We’re in the midst of meeting and planning season and with it comes the perennial question of “what’s the outlook for 2020?” While no one has a crystal ball, it’s safe to say that many think their ball is “cloudy” for next year. It’s unclear what, if anything, the market “will give” in growth, hence succeeding in 2020 is dependent upon the execution of your strategy and … [Read more...] about 2020 Planning
Insights
400% MRO Account Growth?
Looking for a growth strategy that supplements your existing technology platform, focuses your salespeople, requires nominal investment and can generate a 400% increase in MRO material sales from industrial or institutional accounts. And if you don’t have a commerce-enabled website, it gets you into eCommerce quickly and in the most profitable segment? Jeremy Friedman from … [Read more...] about 400% MRO Account Growth?
The Complicated Rep / Regional Sales Manager Relationship
The relationship between manufacturers and their reps is perhaps the single most important relationship that both can have as it is a synergistic, mutually dependent relationship that impacts the success of both companies. The best are a symbiotic relationship. For many it is a complicated one. It\'s a relationship that depends upon each doing their job to support … [Read more...] about The Complicated Rep / Regional Sales Manager Relationship
Convenience Will Deliver Sales and Loyalty
Buyer behavior is changing. Convenience is now a differentiator. Customers expect it. It\'s the new definition of service. It started in the consumer world and is quickly transitioning to B2B buyer expectations, and it will become distributor reality (and is defined as \"ease of doing business\" by distributors in considering manufacturers.) While customers expect competitive … [Read more...] about Convenience Will Deliver Sales and Loyalty
What will the Rep of the Future look like?
NEMRA needs your help in understanding your needs to answer the question of “what will the rep of the future look like?” There are three key premises for preparing to prosper (some say “survive”) in the future: You need to always be learningCustomers, and business in general, always evolve, andStaying the same means you’re going backwards. All come together in Brandi … [Read more...] about What will the Rep of the Future look like?
Interviewing to Hire “The Right” Person
For many managers, the worst part of losing an employee is interviewing prospects. Where to find candidates and what to ask so can get \"the right person\", quickly. Conversely, if you\'re seeking a \"new\" opportunity, the idea of interviewing can be daunting ... what questions will be asked? As an industry we perpetually talk about “the people issue”. Either it’s … [Read more...] about Interviewing to Hire “The Right” Person
SPAs – Are We / They In Or Out of Control?
SPAs, special pricing agreements, were originally conceived to ensure the integrity of local market into stock, and “street” pricing while providing distributors and manufacturers with a targeted sales pricing tool to deploy on an account-specific basis. The definition of “account-specific” has broadened with many taking liberty with the breadth (with and without … [Read more...] about SPAs – Are We / They In Or Out of Control?
FedEx to Live without Amazon. Lessons for Distributors
Last month FedEx announced that they won’t renew a ground-delivery deal they had with Amazon to provide small-package ground deliveries. This follows FedEx’s announcement that it wouldn’t renew Amazon’s FedEx Express contract which Amazon used to transport packages by air. Why? Pretty simple. FedEx decided it didn’t want to continue doing business with … [Read more...] about FedEx to Live without Amazon. Lessons for Distributors
Football Fever
In the words of Hank Williams, “are you ready for some football?! The season for the most watched sport in America started this weekend with Miami vs Florida and will continue until early February. Whether peewee, high school, college or pro, football will take over most towns and conversations. Millions of conversations on Monday’s, Tuesday’s and Friday’s will … [Read more...] about Football Fever
The Rep Alignment Dilemma
The rep alignment dilemma ... whom to align with to generate sales? End-users? National chains? Independent supportive distributors? Any distributor who will support the manufacturer? The manufacturer? But, the bottom line becomes, what will generate sales to meet manufacturer expectations? It\'s complicated, and channel consolidation and channel diversification will make … [Read more...] about The Rep Alignment Dilemma
