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
Sales Channel
Are You “Zoomed” Out?
Zoom is now the generic term for webinars. The Kleenex of webinars. Teams may rival based upon usage, but from a lexicon viewpoint it is now Zoom, perhaps because of the media and stock market mentions? Whether you use Zoom, Teams, WebEx, Go-To-Meeting, Google Hangout or the umpteen more of these services, the end result is either another webinar or a meeting. Facetime … [Read more...] about Are You “Zoomed” Out?
Selling is a Contact Sport
Over the past month, according to our current survey, which closes today, sales for many distributors have stabilized or improved. This which makes sense given construction is open in all states and states have opened their economies to varying degrees. At the same time, distributors have had staff in their branches to support their customers. That is the … [Read more...] about Selling is a Contact Sport
What Walmart Can Teach Distributors About eCommerce
A few years ago Walmart was “challenged” in eCommerce. The world’s largest retailer was being challenged by Amazon, although the two were in different segments of the market. Walmart dominated the “physical” market, Amazon the online market, however, the eCommerce market was growing at a much more rapid rate. Walmart made the determination that it wanted to compete … [Read more...] about What Walmart Can Teach Distributors About eCommerce
The Future of Counters
Distributor counter areas have been spotlighted in the first month of the COVID-19 era. Counters represent between 5-30% of a distributor’s business with the importance of counter sales being directly tied to target audience, locale and business focus. What is their future? According to our Mid-April Electrical Market Sentiment survey, 56% of distributor respondents … [Read more...] about The Future of Counters
Increasing Sales Effectiveness, a COVID Opportunity?
A potential outcome of COVID-19 is a rethinking of sales organizations. You\'ve now had an opportunity to consider their effectiveness in a different sales environment and hopefully are starting to think about your sales organization \"post COVID\". Consider … prior to the pandemic outside salespeople believed that they needed to spend time behind a windshield and needed … [Read more...] about Increasing Sales Effectiveness, a COVID Opportunity?
Selling Services Requires a Plan & Marketing
Much is talked about how distributors needing to sell services to differentiate themselves. They need to create / provide solutions and will need to generate revenue from these services. While some of the discussed services are unbundling, what is currently provided / expected, others are more consultative in nature or services that customers / contractors can outsource to … [Read more...] about Selling Services Requires a Plan & Marketing
POS Integral to Rep Commission Model
Throughout the fall Channel Marketing Group surveyed NEMRA reps and also interviewed dozens of them on behalf of NEMRA for the upcoming Rep of the Future report, which will be unveiled at the upcoming NEMRA meeting. While the objective of the research was to identify the traits needed for the rep of 2025, we also gained deeper insights into the financial model of … [Read more...] about POS Integral to Rep Commission Model
Wants and Needs
You’ve heard the story, “there is a difference between wants and needs.” For example, especially this time of year you hear one parent say to the other “the kids ‘want’ the latest and greatest electronic, but do they ‘need’ it?” The same occurs with a number of distributor sales management. They “want” new accounts and believe that customers “need” them. Yes, I … [Read more...] about Wants and Needs
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
