What do market segments such as government, universities / higher education, life sciences, government / municipalities, sports teams, hospitals, agriculture have in common? While most are considered \"institutions\", they all are significant users of eProcurement / punchouts as part of their electrical buying process. They use companies such as Ariba, Coupa, Jaggaer, … [Read more...] about Creating lemonade at Institutions
Distribution Strategy
Salespeople in Lockdown Could Cost You Share
Recently I visited a manufacturer rep client and spent time with their salespeople. As typically goes, the conversation “wanders” into what they are observing in the marketplace (the benefit of F2F meetings!). The salespeople I was talking to have been visiting with distributors and contractors while observing applicable COVID protocols and, most importantly, being respectful … [Read more...] about Salespeople in Lockdown Could Cost You Share
POS is About Getting Paid for Effort
In an industry awash with data, the issue of POS (point of sale) information being shared to ensure independent manufacturer representatives are compensated for their efforts continues to be an issue. And with COVID significantly impacting industry revenues for many, distributors who do not properly report sales through regional / central distribution centers and manufacturers … [Read more...] about POS is About Getting Paid for Effort
Pricing in a Pandemic
Everyone is an expert in pricing. It’s either too high or too low based upon your role. Salespeople like it low. Management wants it high. The customer wants it “right” which, usually means “competitive” or “It’s reasonable for the value I am receiving.” And the term “value” is intriguing as it infers that You understand the value that you bringYou understand the value … [Read more...] about Pricing in a Pandemic
Ready for the 2nd Half Sprint?
Hope you had a wonderful July 4th weekend with your family? While July 4th celebrates independence it also is a moment for reflection and appreciation of the American spirit. A sense of resilience, perseverance, ingenuity. A “can do” / “will do” attitude. A willingness to move ahead, conquer and excellence regardless of “today’s predicament.” Somehow, “we” know it will be … [Read more...] about Ready for the 2nd Half Sprint?
Reallocate Conference Funds to Support Growth
This year many companies should be able to find some “extra” dollars around to reallocate. The question is whether they reallocate them to investments to drive business, funding for incremental COVID-19 related expenses that they would do “beyond” what was planned or seek to take it to the bottom line (and perhaps use to satisfy Wall Street). The “extra” relates to “benefits” … [Read more...] about Reallocate Conference Funds to Support Growth
Evaluating eCommerce Companies, Forrester-style
COVID has heightened the benefit or, and interest in, eCommerce for electrical distributors. Our second and third COVID-19 Electrical Market Sentiment Reports have shown that those with an eCommerce offering have seen online sales increases. Further, from conversations with distributors, their site activity increased. The benefit is that these companies had lower sales declines … [Read more...] about Evaluating eCommerce Companies, Forrester-style
