It doesn’t make sense for every distributor to consider joining a buying group. But, if you find yourself painstakingly evaluating the right buying group match for you, don’t be surprised to run into some pointed questions regarding what, exactly, you and your company bring to the table.

Buying groups are selective regarding whom they allow to join. Some groups, for example, require that distributors reflect annual sales of $2 to $3 million. Other groups pick and choose their members based on product niche or geographic reach or location.

Buying groups can afford to be more discriminating because they offer the small — and larger — distributor what today’s marketplace best responds to: strength in numbers, competitive pricing, marketing savvy and specialization.


posted on 2/11/2011