Blogs from Art Waskey
Most Recent
Featured
Picking the Right Team and Planning the Right Strategy
I work with small and medium business owners (SMBs) in the distribution sector and find they struggle with implementing meaningful strategic plans....
Promote Functional Leadership
Leadership doesn’t just happen. To be functional it has to be promoted. Recently, in a Distributor Strategy Group webcast, Eric Chernik, CEO, of...
Know Your Stakeholders
A Needle in a Haystack Today, finding the right product can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. In your B2B business, how do you help...
Sell with Trust and Value
Pitching your Products Today’s market is flooded with an array of goods and services. As a B2B seller, this makes pitching your products more...
Value your Employees
Workers in the US labor market are on the move. A shortage of talent combined with greatly expanded job options has led to rapid employee turnover....
Perceived Value
Personalize the Sale I have an older car which I use for fun when family comes to visit. As it gets only occasional use, the battery often needs...
Working on Retention
Job-Hopping on the Rise Today's labor market is marked by a shortage of talent and many new job options. These factors enable younger employees to...
Maximizing Price Increase Attainment
Pricing strategy One of the top distribution subjects in the last two years has been pricing strategy. In 2021 and through the first half of 2022,...
Adding Value with ERP
The ERP solution I consult with a supplier who offers a single, basic product. Nevertheless, while reviewing his strategic projects, I suggested he...
From Best Practices to Next Practices
Changes and Challenges As 2022 comes to a close, it’s time to formulate a plan for 2023. I find that webcasts are a great way to acquire relevant...
The Digital Generation of Buyers
Digital natives The pandemic impacted the role of the outside sales rep (See adjusting-to-changes-in-sales-process-relationships) but what about the...
Building a Successful Team for the Digital Age
Changing Sales Dynamics In the book, Thriving on Chaos, Tom Peters states: “If you’re not confused, you’re not paying attention". As a result of...
The 5-Generation Legacy Rule
In Baltimore City, Maryland, my father owned two 20-foot refrigerated displays in a store that sold meat. His five children learned how to develop a...
Customer Outcomes
B2B buyers are doing a lot of purchasing online these days — about $1.6 trillion annually according to projections by Digital Commerce 360. Are...
Workforce Ecosystems
My son-in-law works in the motion picture industry. The film projects he works on were staffed with people from multiple companies as well as...
The Added-Value Differentiator
Electric Vehicles (EVS) are coming. I have two Gen X children who are now working professionals and both drive Chevrolet Bolt EVs. In a recent...
Sales: The Psychodynamics of Success
A sales manager recently described his travel day with a rep who needed to close more business. They called on six prospective accounts and the...
The High-Value Customer
How to Measure Success While VP of Sales, I oversaw a hospital account that was among our leading 10 customers. Their purchases topped the charts....
What Should I Do With My Business Now?
Get Organized Twenty years ago, as the VP of Sales for industrial gas and welding supply company, I started writing a monthly column, “The Art of...
The Distributor Differentiation
A lot to Consider As an independent regional distributor, you need to take a close look at where to invest your digital dollars. In a recent MDM...
The Digital Differentiator
Key Differentiator Many B2B purchases are made before a consumer even contacts a vendor. According to data from SiriusDecisions, 67% of the...
Justify Your Price
Remind Customers of Your Value As Benjamin Franklin said, “The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is...
From Purchasing to Procurement
Technical Abilities A young woman came into a distributor’s store to buy a robot to automate her company’s business. The counterperson referred her...
Promoting the Product: A New Sales Model That Meets Your Needs
The New Sales Model MSC Industrial Supply Co's new brand proposition — built to make you better — is an important strategy to note. The digitalized...