Hybrid Selling for Distributors: How To Thrive in a Multi-Channel World

Your customers are clear about what they expect from distributors: more options, more convenience, and more personalization. They want a flexible mix of channels from which to buy depending on their preferences or what is easiest at a particular moment.

Adjusting to this new dynamic means distributors need to expand beyond the limits of traditional and inside sales approaches. Instead, adopting a hybrid sales model—one that combines digital and in-person interactions—allows distributors to meet customers where they are, wherever they are, ensuring a seamless experience across every touchpoint in the buying journey.

What Is Hybrid Selling?

Hybrid selling for distributors blends digital and in-person sales channels to create a seamless and flexible customer experience. In the B2B sales environment, this approach enables distribution businesses to cater to evolving customer behaviors, where buyers now expect multiple ways to engage. Whether browsing an eCommerce site, speaking to an inside sales team over the phone, or meeting face-to-face, customers want options.

Distributors, especially, stand to gain from this model by offering both traditional in-person services and the efficiency of digital channels. McKinsey’s research highlights how important this model has become, noting that 83% of B2B leaders find hybrid selling more effective than traditional sales, and companies utilizing hybrid models are growing 50% faster than those that aren’t. A hybrid sales model in B2B distribution is anticipated to remain the dominant strategy in the sector.

Distributors who want to remain competitive must unite digital and in-person sales channels to create a seamless customer experience. But navigating these various sales channels and enabling them to work together in a way that benefits—not hinders—your team can come with some hurdles.

Challenges of Hybrid Selling for Distributors

While hybrid selling is a powerful strategy, it poses several potential challenges for distributors, particularly when it comes to integrating various platforms used to manage sales channels.

Disjointed Customer Experience

When sales channels are fragmented—e.g., eCommerce, customer service centers, inside sales, national contracts and co-ops, catalogs, in-person selling, and others—customers receive inconsistent, confusing messaging. 

Imagine your customer being quoted a price online, only to hear a separate price from a sales rep. These kinds of inconsistencies can lead to frustration and lost sales. A unified approach promotes consistent and accurate communication across all touchpoints.

Lack of Collaboration Within Teams

Sales teams working in silos is another issue. Without a shared, single source of customer information, it’s difficult for sales teams to collaborate effectively with their cross-functional partners in marketing, customer service, and other teams. 

This was evident in LEPCO’s case, a distributor that struggled due to fragmented customer data. Without a single source of truth, its teams were left scrambling to piece together information, leading to inefficiencies and missed opportunities. This inspired the team to move toward a hybrid approach, leveraging a built-for-distribution CRM to unify customer data into a single source, resolving this challenge. 

Missed Revenue Opportunities

When customer interactions aren’t tracked across all channels, distributors risk missing valuable sales opportunities. For example, a distributor may lose out on a major upsell if the eCommerce platform doesn’t communicate with the outside sales team about a customer’s online purchasing habits or search behavior.

To truly harness the power of eCommerce, it’s critical for distributors to integrate their CRM with their eCommerce platform. In Ian Heller’s article The 2 Reasons Your Customers Won’t Buy Online, he highlights a major challenge: many B2B customers browse online but place orders through traditional methods like email or phone, often due to their established purchasing workflows that don’t align with typical eCommerce models. Unlike retail consumers, B2B buyers may not always use the shopping cart, preferring purchase orders or calling in orders instead.

This is where a fully integrated CRM and eCommerce platform can bridge the gap. By uniting these systems, distributors can create a seamless experience that supports every channel—whether it’s online browsing, phone orders, or emailed purchase orders—ensuring they capture opportunities no matter how customers prefer to buy. This hybrid approach allows traditional distributors to compete effectively against digital-first companies that are already leveraging these insights to enhance customer engagement and drive sales.

Best Practices for Managing Hybrid Selling

Structuring Your Team for Success

One of the first steps in navigating hybrid selling is creating internal cohesion and smooth communication. Digital and in-person sales teams must be aligned with shared goals and work together seamlessly. This can be achieved through cross-functional meetings, where insights from digital sales are used to inform in-person strategies, and vice versa. Aligning these teams ensures that each customer interaction—whether it happens online or in person—feels part of a singular, unified whole.

Using Integrated Technology

Technology is the backbone of hybrid selling. Distributors need platforms that integrate their CRM, ERP, BI, and eCommerce systems to consolidate data across sales channels. With White Cup BI, for instance, distributors like Mar-Hy easily integrated their ERP system (Epicor P21) with White Cup’s tools, granting them a single source of truth to view customers’ live interactions on multiple channels.

Integrated technology also streamlines workflows. When sales reps have instant access to up-to-date data, they can engage customers with the most relevant information to them, helping to close deals more efficiently. For example, a sales rep can view a customer’s recent browsing history on the eCommerce site and tailor a personalized follow-up to foster stronger conversations or to recommend complementary products.

Training Your Team

Hybrid selling requires ongoing training for both digital and in-person sales teams. Sales reps need to know how to leverage digital tools like CRMs and BI platforms to better serve customers. Ongoing training can include role-playing hybrid sales scenarios and sharing success stories to illustrate the hybrid model’s potential. The goal is for all team members to be comfortable using new technology and recognize hybrid opportunities.

