Do not hand the keys of your brand to anyone.
Download Simple Solutions To Maximize Broker Effectiveness and learn how to give brokers, distributors, and outside sales partners the clarity, tools, scorecards, and follow-up rhythm they need to execute.
Get the free broker effectiveness guide.
Use it before hiring a broker, reviewing broker performance, preparing for retailer meetings, or building a stronger sales execution rhythm.
Lead the strategy
Your broker can create leverage, but they cannot replace your sales story, retailer priorities, pricing guardrails, or brand leadership.
Measure execution
Use scorecards, check-ins, retailer priorities, and follow-up commitments to separate broker problems from strategy or communication gaps.
Improve leverage
Make the broker relationship more productive by giving outside partners the tools, clarity, proof, and rhythm they need to win.
A broker cannot fix an unclear strategy. They can only execute the strategy you give them.
When a broker relationship is not working, the obvious question is whether the broker is doing their job. The better question is what may be missing upstream that is making execution harder than it needs to be.
The brands that get the most from brokers do not hand over the keys and hope someone else drives growth. They stay close to the strategy, own the message, provide the tools, define the priorities, and measure the work.
Strategy Gap
The broker is expected to invent the sales strategy instead of executing a clear one.
Execution Gap
Distribution, pricing, merchandising, promotion, and follow-up are not measured consistently.
Message Gap
The sales story becomes fragmented across the founder, broker, distributor, retailer, and field team.
Build the operating system that helps your broker perform.
- Why the broker is not the strategy and why the brand still needs to lead
- How to use the 5P Broker Alignment Framework: People, Product, Placement, Pricing, and Promotion
- What to define before you delegate work to a broker or distributor
- How to build a broker scorecard that tracks measurable outcomes
- How to create a unified sales story your broker can repeat with clarity
- How to build a follow-up rhythm that protects retailer trust and margin
A simple way to make broker execution clearer, more accountable, and more useful.
These are not just sales talking points. They are the operating priorities your broker needs to understand, communicate, execute, and measure.
People
Clarify who buys your brand, what they need, where they shop, and why the retailer should care.
Product
Explain the product's role in the category and how it helps the retailer grow.
Placement
Define target retailers, stores, shelf position, displays, and merchandising conditions.
Pricing
Set pricing guardrails so your brand does not accidentally train shoppers to only buy on deal.
Promotion
Clarify which promotions create real demand and which simply rent volume.
Your broker should be an extension of your team, not a substitute for leadership.
Brokers and distributors can open doors, support retailers, and create coverage you could not build alone. But they need clarity, tools, priorities, and accountability to turn that coverage into productive retail execution.
If the broker relationship is not structured properly, the brand may not just lose sales. It may lose margin, retailer trust, and runway.
- Define target retailers, doors, priority items, and desired outcomes before assigning work
- Give brokers the retailer story, shopper story, category context, and proof points they need
- Use a scorecard to review distribution, display execution, OOS, pricing, promotions, and commitments
- Stay close to key retailer relationships instead of fully outsourcing the relationship
- Keep every partner aligned around the same message and the same next step
Practical retail clarity from someone who has been there.
I’m Daniel Lohman, CPSA, founder of Retail Solved and host of Bulletproof Your CPG Brand. I built this guide to help founders get more leverage from brokers, distributors, and outside sales partners without losing control of the strategy, story, or retailer relationship.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who is this guide for?
This guide is for CPG founders and growth-stage brand teams who work with brokers, distributors, outsourced sales partners, field teams, or retailer support partners and want better execution, accountability, and clarity.
Is this anti-broker?
No. The goal is not to blame the broker. The goal is to build the system that helps your broker perform. Brokers can create leverage when the brand gives them the right strategy, tools, priorities, and rhythm.
Is the guide really free?
Yes. Enter your email and you’ll get instant access to the guide.
What if I do not have a broker yet?
This guide can help you prepare before you hire one. The clearer your retailer story, priorities, scorecard, and expectations are before you delegate the work, the better the relationship can become.
What happens after I download?
You’ll receive the guide and occasional practical resources to help you protect runway, improve execution, and compete smarter.
Before you hand over the keys, build the system.
Download the free guide and start improving broker clarity, accountability, retailer alignment, and execution discipline.