Why don't suppliers support their salespeople?

Posted on 24/06/2014 by Karen
 

I was preparing for a brainstorming session with a new client of mine, who wanted to create a letterbox drop. Since he was a franchisee of a business that had been around for over a decade, I saw an opportunity for not having to reinvent the wheel. So I asked him, “Could he contact the head franchise and ask them for some guidance, and get some samples of what had been done before and what worked well?” He did. He got nothing. They were not interested in helping him at all.

That very same week, I was helping another client with their new website, writing content and sourcing appropriate product images. When our online search for photos came up with nothing suitable, I suggested they contact their main suppliers and ask them for some of their photos, because surely they’d have lots to choose from.

Despite the fact that they would be featuring their products on this site, with a link back to the manufacturer’s sites, those companies weren’t interested in helping either! I find this short-sightedness absolutely amazing. The very people who should have been supporting these businesses from behind the scenes, just couldn’t give a ratz. Somewhere along the line, they had completely lost sight of the fact that if these front-end businesses fail, they won’t have anyone left to sell their products.