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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...
Focus on Profit Segmentation
One of the most challenging responsibilities of a sales manager is bridging the gap on account profitability between sales reps and the executive...
Mentor (ing) for Success
Proverbs 11:14 says “Where there is no guidance the people fall, but in the abundance of counselors there is victory.” I find these words...
Leading with Added-Value
The term added value has been a significant part of sales strategy discussions in the last several years. In the digital age, its importance...
Ask Why They Are Leaving
A sales manager responded to a recent article I wrote which examined the importance of finding out why a customer was unresponsive. He noted that...
Personalize the Selling Process
Digitization is altering the way people sell. Sales professionals must now look at how to personalize their processes. A great way to do this is...
Distributor Sales: Best Strategies
The Advent of Distribution Networks As we know it today, distribution sales began in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries....
Grow With Digitalization
A punch-card solution I have seen how digitalization has transformed society through my long and fulfilling career. I still have my first calling...
Winning Through Relationships
Focus on core strength Independent distributors have been introducing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platforms to their businesses over time....
Ask the Unresponsive Customer “Why”
A sales manager recently brought a problem to my attention. One of his customers had called and asked why he hadn’t been by to see him. The...
Make Price Increases More Palatable
Price increase alert The Producer Price Index (PPI) climbed 10% in 12 months through February 2022. In line with economists' expectations, the...