A distributor appointment is easy to make and hard to undo. Once a partner is signed, announced to customers and trained on your product, replacing them costs time, money and market credibility. Due diligence is how you avoid that.
This checklist covers what to verify before you appoint a distributor, how to test the claims candidates make, and the red flags that should pause a decision. A printable version of the full checklist is at the end of the article.
Why due diligence belongs before the agreement, not after
During selection, candidates present themselves at their best. They describe the customers they serve, the engineers they employ and the investment they are ready to make. Most of this is said in good faith, but it is rarely complete.
Before signing, you have leverage. Candidates expect questions, and asking for evidence is part of a professional process. After signing, the same questions feel like distrust, and the answers matter less because you are already committed. Issues such as a competing product line, a weak service team or tight finances are cheap to discover before the agreement and expensive to discover after it.
Due diligence should also be proportionate. A small, non-exclusive appointment needs lighter checks than an exclusive national partner who will carry significant stock. Decide the depth of review based on what the appointment puts at risk.
Area 1 Customer coverage: how to test claimed relationships
Customer access is usually the main reason to appoint a distributor, and it is the claim most worth testing. Candidates will list key accounts; your job is to find out how deep those relationships really go.
- Ask for named accounts in your target segments, not a general list of customers across all industries.
- Ask what they sell to each account, how often, and who they deal with. A real relationship comes with detail.
- Speak to customers directly, including some you select, not only the references the candidate offers.
- Check coverage against your territory map. A strong presence in one city does not mean coverage across the region.
- Look at the sales team. How many people sell, where they are based and which accounts each one owns.
Area 2 Technical and service capability: what to look for on site
For industrial products, the sale often depends on technical support before the order and service after it. A site visit is the most reliable way to judge this.
- Technical staff Meet the engineers who would support your product. Ask about their qualifications and the products they support today.
- Service facilities Workshop space, test equipment, spare parts storage and service vehicles.
- Service track record How they handle installation, commissioning and warranty work for current principals.
- Training approach Whether they have trained staff on new product lines before and how quickly.
- Pre-sales support Whether they can help customers with specification, sizing and technical submittals.
Area 3 Portfolio conflicts: competing and complementary lines
Review every brand the candidate carries. Complementary lines are a strength: they bring the distributor into conversations with the same buyers you want to reach. Competing lines are a risk, because when a customer asks for a recommendation, the distributor will decide which brand to push.
- Get a full list of principals and product lines, not only the headline brands.
- Identify any direct competitors and any products that overlap with part of your range.
- Ask how they would position your product against overlapping lines.
- Check whether existing agreements with other principals restrict what they can sell.
Some overlap can be managed, for example where products serve different price points or applications. The important thing is that you know about it before you sign.
Area 4 Financial stability: what documents to request
A distributor who cannot carry stock or pay on time will hold back your growth, however good their relationships. Ask for financial information appropriate to the size of the appointment:
Documents to request
- Recent financial statements, ideally covering more than one year
- Company registration and ownership details
- Bank or trade references
- Credit reports from a recognised agency, where available in the market
- Details of any outstanding legal disputes
Disclosure norms vary by country and by company size. If a candidate cannot share full accounts, agree what alternative evidence would satisfy you, and consider adjusting payment terms to reflect the risk.
Area 5 Commercial commitment: stock, training, local marketing
The best predictor of performance is often what a distributor is willing to invest. Commitment shows up in concrete plans, not enthusiasm in a meeting.
- Stock Will they hold inventory of your product, and at what level?
- Training Will they send sales and technical staff to be trained, and when?
- Local marketing Will they fund launch activity, demonstrations or trade show presence?
- Business plan Can they set out target accounts and a realistic first-year plan for your product?
- Management attention Who in their business will own the relationship?
Red flags that should pause an appointment
None of these automatically rules a candidate out, but each one deserves an explanation before you proceed:
- Reluctance to let you speak to customers or visit premises
- Customer claims that cannot be confirmed, or that customers describe differently
- An undisclosed competing line discovered during your review
- Pressure for broad exclusivity before any performance commitment
- No willingness to hold stock or invest in training
- Unexplained gaps in financial information, or a pattern of late payments to other suppliers
- Frequent changes of principals in your product category
- A business plan that is vague about target accounts and timelines
If exclusivity is part of the discussion, our guide to exclusive vs non-exclusive distributor agreements explains how performance conditions can reduce the risk.
Distributor due diligence checklist
Use this checklist for each shortlisted candidate. Record the evidence you saw for every item, not only a yes or no. You can print this page to use the checklist offline.
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