by Art Waskey | Aug 6, 2025 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
Like so many areas of business, the art of strategic planning has been greatly altered by the introduction of new technology. Software applications and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have greatly improved our ability to project and make a strategic plan.
Three questions
I suggest you ask these three questions when making your strategic plan.
- How are changes in technology affecting your operations? When developing a strategic plan, be sure to consider how the use of artificial intelligence (AI) is impacting your operations. A recent report from the Harvard Department of Education looked at the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by generations. The report highlights that younger employees are using AI generative agents at work, with 65% of users being Millennials or Generation Z. In contrast, 68% of non-users are from Generation X or the Baby Boomer generation. Half of the surveyed teens also reported using generative AI.
- What differentiates your company? Personalization is your greatest asset. Make this a critical part of your strategic plan. Focus on your company’s unique expertise and skills. These allow you to offer value-added services and local visibility. Look at ways to improve bundling, assembling, repairing, and customer training. Utilize advanced technologies to enhance your personalized differentiators. Regulatory pressures and cost challenges will continue to slow the pace of competing online e-commerce verticals, as well as other evolving companies and AI-native startups. Leverage personalization to increase your market share.
- What matters most to your customers? What continues to set the distributor apart from Amazon, Granger, Home Depot, and other evolving companies? It is clear that customers still value trust, adaptability, and strong local relationships. In your planning, consider how you can focus on person-to-person availability in new ways that will generate greater profits for both parties. This includes using AI technology. AI can lower costs in areas like order automation, product information enhancement, marketing, and returns processing. It also improves customer personalization by providing timely insights into customer behavior changes. Be sure to make targeted investments in digital technology, particularly AI applications.
Make a plan
In conclusion, consider developing a plan that takes into account how technology, such as AI, is affecting your business while also prioritizing the needs of your customers.Success will follow!
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by Art Waskey | Jul 30, 2025 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
Traditional forecasting
When I retired from a very successful distribution company in 2018, we were creating our strategic plan using the most current and sophisticated methods available. Sales forecasting is achieved by analyzing previous sales cycles and following leading economic indicators.We also reviewed other companies’ and suppliers’ forecasts in our distribution vertical. Using that information, we projected our top customer sales.
We created our five-year strategic plan using a combination of SWOT analysis, future asset development, and market share projections. We also evaluated the potential impact of adding new locations and products. Given the tools available at that time, these methods yielded the best planning results. Today, new technologies enable us to sharpen that forecast.
Unforeseen events
The above type of strategic planning could not foresee the effects of a global pandemic, 2023’s inflation, supply chain immobilization, generative AI, international wars, and tariff corrections. Also, each of those forces impacted how distributors operate, compete, and, most importantly, plan for the future. Moreover, to effectively compete in today’s technologically fueled market, new methods need to be added to traditional strategic forecasting techniques.
Keeping up
To continue to build resiliency in your strategic planning, keep up on new methods through sources like Distribution Strategy Group, National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, and their affiliate, Modern Distribution Management.
It is especially important to keep an eye on Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications. AI technology both reduces the cost of doing business and improves customer personalization. Lastly, these initiatives are critical to a good strategic plan.
Exciting times
We live in an exciting time for distribution. How do you plan for the future? You sharpen your forecasting skills by including the use of new technology and improving customer personalization in your strategic planning.
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by Art Waskey | Jul 23, 2025 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
Using intuition
As a consultant, I am often asked to interview potential new executive employees for my clients. In my sales management career, I hired many outside sales representatives. When interviewing, I relied heavily on intuition and my success rate was above average — in the 70% range. However, I recently read Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman, which challenged me to rethink the evaluation process. In a chapter, “Intuitions versus Formulas,” one of Kahneman’s key axioms is, “Whenever we can replace human judgment by a formula, we should at least consider it.” While intuition served me well in interviewing, I see now that scoring behavioral characteristics can yield a more accurate assessment.
The formula
When developing a formula for your hiring process, consider these steps:
- Select traits – Create a way to measure up to six specific traits, such as passion, problem solving, organizational skills, work ethic, listening skills, and integrity.
- Make a list of questions for each trait.
- What are you passionate about? The candidate needs to be able to provide an example.
- What was your toughest career problem? The candidate should be able to provide an example and a solution.
- How do you prepare for a week’s work? The candidate should be able to demonstrate organizational skills.
- How many hours do you work per week? The candidate needs to tell you that he is willing to work more than 40 hours per week and that he will work however long it takes to finish a project, solve a problem, etc.
- If someone comes to you with a personal issue, what do you do? The candidate should respond, “Listen” and “Give them help or refer them to someone who can.”
- What do you value in a company’s culture? The candidate needs to include integrity, truth, etc.
- Score each trait – Rate the traits on a 1-5 scale, from “very weak” to “very strong.” Think through each question and what significant qualities would make a difference on your scoring. Avoid the “halo effect” — the tendency for an impression created from the answer of one trait to influence your opinion in another area. Score the answer given for each trait before moving to the next.
- Total final scores – Firmly resolve that you will hire the candidate whose final score is the highest, even if there is a candidate whom you like better. You are much more likely to find the best candidate using this process than only trusting your intuitive judgment.
Raise your hiring success rate
Kahneman suggests, “Let’s decide in advance to give credence to the scores on the data from the candidate’s past performance. Otherwise, we will give too much weight to our impression from the interview.” To raise your hiring success rate, use a formula. Choose the candidate whose final score is the highest and let intuitions take a back seat.
