Why Trade Account Managers Lose Momentum After the Deal Is Done
Mark Ripley
03/02/2026
A supplier-side reality
For many trade account managers working for suppliers and manufacturers, the hardest part of the job isn't winning the deal.
It's what happens after the deal is agreed.
The buyer is keen. The commercial terms are in place. Everyone wants to move quickly.
And then... momentum disappears.
- Products don't go live.
- Timelines slip.
- Confidence starts to wobble.
This isn't because the trade account manager can't sell. It's because the business can't move product information fast enough.
The Moment Everyone Recognises
Almost every trade account manager has lived this scenario:
- A new retail or wholesale customer is signed
- They're ready to list products
- They ask for product information
- Internal handover begins
What should be a straightforward step becomes a bottleneck.
Product data needs to be:
- Checked
- Completed
- Reformatted
- Approved
- Sent
- Clarified
- Sent again
Each delay chips away at the momentum that was hard-won during the sales process.
Why This Isn't a Sales Problem
By the time this friction appears, the sale has already been made.
The problem isn't persuasion. It isn't negotiation. It isn't relationship management.
It's that product information is:
- Fragmented across systems
- Owned by different teams
- Maintained manually
- Shared inconsistently
Trade account managers become messengers - chasing internally, relaying externally - without having real control over the outcome.
They're measured on speed and confidence, but depend on processes that weren't designed for either.
The Supplier-Side Reality
In supplier and manufacturer organisations, product data rarely lives in one place.
Instead, it's spread across:
- Spreadsheets
- ERP systems
- PIM tools (often only partially adopted)
- Email threads
- Personal folders
Each new customer adds variation:
- Different formats
- Different requirements
- Different questions
What should be repeatable becomes bespoke every time.
And because the process is manual, delays feel unavoidable - even though everyone is working hard.
The Cost of Lost Momentum
Lost momentum isn't just frustrating. It's expensive.
When products don't go live quickly:
- Retailers prioritise other suppliers
- Initial enthusiasm fades
- Confidence in the relationship drops
- Follow-up opportunities get harder
Internally, it creates tension:
- Sales feels blocked
- Product teams feel pressured
- Data teams feel blamed
None of this shows up neatly on a report - but it shows up in slower growth and harder conversations.
What Actually Fixes This
After years of seeing this pattern repeat, one thing is clear:
You don't fix this by asking people to work harder. You fix it by changing the structure.
That means:
- One trusted version of product truth
- Clear ownership of product information
- Self-service access for downstream partners
- Removing manual handovers wherever possible
When product data is structured for reuse, onboarding new customers becomes faster - and momentum is preserved instead of lost.
Why We Built VendorSauce
VendorSauce exists because we've seen this exact problem play out repeatedly in supplier organisations.
Trade account managers doing their job well. Deals agreed. Growth ready to happen.
And then everything slows down because product information can't keep up.
We built VendorSauce to help suppliers take control of product truth and remove friction from the moment it matters most - when a deal needs to turn into live products.
Final Thought
Trade account managers shouldn't be judged on how well they chase information.
They should be able to focus on growing accounts, building relationships, and creating momentum — not firefighting internal process issues.
When product data works, momentum follows.
Want to see how VendorSauce helps suppliers keep momentum after the deal is done? Get in touch to find out more.