There are two ways to make money. Either you sell more material / services for a profit or you need to reduce your loss (operating costs) in your warehouse (support services). The only ways to make your warehouse a profit […]
Distributors have been seeking opportunities to generate, or increase, their service revenue. While traditionally a complementary service for industrially-oriented distributors, construction-oriented distributors are also seeing opportunities. Some distributors have defined revenue goals, others look at this opportunistically (or give the […]
In talking with senior management and HR managers of distributors, a continual challenge is personnel. While frequently these discussions relate to qualified (industry or skilled) personnel for sales, branch management and/or specialists, a frequent comment is the “churn” that they […]
At this week’s Rockwell Automation TechLED Rockwell announced a new partnership with Manpower to train (“upskill”) 1,000 veterans per year. The new initiative, reported by Control magazine, is designed to help address the expected shortage in skilled automation staff that […]
Much is talked about “innovation”. It’s a term that is loosely tossed around and requires a commitment, or perhaps a better term is “mentality”, that is infused into individuals and a culture. It’s a desire to “excel” and, perhaps more […]
Earlier this year Channel Marketing Group conducted research regarding joint business planning and released the results earlier this fall. Some of the key findings revealed that: Manufacturers talk sales; distributors talk profits … and then sales Distributors who invest in […]
A surefire way to generate growth, at least in specific product categories, is when there is a National Electrical Code (“Code”) change. The recent edition of NEMA’s electroindustry magazine highlighted a few states that will be affected by the Code […]
2016 has been a challenging year for many industrially-oriented electrical distributors. Between the decline and ripple effects of oil and gas markets, the strength of the dollar constricting the OEM market, the agricultural equipment market stagnating and economic growth being […]
If you are stymied with geographical growth and think that many of your customers are not buying all they can from you, the odds are stacked in your favor that they aren’t. Why? Because you don’t know. Unless you have […]
Earlier this week I was speaking with distributor and we were discussing sales effectiveness. Throughout his career he has been in sales roles, inclusive of sales management. One of the areas we discussed is the attributes of successful salespeople. He told […]
