The Worst of The Distributor Channel 2020

   What was on 

Distributor minds 

in 2020?

Welcome to 2021 and the 301st Installment of The Distributor
Channel.  With this milestone of both the calendar and numerical kind, I thought it appropriate to share the most-read posts of 2020.  If I were a big country-rock star, I might call it the “Best of The Distributor Channel” or thinking back to the 1970s, we might summon up an eight-track tape I owned called, “The Worst of Jefferson Airplane”.  

Since I don’t believe anything tied to 2020 deserves the title of BEST, here is The Worst of 2020, showing the most viewed posts during our Coronavirus encrusted times.

Number One:  50 Questions for Distributors

This article (from July 2016) outlined 50 questions distributors should periodically ask themselves.   With the COVID situation, rocky business conditions, and a new year staring us down, I still recommend you spend a few minutes answering these questions.  

Number Two:  Ship and Debit Programs

Thinking back to January 2014, I can still remember writing this piece.  Ship and Debit Programs and the related topic of Special Pricing Agreements (SPA) have always been high on the list of search terms bringing people into The Distributor Channel.  After over a decade of using the practice, our industry still struggles with the mechanics of making them work.  Strangely, I just spoke to a manufacturer who reports ongoing issues with the topic.  

Number Three:  Distributor Selling in the Wake of Coronavirus

The big day for Coronavirus in the US came on Friday the 13th of March.  This post was shared the following Monday.  At that point, we all thought the whole Virus thing would last about a month, maybe two.  We were wrong.  The article needs a bit of an update, but it provides a great tool for putting ourselves into the time and checking our strategy. 

Number Four: Distributor Agreement – Time for Change

Written in May 2020 as we waded waist-deep through a river of putrefied COVID conditions, I explored the need for decades-old Distributor Agreements to be renewed and refreshed.  I still think it’s time to dust off some of these documents, revise them, and bring them into the new world.  

Number Five: A New World Means New Customer Questions

By June 2020, our sales teams were getting worn out spending time on their phones.  Their initial strategy of simply staying in touch with customers rapidly became less productive.  This article outlined a new set of questions sellers should be asking their customers to enhance their phone outreach.

  

Number Six: Should we be rethinking inside sales?

I have repeatedly visited my notes on inside sales.  Believing recessions and other economic storms serve to accelerate change, I feel many of the things on the inside sales “wish list” will soon move from “nice to have” to mandatory practices.  With this in mind, let’s review some points tied to inside sales. (From July 2020)

Number Seven: Who’s Doing the Work?

This article was laid out to assist manufacturers and distributors in their conversations with supply partners.  We took the time to explore how selling works at a knowledge-based distributor versus one of the mega logistics distributors.  (March 2020)

Number Eight:  Strategic Thinking during COVID Shutdown

This article from November 2020 continues to be pertinent to sales operations today.  We are still amid a Pandemic and fighting for growth in a time of distraction.  

One-point worth mentioning is the activities of our sales teams:

1. Keeping in touch with our best customers by periodically calling them to see how things are going.

2. Follow-up on any incoming calls from customers.

3. Receiving calls from supplier sales types who are currently locked up and clamoring for information about specific customers and industry types.

4. Taking supplier calls about new products and attending yet another Zoom Meeting on the latest widget.

5. Finding some issue that warrants another phone call to a customer.  

6. Reaching out to inactive customers in hopes of finding a problem to solve.

7. Sending personalized emails promoting new product releases from key suppliers.

8. Responding to any incoming emails from customers with a well-worded reply and offering additional services.

9. Over-investing time with customers still open to visits (when the local government allows).

Unlike my friend David Letterman, I’m not giving you the Top-10.  Instead, keeping with the misdirected philosophy of my wholesalers-- I am discounting the list by 20 percent.

Here’s to a happy and healthy 2021.  If your favorite article didn’t make this list, I know other readers would like to know what it is and why.  

Frank Hurtte is the Founding Partner of River Heights Consulting.  He combines the battle scars of 28 years of front line "in the trenches" experience with over 15 years of service to knowledge-based distributors and their manufacturer partners.

Email or call today for a free 30-minute consultation!