Presenting a scenario where a distribution sales rep would need to use hybrid selling can help as well. This type of situation could look like this:

Scenario: A distributor of HVAC systems is working with a regional contractor looking to outfit several new commercial buildings.

Step 1: Digital Engagement (Research and Quoting)

The contractor begins their purchasing process by visiting the distributor’s eCommerce site to browse available HVAC units and related products. They may view technical specifications, compare products, and add items to a quote cart, but stop short of making a purchase.

The sales rep uses digital sales tools—like an integrated CRM and eCommerce platform—to track the contractor’s online activity. They see that the contractor has shown interest in several large HVAC units and is exploring product options.

Step 2: Personal Follow-Up (In-Person/Virtual Meeting)

Armed with this data, the sales rep reaches out to the contractor, either through a phone call or a video conference, to schedule a more detailed discussion. During this call, they ask questions about the contractor’s project, offer additional insights about the HVAC units in question, as well as other units by way of contrast or that may be more suitable for the project, and provide personalized recommendations for, say, energy-efficient options able to reduce long-term costs.

This touchpoint is crucial because it builds on digital engagement while allowing the sales rep to deliver a personalized consultation, which can often lead to upselling or cross-selling opportunities.

Step 3: Hybrid Purchase Process (Combining Online and Offline)

The contractor may then place the order but opts to do so by phone or email, asking for a customized quote and discount—something that isn’t typically available through the standard online checkout. The sales rep finalizes the transaction, adjusts pricing, and ensures delivery coordination based on the project’s timeline.

Alternatively, the contractor might choose to complete the order online after the follow-up, having been convinced through personal engagement.

Step 4: Ongoing Collaboration and Post-Sale Support

Post-sale, the contractor may need additional parts or maintenance support for the HVAC project. The sales rep continues to monitor the contractor’s behavior via the eCommerce platform, tracking any service inquiries or part orders. The rep can make timely outreach, offering maintenance plans or future upgrades based on the contractor’s purchasing history, improving long-term customer satisfaction.

Benefits of Hybrid Selling in This Scenario:

1. Combining digital tools and personal interactions allows the sales rep to optimize the customer experience, moving seamlessly between digital and in-person channels to build a stronger relationship.
2. Integrating CRM and eCommerce platforms gives the sales rep access to real-time customer data, allowing them to tailor their approach and provide the best possible service at every touchpoint.
3. It creates opportunities for upselling and cross-selling by turning online interest into meaningful, personalized sales conversations​.

This scenario showcases the flexibility and efficiency of hybrid selling, helping the sales rep stay connected with the customer throughout the buying journey, using both digital and personal methods.

Leveraging White Cup for Your Hybrid Ales Model in B2B Distribution

White Cup provides a suite of tools that streamline hybrid selling for distributors by integrating CRM, BI, and eCommerce platforms. As Heller points out, distributors should rethink their ROI model. Instead of measuring success purely by shopping cart sales, for example, they should develop websites that complement all sales channels and adopt an attribution model that accounts for website usage driving offline sales. The key is using hybrid selling and sales channel integration to have a clearer and more accurate understanding of your customers and their purchasing behaviors. 

B2B customers demand more channels, greater convenience, and a personalized experience. To meet this demand, distributors need integrated technology and cohesive team strategies to ensure a seamless customer journey across all touchpoints.

White Cup’s integrated CRM, BI, and eCommerce solutions provide distributors with the tools needed to thrive in the hybrid sales landscape. From AI-powered insights to real-time data integration, White Cup helps distributors maximize opportunities and provide the flexible, personalized experiences that B2B customers now expect.

CRM Integration With ERP

A major benefit of White Cup CRM is its seamless integration with ERP systems. This integration gives sales reps a comprehensive view of customer data—from purchase history to pricing to order status. With real-time data access, reps can engage customers more effectively, offering personalized product recommendations and real-time inventory updates.

Business Intelligence and Analytics

White Cup BI provides deep insights into customer behavior and sales trends. With BI tools, distributors can use data to identify upselling opportunities or spot purchasing trends early. For instance, predictive analytics within White Cup BI can help a distributor forecast a customer’s next likely purchase, enabling reps to reach out proactively with relevant offers.

eCommerce Integration

White Cup’s eCommerce integration ensures that online and offline sales channels are in sync. Distributors offer consistent product information and pricing across all channels, ensuring that customers have the same experience regardless of how they engage. By integrating eCommerce data with CRM and BI, distributors also gain valuable insights into how customers are browsing and buying, informing both digital marketing strategies and in-person sales tactics.

AI-Powered Insights

White Cup’s CRM also incorporates AI-driven insights, offering sales reps next best-action suggestions based on customer data. This AI-enabled capability recommends products to upsell or cross-sell, improving sales efficiency and ensuring that no opportunities are missed. AI’s ability to quickly analyze large data sets means that sales reps can focus on the most promising leads while automating more routine tasks.

Ready to streamline your hybrid selling strategy? Schedule a consultation with White Cup today to learn more about our integrated CRM, BI, and AI solutions tailored for distributors.