“Why Your B2B Sales Channels Ignore Your Product Line” The Topic of A New FGI
Online Marketing Brief

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan—June 28, 2006—Freeman Group, Inc. has announced the publishing of a marketing brief entitled, ‘Why B2B Sales Channels Ignore Your Product Line and What You Can Do About It’. The brief is available for immediate and free access at: http://www.freemangroupinc.com/why.php

The marketing brief presents the premise that operations and sales managers in business-to-business sales channels evaluate product, marketing, and sales support programs of supplying manufacturers based on two basic criteria: the functional and financial contribution of those programs to their channel operations. Based on that evaluation, channel members will prioritize and position that manufacturing supplier’s product, marketing, and sales support program in one of three sectors: parity sector, advantage sector, or preference sector.

“Sales channels will, by their nature, gravitate to the supplier with the program that is the greatest common contributor,” says Tim Wiersma, managing director of Freeman Group, Inc. “That greatest common contributor may be a product line, a single product, even a one-time promotion. But, if that contributor is wrapped in a sales support program that delivers a functional and financial advantage to channel members, the supplier will gain a preference position.”

The marketing brief presents examples of tactical tools, such as methods to provide channel members with sales-ready lead streams, or tools to assist channel sales organizations in selling throughout a customer’s enterprise. Also presented is a graphical representation of the balancing of a manufacturer’s financial and functional contributions, and the resulting sector position of that supplier from the sales channel’s perspective.

About FGI
FGI is a business-to-business marketing communications firm specializing in the development of marketing programs for manufacturers selling through B2B sales channels. These programs are developed to assist our clients and their sales channels in identifying audiences, gaining access to these audiences, converting and closing, and building preference. FGI’s channel marketing experience extends into general line industrial distribution, specialty gases and adhesives channels, home center/hardware channels, contract furniture dealers, independent rep and direct sales channels.