accounts.
Many of these partners also handle sales management, and that matters. Hiring a rep is only the start. Someone has to set goals, plan routes, track visits and depletions, follow up on reorders and keep the rep focused on the right accounts. That is hard to do well from a winery or distillery, especially for a team already stretched thin. Having it built into the service means you get the rep and the structure that makes the rep effective.
Start building, account by account
If you're interested, reach out to us at makers@libdib.com. Tell us where you want to grow and what kinds of accounts you're chasing, and we'll connect you with the right sales partner.
Brands aren't built in a press release. They're built one account, one bottle, one reorder at a time. Let's get started.