ChatGPT was launched November 30, 2022, but went “mainstream” in Q1 2023 when Microsoft made a significant investment into OpenAI. Since then either “AI is going to take over”, “many will lose their jobs”, “it’s a great tool to use” […]
In a move that shocked most in the industry, Prysmian announced its new independent manufacturer electrical sales rep network and all of them are new … the Encore sales organization! As everyone recalls, Prysmian surprised the industry with an announcement […]
Perhaps you remember the playing card game called 52 Pickup (and if you don’t, here’s a link to remind you.) With lighting agents having a minimum of 52 lines, it seems like they are updating their linecard regularly. And sometimes […]
Focused on generating demand for their manufacturers and delivering support for end-users that drives product usage (sales) for distributors, is the core value proposition for independent manufacturer representatives. As described in NEMRA’s 2020 Rep of the Future Report (and if […]
The second half of the year has started and the first week brought acquisitions / mergers and news that will, and could, influence many other factors. In most industry acquisitions, the acquisition of one company by another typically has most […]
George Santayana, the Spanish philosopher said, “if we don’t learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it!” Our economy is certainly changing quickly, as is our industry Many of us tried fighting the DIY market when they began selling […]
Electrical distributors, manufacturer representatives, and lighting agents face a continuous challenge with project quotations … the need for speed. Contractors, and specifiers, want everything yesterday. And once they finally place an order, they want the submittal information “yesterday.” In addition […]
Another week, another acquisition in the electrical distribution industry. Last week, Fields Electrical Sales, an independent manufacturer representative covering Ohio, Michigan, western Pennsylvania, and West Virginia was sold to Forward Solutions, whom you may recall acquired ElectroRep and R/B Sales […]
The rep world continues to change. While the past few years have been marked with rep consolidation, the emergence of the mega / “national” rep (really, they are all quasi-national), and reps expanding into new contiguous territories, we’re seeing a […]
Q1 saw some significant rep changes in the rep landscape. One of the biggest observations by many was “supply” reps getting heavily involved in lighting. While the trend has been going for a while, many saw this for the first […]
David Gordon
Channel Marketing Group
919-488-8635