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by Art Waskey | Jul 16, 2025 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
AI continues to be in the news and increasingly in your life. If it’s not part of your business plan, be sure to include it now. For example, here are a few things I recently read that speak to the importance of adopting and introducing AI tools to your workforce.
Prioritize your workforce
According to PR Newswire, a report by Kyndryl, an AI enterprise technology services firm, sounds the alarm on the necessity to adopt AI. Michael Bradshaw, global practice leader for applications, data, and AI at Kyndryl, stated: “Only a small group of businesses have been able to harness AI successfully for business growth. This report shows that while data architecture and technology infrastructure are key pieces of the puzzle, organizations that do not prioritize their workforces will miss out.”
Kyndryl reported on HRDive, explaining, “Few companies have aligned their workforce strategies with their artificial intelligence investments, leaving a major gap in preparedness and talent needs…AI adoption faces three barriers: organizational change management, a lack of employee trust, and workforce skills gaps.”
Digital enterprise education
Although it is clear that the digitalization of our society through social media, education, and personal purchasing has significantly impacted our employees. The larger issue is that most distributors are lagging in digital enterprise education. Moreover, businesses need to teach employees how to use digital technologies to drive business performance and competitiveness. Also, if you want your employees on board, it is your responsibility to keep them technologically competent!
Follow the leader?
I recently read in The Guardian that Amazon is testing humanoids for “warehouse to front door” delivery. “The indoor obstacle course being used for the tests at an Amazon office in San Francisco is about the size of a coffee shop,” the report said, “with the company hoping the robots will be able to travel in Amazon’s Rivian vans and make deliveries from them.”
Use AI tools
“Nearly 7 in 10 companies now use AI tools for work,” according to an OwlLabs survey of knowledge workers. Are your employees experiencing rapid advancements in digital technology every day? If that’s the case, why don’t we challenge them to do the same at work? When your Gen Y, Z, and Alpha team members don’t see opportunities to grow their skills, they won’t stick around. So if you don’t address this gap, your organization will fall behind the competition.
Workforce priority
Despite today’s digitally driven market, having the right data architecture and technology infrastructure is essential. Additionally, to ensure the successful use of digital tools, organizations must prioritize training their workforce on the applications of AI.
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by Art Waskey | Jul 2, 2025 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
In today’s digital marketplace, it is important to recognize that your sales team needs the right tools in order to successfully compete. Enterprise technology — the deployment of hardware, software, and other digital tools — is a powerful motivation for the new generation of salespeople. For example, Gen Y, Z, and Alphas want to know their employers are leaders in the adoption of technologies like AI, virtual reality, and drones. Employees seek employers committed to attracting and retaining talent. So, without opportunities for immersive learning, industry association involvement, and rapid advancement, your representatives may leave for positions that offer broader experiences.
More and better data
Data is the backbone of enterprise technology. As ERP, e-commerce, and product information tools become more affordable, even smaller companies can now adopt digital systems. Younger team members have led the way—cleaning up data and helping businesses transition to more accurate, tech-driven processes.
It’s been inspiring to see the next generation take ownership of these projects. As a result, many vendors have praised how quickly new salespeople are learning and using their software. Having the right tech tools isn’t just practical—it’s a powerful motivator for your sales team.
Enterprise technology has made data collection faster and more accurate.
Information on call reporting, prospect funnels, dashboards, and scorecards has streamlined the executive, sales, and administrative review processes. Also, it has enabled companies to compete and succeed in today’s digitally fueled marketplace.
Meet the challenge
In conclusion, market share reduction pressure from alternative supply chains weighs heavily on the minds of independent distributors. Lastly, to meet this challenge head-on on you need the ability to grow a cohesive team where motivation is fundamental, performance is recognized, and growth is sustained. To improve your business, be sure enterprise technology is in your toolbox.
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by Art Waskey | Jun 25, 2025 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
One of the best ways a company can improve sales is by providing its sales reps with consistent positive feedback. Being appreciated for a job well done is a great motivator.
Motivating methods
Monthly reviews are a great opportunity to recognize each team member’s contributions, but consistent, daily engagement is even more impactful. When I served as Vice President of Sales, we required sales managers to spend time in the field with their reps at least once a month. The most effective leaders don’t just show up periodically—they stay actively involved in their team’s day-to-day success.
Stay positive
Managers need to maintain a positive attitude. I once accompanied a rep on a visit to a customer, where she was poorly treated. The client expressed his disdain for women selling in a male-dominated industry. We were both appalled and crushed by this behavior. Also, the rep needed positive feedback. I reminded her that she was the most successful salesperson on our team.
Feedback should always focus on the positive. Encourage your people to grow based on their strengths, and not waste energy on things that may have gone wrong. Make sure you help your team focus on positive incidents. Those are what drive your business forward.
Reward achievement
It is important to reward achievement. I recommend that at the end of each year, you have a ceremony to acknowledge each person’s accomplishments. Moreover, I believe people may work for money, but they give their best for recognition. Recognize growth in margin dollars and percent increase, so that large and small territories each have a chance for acknowledgement.
Make every effort to see that each rep is rewarded in some way. Quarterly companywide meetings that celebrate smaller individual victories are also great motivators. And in addition to public acclaim, spontaneous acknowledgments of success and one-on-one congratulatory gestures are also important. Not everyone enjoys the limelight. Be sure to develop a habit of recognizing individuals in the way they feel most comfortable.
Boost sales
Remember, the best leaders are actively involved with their sales team. Lastly, to boost your company’s rate of sales success, provide your team with positive feedback and rewards for their achievements.
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