Many manufacturers evaluate a potential distributor based on a call, a professional-looking website and a promise about "strong market coverage."
None of those three things reliably predicts performance.
A distributor may be honest, experienced and well connected — but the manufacturer still needs to check whether the claimed reach matches the real structure behind it.
What Can Be Checked Before Signing?
Actual client list, not claimed coverage
Ask for 5-10 current customers in your specific product category, or in a closely related channel. Named customer types. Named channels. Named market segments — not "we work with retailers across Europe."
Existing product overlap
Does the distributor already carry a competing or adjacent product? Ask directly how they would prioritize your line against an established one that already generates revenue.
Sales team size vs. territory claimed
A three-person sales team may be excellent, but it cannot actively cover every important customer in a large region at the same time. One field sales representative can often actively manage around 40-80 accounts.*
Marketing activity, independently verified
Check their website, LinkedIn, trade show participation, product announcements and local campaigns from the last 12 months. Silence is not always a deal-breaker, but it is an answer.
Payment reputation
Where possible, ask other manufacturers, industry contacts or neutral market sources about payment behavior and cooperation reliability. This is harder to verify, but often the issue that causes the most damage later.
The Most Useful Question in a First Call
"Tell me about a product you took on in the last two years that did not work out. What happened?"
A distributor with real experience will usually have a specific answer. Maybe the pricing was wrong. Maybe the manufacturer did not support the launch. Maybe the product lacked certification. Maybe the market timing was poor. Maybe the sales team could not create demand.
That answer tells you more than a general promise of "strong coverage." A distributor who says, "We do not really have failures," may be very lucky. Or not being fully realistic.
Can this distributor prove reach in your product category, with the team, channels and activity needed to support your product — or are you only buying a promise? That difference matters.
Most manufacturers discover that a distributor was the wrong fit after 12-18 months. The better approach is to check the structure before signing.
*Based on our usual market experience. Figures and ranges may vary by product category, country, territory size, sales model, customer type, product complexity and current market conditions.
Not sure if a distributor's coverage is real?
EBDT helps manufacturers look beyond the first call, the website and the promise of coverage — and evaluate whether a distributor can realistically move the product in the market.