Trade promotion planning · Channel and partners
Plan trade schemes around what the channel needs now, not last year's calendar.
Trade schemes in many businesses repeat every year out of habit. The same festival discount, the same slab structure, run at the same time because that is when it was last run. Nobody revisits whether the scheme still fits current stock levels, competitive activity or what the business actually needs the channel to do.
Scope, fee, reporting and term are agreed in writing after we have read your brief and spoken to you.
In one paragraph
Trade promotion planning is the design and scheduling of schemes, slab discounts and festival offers run through the dealer and distributor channel to drive sell-in and sell-through at specific times. GullySales builds the annual promotion calendar and checks that each scheme's cost is justified by what it produces.
This service builds the promotion calendar deliberately, timed to real business needs: clearing stock before a new launch, defending share during a competitor's push, or driving a festival season spike. It checks after each scheme whether the cost was worth the result.
The problem
Does this sound like your business?
What owners tell us on the first call, in their words.
“The same scheme runs every year regardless of what is actually needed”
A festival discount repeats on habit, whether the business needs to clear stock, defend share or simply maintain the calendar tradition.
“Schemes are announced too close to the date for partners to plan around”
Partners get two weeks' notice of a scheme meant to shift volume, leaving no time to prepare stock, staff or local promotion around it.
“Nobody checks the cost of a scheme against what it produced”
The scheme runs, the discount is paid, and the incremental sales it generated, if any beyond what would have happened anyway, are never measured.
What we do
Everything that is included.
Each deliverable, and what it gets you. Nothing here is an extra.
Annual promotion calendar
Trade schemes planned across the year against known business needs, stock positions and the competitive calendar.
Scheme design per event
Slab structure, discount level and eligibility set for each planned promotion, matched to its specific objective.
Partner communication lead time
Schemes announced with enough notice for partners to plan stock and local activity around them.
Cost and return tracking
Each scheme's cost compared against the incremental sales it produced, closing the loop after every promotion.
Calendar coordination with marketing
Trade schemes aligned with any consumer-facing marketing activity running at the same time, so both reinforce each other.
How the result is measured
- Scheme cost against incremental sales
- Partner participation rate
- Lead time given before each scheme
- Stock movement against target during the promotion
Recorded as a baseline before work starts, so every later report has an honest comparison.
Who it is for
This is written for you if these sound familiar.
- Businesses running the same trade schemes on the same calendar every year without review
- Companies planning a product launch or stock clearance that needs a specific trade push
- Manufacturers wanting to defend market share during a known period of competitor activity
- Networks where scheme planning happens close to the date with little lead time for partners
Not for
It is not the right fit if.
- You need the payout structure and mechanics designed, not the calendar and timing. That is partner compensation and incentive design
- You run no trade schemes and sell purely on standard pricing with no promotional activity
How it works
From your first message to the first report.
No open-ended retainer. Every step gives you something in writing.
First
Your brief
You tell us what you need in a few short steps: your business, what you want, where enquiries come from and how they are handled.
After the brief
A conversation and a written scope
We read it, then talk with whoever handles your enquiries. If you want our help, the scope, the fee and the reporting come in writing, and nothing starts before you have read them.
Before work starts
Baseline recorded
The numbers this work is meant to move, such as enquiries, quotations, orders, visits or renewals, written down so every later report has an honest comparison.
After the baseline
The first fix goes live
The fix we agreed to start with is put in place and measured against the baseline, whether that is a reply, a follow-up, a page, a listing or the handover between marketing and sales.
As agreed
Report against the baseline
What moved, what did not, and what changes next, in plain words. How often you get it is set in writing before work starts.
At renewal
Renew on the numbers
The term ends and you decide whether to continue from the results. The length is agreed in writing before anything starts.
How the trade promotion planning work runs
- 1
Review past schemes
A review of the last year or two of trade promotions, their cost and whatever result data exists.
- 2
Build the calendar
Promotions planned deliberately against stock positions, launches and the competitive calendar.
- 3
Communicate and launch
Each scheme announced with proper lead time and clear terms for partners.
- 4
Measure and adjust
Cost against incremental sales reported after each scheme, feeding into the next year's calendar.
Why us
Why owners pick GullySales over an agency.
Marketing and sales, as one job
Most agencies stop at the enquiry. We also fix what happens after it: the reply, the follow-up, the quote and the CRM.
The person on the first call does the work
No account managers in between. You are never handed to someone you have not met.
A baseline before anything starts
Your numbers are written down on day one, so every later report compares against something honest.
The fee in writing, split three ways
Our time, your media spend and production on separate lines. You always see what goes to us.
No guarantees we cannot keep
The term is agreed in writing and never a default twelve months. We never promise a ranking or a lead count, because nobody controls those.
One office, and we say so
Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru. We work across India by call and WhatsApp and travel when a session needs to be in person.
#257, 3rd floor, Sri Nanjundeshwara Complex, Nagarbhavi 8th Block, Outer Ring Road. How we work.
Engagement options
Ways to work with us.
Pick the size of commitment that fits. Every option starts with your brief and a conversation.
Option 1
The conversation on its own
A call after you send your brief. It says honestly whether you need outside help, and many fixes are ones your own team can make.
Option 2
One fix, scoped
Start with the fix that matters most, such as reply time or follow-up. The fee is in writing before anything starts.
Option 3
An ongoing programme
We run the work, report against the baseline, and you renew on the numbers. The term and the reporting are agreed in writing first.
Option 4
Guidance for your own team or agency
We plan, brief and check the work of your in-house team or current agency, instead of replacing them.
Your brief
Tell us what you need, and we will read it before we call.
Eight short steps about your business, what you want and who decides. Most questions are a tap, and you can skip any you would rather answer on the call.
FAQ
Questions owners ask before they call.
Not here? More answers, or ask on WhatsApp.
How far in advance should trade schemes be planned?
How do you measure incremental sales from a scheme?
Can this include schemes aimed at end consumers, not just the trade?
What if a scheme underperforms?
How much does it cost?
How long is the contract?
How soon will we see results?
Who will actually do the work?
What do you need from us?
What if we are not happy with the work?
By industry
Trade promotion planning, written for your industry.
Related services
Often bought with this, or instead of it.
Your next practical step
Tell us what you are trying to grow, and we will read it before we call.
Eight short steps, mostly taps. Skip anything you would rather answer on the call.