Australia's size and the distances between its major cities and regional business centres present particular challenges for international B2B companies trying to build effective sales coverage. Purchasing decisions may be made by corporate procurement teams in one city, influenced by managers at individual sites and fulfilled by distributors operating across several states. A business can have a distribution network in place without being involved in the conversations that determine which suppliers win the business.
We've encountered this challenge in two Dearin & Associates engagements. An international supplier selling through Australian distributors wanted stronger relationships with general managers and procurement directors at upmarket hotels, and was considering appointing its own representatives. A separate international logistics company needed to establish Australian customer relationships while determining how much of its existing overseas operation could continue serving the market. Both faced choices about where direct sales capability would add value.
Understand how Australian B2B customers make purchasing decisions
In larger Australian organisations, the people who assess products, approve suppliers, negotiate terms and place orders may work in different departments or locations. A distributor may know the purchasing team without having relationships with the managers who determine which products or services the business will use. Smaller companies may make decisions locally, with owners or senior managers closely involved.
The buying process also varies by industry. An industrial equipment supplier may need support from engineers and operational managers at regional facilities before a corporate procurement team in Sydney or Melbourne approves the supplier. A professional services company pursuing a national account may negotiate contracts centrally while relying on regional managers to initiate projects.
Before choosing a channel, companies should map who evaluates the offer, influences specifications, approves suppliers and authorises purchases in their priority customer segments. They can then assess which relationships their distributors already hold and where direct involvement would improve their access to decision-makers.
Decide where company representatives can strengthen distributor relationships
For our hotel-sector client, appointing another distributor might improve access to outlets and order fulfilment. On the other hand, it would not necessarily develop relationships with general managers who influenced product selection at individual properties or procurement directors who oversaw supplier approvals across several hotels. The proposed representatives would focus on those contacts and identify opportunities that existing distributors could supply.
Before employing representatives, the supplier needed to assess which hotel groups and properties offered the best prospects, which stakeholders its distributors already reached and where direct engagement might generate additional sales. A representative developing relationships with procurement directors at major groups would have a different role from a distributor salesperson servicing regular orders at individual hotels.
The company also needed to decide whether its representatives should pursue group-wide supplier approval, demand at individual properties or both. Each involves different relationships and sales activities, and the potential return would need to justify the cost of adding direct representation.
Coordinate direct representation with distributor sales
If the hotel supplier appointed representatives, opportunities would need to move from initial interest to an order without confusion about responsibilities. A representative might win support from a general manager, establish whether group-level procurement approval was necessary and then introduce the opportunity to the appropriate distributor.
The company would need to agree who prepared quotations, set pricing, followed up approvals and maintained the account after delivery. These arrangements could affect distributor incentives, particularly where the supplier generated the opportunity but the distributor fulfilled the order and earned its usual margin.
We would recommend testing the arrangement with a small group of targets before committing to a larger team. Tracking introductions, approvals, quotations and orders would show whether direct representation created additional business through existing distributors and where the handover needed adjustment.
Plan Australian sales coverage around customers, not state boundaries
Australia's distances make the locations of decision-makers, customers and service operations commercially significant. A hotel group's procurement function might be in Sydney or Melbourne, roughly 880 kilometres apart by road, while its properties extend to Perth on the West Coast, about a five-hour flight from Sydney, or to regional locations. One representative might manage the central relationship, but visits to properties and local fulfilment could require a different geographic arrangement.
The same applies beyond accommodation. An industrial supplier may negotiate with a metropolitan head office while supplying remote operating sites; a professional-services business may find most target buyers concentrated in a few cities. Sales territories and distribution territories need not be identical. A distributor may have the capacity to deliver products nationally without having representatives who regularly visit customers in every state.
Before granting national rights or hiring a sales manager, businesses should map priority accounts, buying centres and sites requiring visits or support. Travel requirements, service expectations and the capabilities of existing partners will determine whether national, state-based or mixed coverage is commercially practical.
Decide what really needs to be based in Australia
During a series of Deep Dive Days, we worked with an international logistics company preparing to enter Australia. It already served overseas customers involved in Australian trade and had operational capability in its home market. Management was considering whether to establish a substantial local operation, rely on Australian partners or combine the two.
We identified two sources of potential business. Existing overseas customers provided opportunities to extend established relationships into Australia. Australian freight forwarders represented a different group, requiring local introductions and credibility with businesses choosing overseas logistics partners.
We recommended a hybrid structure: the company would retain responsibility for customer relationships, pricing, commercial strategy and service standards, while selected Australian partners contributed market access and operating capability. We also proposed an experienced local business-development leader, supported by customer-service and operations coordination, with substantial delivery capability remaining overseas.
That structure concentrated Australian expenditure on winning customers and coordinating service. It also allowed management to forecast the two customer groups separately: expanding an existing relationship might involve a shorter sales process than persuading a new Australian freight forwarder to change service partners. Further local hiring could be evaluated against pipeline quality and service demands.
Test the financial case for Australian representation
Employing Australian sales staff creates a financial commitment before new accounts generate revenue. According to the Robert Walters 2026 Salary Guide, Business Development Managers command indicative annual base salaries of AUD$120,000 - AUD$170,000 in New South Wales and AUD$100,000 $AUD 140,000 in Victoria. These figures exclude superannuation, bonuses and benefits. With the 12% superannuation guarantee, a representative on AUD$120,000 costs at least AUD$134,400 in salary and superannuation before commissions, travel and other employment expenses.
For the hotel supplier, the test was whether new orders influenced by its representatives would generate enough additional gross profit after distributor margins to cover those costs. The forecast would also need to reflect the time required for supplier approval and the gap between gaining group-level approval and securing repeat purchases at individual properties.
The logistics company faced a different calculation. Its proposed Australian business-development leader would need to win enough local freight-forwarding accounts, at suitable annual value and margin, to cover local staffing, coordination and partner costs. Retaining service-delivery capability overseas reduced the investment needed in Australia but did not eliminate customer-acquisition costs.
Both companies needed realistic expectations about account value, conversion times and gross profit after channel costs. These assumptions would determine how much Australian sales capability they could justify initially and when further hiring might make sense.
Build an Australian sales model that fits the way business is won
Australia's geography and purchasing structures influence which relationships a company should develop directly and which functions distributors or other partners can perform. The hotel supplier was considering direct representation alongside established distributors; the logistics company needed Australian customer development supported by overseas service delivery.
Dearin & Associates helps international businesses map buying decisions, allocate sales responsibilities and assess the economics of direct, partner-led and hybrid models. If you're planning or restructuring B2B sales in Australia, book an Australia Expansion Pulse to identify the structure worth examining further.
