The results are in – sales reps aren’t the only ones who benefit from consistent coaching.

If we could just train our sales reps, and then they could sustain high levels of consistent performance, we wouldn’t need to hire Sales Managers, we would just need Trainers. But the reality is that reps are human – well, most of them anyway – and like almost all employees, they benefit from consistent managing/coaching/mentoring/accountability.

Not everyone is naturally driven like the one or two top performing reps you have – most of us benefit from a friendly push on a regular basis. The key here is consistency, as human nature will have most employees hit peak performance and then naturally regress. Good managers help sustain optimal performance with consistent reinforcement of good habits, best practices, etc.

But what about distributor owners?

It can be lonely at the top. One thing we hear often in our Strategic Consulting practice is that owners just love having a peer they can chat with when they are facing new or challenging situations. Another thing we hear and see is that most owners actually welcome and thrive with some accountability, just like your sales reps do.

And here are some growth results that seem to support the concept that owners benefit from coaching/mentoring/accountability just like everyone else. ASI just reported 2026 Q1 Distributor sales for our industry with 1.8% growth. I currently have 8 active consulting clients and here are their Q1 growth rates:

That’s an average of 18% growth!

It would be unfair to suggest that Promo Consulting is the reason for the well above average growth and we actually give the distributor owners the credit for they are the ones doing the hard work – we help with strategy and coach on execution, but you have to make it happen. These results have one thing in common and that is the owners are getting owner-level strategic engagement on at least a monthly basis.

We have numerous other clients that have tapered their engagement back to once a quarter or none at all. We have supported and even promoted this tapering strategy, but we see declining results for most tapered clients. The owners know the strategies and have business plans, better management structures, financial budgets, etc. But there is no such thing as auto-pilot for a growing business and the ROI on consistent engagement to help owners stay focused on the goals and subsequent action items that drive results are significant.

So first, if you are struggling with achieving your goals, and scalable rapid growth is often goal #1, then get some help. Find a coach or consultant and see if that helps you get to that next level. And when things start to really get going the way you always wanted, think twice before going it alone again. Maybe consistent engagement is critical for longer-term success, just like it is for your sales reps.