The Distributor Channel

First a personal proclamation:  I am a proponent and advocate for membership in distributor associations.   After fourteen years of working for the manufacturing side, I attended my first such meeting back in 1991.  The first meeting was scheduled by the owner of our company.  I expected to have fun, make some new friends, and maybe learn a few pointers on the nuances of running a distributor.  I did; however, I also observed a couple of negative things that were, quite frankly, disgusting to me.    The negative points -the boondoggle thing Some distributors saw these meetings as a tax-deferred vacation.  They came to play, not to work.  As a young, and perhaps idealistic, distributor of 37, I was determined to grow my business and make a difference in the industry.  I saw several people whose only real involvement in the meeting was participation in the cocktail hour and going out to dinner with friends.   While I was (and still am) into partying, I saw the meetings as more tha

How many calls does it take? Some of you might remember the decades-old famous Tootsie Pop commercial featuring a boy asking a wise owl, "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?"  The owl takes two licks and one large bite and announces "THREE" as his definitive answer.  You could tell the owl took great pride in being correct. This commercial, while a fun walk down memory lane, has given me pause as I hear a similar question from new salespeople when they try to set appointments, "How many calls does it take to get the appointment?" I'll dive into the answer, just keep in mind that Frank here is like that wise old owl and loves to be right!   For the last three years, I have been conducting research for a new book.  Part of the research has been a series of one-on-one coaching sessions (we have done this with well over 100 “new” salespeople) with folks who have found themselves charged with sales responsibilities, yet have n