The Distributor Channel

True Confessions.  I have never really cared for the use of the term “adult” as a verb.  Over the past few weeks, after h earing lame and seemingly made up excuses from several people, I have decided it is appropriate in many ways, especially in the field of Sales.   You see, I spent my entire life in one way or another tied to the selling process.  I self-categorize myself as a salesperson. I love everything about the whole concept of asking questions and presenting potential solutions to engaged customers.  I have made it my job to help others get started and grow in the business.  In the process, a trend has surfaced. I would call it a lack of Adulting. "Alexa, order me an alarm clock on wheels" Adults get to appointments on time. Let’s start with the simple premise, you tell someone you will be at their office at 9:00.  Cool, be there on time.  Set two alarms if you must.  There might be traffic, plan for it.  Bring the tools of your trade; a notebook, a pen, th

We are currently in the process of researching the top sales leadership duties of knowledge-based distributors.  We know that the assortment of responsibilities ranges from the mundane to strategic, with many of the activities divided between several people.  It is also important to note that both the size and the age of the company can change the number of tasks assigned to an individual, regardless of title.  As companies grow, so do the total number of leadership duties. As we sat down to prepare this list, it was quite small.  It has now grown to a lucky 13 list of major categories, which includes the following: 1. Direct Customer Interaction 2. Joint Calls with Team (i.e. coaching calls) 3. Sales (people) management ( i.e. reviews and training) 4. Sales (people) Strategy/Policy and Direction (i.e. number of calls required) 5. Pricing and other price guidelines 6. Analytics (i.e. customers who are profitable) 7. Supplier Relationships 8. Supplier Strategies (i.e. improv

Most of you don’t know, but River Heights Consulting is located in Davenport, Iowa. Maybe you've seen the Quad Cities on the Today Show recently.  The Mississippi River at Davenport is standing in the midst of a flood of historic proportions. Downtown had a break in the floodwall and water is cascading down Second Street like a raging mountain stream. Just moments ago, my phone convulsed in a wild, continuous modulating buzz. Not knowing whether it was the result of my last coffee spillage or something else, I grabbed it quick and was met with an Emergency Flood Advisory. Without all the extraneous noise, allow me to share a “Distributor Advisory”. Based on the prognosis of Brian Beaulieu and the folks at ITR’s latest report, we are in for a slowdown end of this year and early 2020. Quoting a published piece paraphrasing the words of Alex Chausovsky who serves as the Director of Speaking Services at the same company: “…according to ITR, the U.S. economy has peaked in terms

Epicor recently hosted a webinar featuring Frank Hurtte.  It gives great insight into the future of distribution and how to better incorporate technology into your business.  Check out the Evolving Technology in Distribution webinar   HERE . Let us know below how you either already use technology in this manner or plan to in the near future! _________________________________