Channel Partner Search
We find your US channel partners, run the outreach, and facilitate the meetings, all the way to a signed Letter of Intent. Built for European industrial hardware companies entering the US.
The problem
Every month a proven European product sits without a US channel is a month a competitor uses to sign the reps you should have signed. You email US companies. They don't reply. Six months pass, and the market goes to whoever moved first.
It's structural. The US industrial market runs on independent reps, each carrying 12-20 product lines, earning 8-15% commission, selling to a customer base they already own. They'll only add your line if it fits what they already sell, and you won't find them on Google.
We've been in this market since 2015, and we're in it ourselves.
Inmotion isn't only an advisor. We're a non-stocking distributor that sources European industrial products and places them into US channels under our own name. We run distributor relationships and rep agreements across cobot safety, precision welding, and industrial tooling.
See our success stories arrow_forwardIn market
Since 2015
Placing European industrial products into US channels
Placed
30+ brands
Into the US market through our rep and distributor networks
Our model
We distribute
A non-stocking distributor of our own European lines, not just an advisor
What we do
Most partner searches end at a spreadsheet. Ours ends at a signed LOI.
We run the contact campaign, book and facilitate the partner meetings, and manage every candidate through to commitment. When you are visiting a US trade show, we focus the outreach around it so you can meet the right partners face to face at the event.
One point of contact. No call center to hire. No CRM system to set up and run. We take it all the way to a signed LOI.
Multi-channel contact, and we handle all the replies on your behalf.
Online, or in person at a US trade show you are attending.
Every candidate worked through to a signed commitment.
What's included
The preparation that makes the outreach work, all part of the base engagement, built from primary research on your product, your market, and the actual US partners who serve it.
Which partner type fits your product (rep, distributor, value-added reseller (VAR), or manufacturer (OEM)), which US segments and geographies to prioritize, how to sequence the approach, and what risks to plan for. The document your internal team and your partners both need to understand the opportunity.
15-20 candidates, tiered by fit. We research 30-40 companies across industry associations, trade shows, operator networks, and competitor distribution. Each is scored on five dimensions: segment overlap, geographic reach, portfolio compatibility, company size, and reputation. You see the scores and the reasoning before any outreach begins.
Sized for a partner's business development (BD) manager, who needs to understand your product's commercial opportunity in five minutes: what you make, who buys it, why US operators need it, what the deal looks like, and how to position it against what they already sell.
Commission structure, territory and exclusivity, deal registration, training requirements, and marketing support. Written with mandatory US-specific callouts: 1099 contractor status, Commission Protection Acts (CA, NY, IL, OH, MN), state-by-state variation, and export-control flags where applicable.
How it works
We analyze your product, map US distribution for your category, identify competitor channels, and identify the gaps we need your input to close.
Channel strategy first. Once you approve the direction, the partner list, line card, and commercial terms follow in parallel.
We run the outreach to your approved Tier A and B candidates, book and facilitate the partner meetings, and take each candidate all the way to a signed LOI. Included, and we run it end-to-end as your single point of contact.
Gate discipline
The phases set the shape. What makes them work is gate discipline.
Gate 1
You return the questionnaire and uploads (datasheets, certifications, pricing). We ask for everything back within a week. Delays here push back the whole timeline.
Gate 2
You approve the partner list and strategy. You review every candidate before a single outreach email goes out.
Pricing
The base engagement covers research, all four deliverables, and the outreach and meetings through to LOI. Pricing in EUR.
EUR 10,000
Base fee
Covers everything: research, the four deliverables, and our team running the outreach and meetings through to a signed LOI. Split across the two phases, invoiced at kickoff and on delivery of the approved partner list.
EUR 5,000
Success fee
Due only on a signed Letter of Intent with a channel partner. No LOI, no success fee.
EUR 15,000
Total maximum
The maximum. Nothing beyond this for the base engagement.
The EUR 5,000 success fee is tied to you signing an LOI, so part of what we earn rides on you landing a partner. The base fee buys a researched, scored shortlist and the team that runs the outreach and meetings, instead of another six months of cold outreach you manage yourself.
Common questions
ISR (Independent Sales Representative), manufacturers representative, and independent sales agency all describe the same role: a self-employed or small-firm sales professional who represents multiple manufacturers on commission. They carry your line alongside 12-20 others and sell to their existing customer base. Reps typically earn 8-15% commission. For most European companies selling industrial technology into the US, reps are the right first channel.
First partner meetings happen within 90 days of kickoff: roughly 4-6 weeks of research and deliverables, then outreach to your approved shortlist. From first partner contact to a first order typically takes 6-12 months, but the meetings and the LOI come inside the engagement window.
European industrial hardware: cobot safety, precision welding, industrial tooling, measurement and test, and adjacent categories. If it's a proven physical product sold through reps or distributors, it fits. We don't work with consumer products, pure software, or products without an established European customer base.
Yes. The deliverables and outreach are built for any European industrial company entering the US. DACH is where most of our clients start, not a requirement. Deliverables and outreach are in English.
The scored list is 15-20 deep for exactly this reason. We move through the list in order, and outreach continues across approved candidates until a partner commits.
Yes. The EUR 10,000 base covers the research and the outreach work whether or not a partner commits, so only the EUR 5,000 success fee is tied to a signed LOI. What you keep is real: the channel strategy, the scored partner list, the line card, and the commercial terms, plus the worked pipeline. That includes the curated list of US companies we contacted and the record of every conversation. You can keep messaging that target group and stay in contact with it after the engagement ends.
Usually not to sign with a rep, they're independent contractors who sell on your behalf. The commercial terms deliverable flags where entity, tax, or export-control questions apply to your specific case.
We do. The outreach and meeting facilitation are included in the base fee, so you don't hire, brief, or manage a call center. You get one point of contact who runs it for you.
A signed, written commitment from a channel partner to carry your line, typically a rep agreement, distribution agreement, or formal LOI. Verbal interest doesn't trigger the fee, a signature does.
Start the search
Tell us about your product and your US ambitions. A specialist will get back to you within 1 business day.
First meetings within 90 days. Research and deliverables in 4-6 weeks, then we run outreach to your approved shortlist.
We run the outreach. We handle the calls, meetings, and follow-through, so there's no call center for you to manage.
EUR 5,000 tied to results. The success fee is due only on a signed LOI with a partner. No LOI, no success fee.
You approve every candidate. Gate 2 means no outreach email goes out until you sign off the scored list.
Built on real US channel contracts since 2015. And on our own European lines. We distribute what we source.
No obligation. We'll tell you straight if it's not a fit.
Thanks, we've got it.
A specialist will be in touch within 1 business day.
Prefer to talk now? → +43 664 2600 910 · office@inmotion.global