Yes, I know the headline is provocative, however, the goal was to get your attention. The “drug” I’m talking about has been around for almost 60 years in the electrical industry. It’s rebates. Rebates went “mainstream” for electrical distributors in […]
While there may be only eight days left to the national mid-term elections, there are only 60 days remaining to determine who will own a number of electrical distributors. While Rexel initiated the second half of the year acquisition run […]
Manufacturers and distributors talk about “partnership” and “supporting” each other. Turtle & Hughes has taken it the next level by investing in an up and coming manufacturer, Cadenza Innovation. Who is Cadenza? Founded in 2012 by lithium-ion battery experts with […]
Over the past several weeks I’ve spoken to a number of distributors and manufacturers who have commented that they have seen a decline in the number of units that they are selling compared to last year, especially for stock items. […]
It’s planning season and we’re engaging long-term distributor clients; new and prospective ones and a recurring theme is occurring … they are commenting on the lack of co-op marketing funds. Unfortunately, this isn’t a surprise as it has been a […]
Joint sales calls can be an effective partnering between a “manufacturer” and a distributor to generate demand from specifiers, end-users, and contractors. I put quotes around “manufacturer” as, most frequently, this is the local rep. But mention to a distributor […]
I was speaking with a manufacturer who was contemplating converting his direct sales force to a rep network. He was having difficulty replacing salespeople leaving his company either for retirement or other reasons (some of which were revealed in our […]
NSI industries has grown significantly over the past few years. Since being acquired by Odyssey Investment Partners in 2019, the company has invested into acquisitions, people, infrastructure, resources and more. A key element is that the company now has three growth […]
One of the historical “deliverables” of marketing is promotions. For many distributors, marketing was confined to three areas – events, premiums (those logoed “throwaways” / wearables) and promotions. Typically, all were funded, or at least co-funded, with manufacturer dollars. While […]
One of the challenges we hear from distributors is the need for sales and marketing tools from companies that understand distribution … and especially the electrical distribution channel … and that are affordable regardless of the size of the distributor. […]
