Make AI Your Friend: Hope Is Not a Sales Strategy in 2026 Customers aren’t waiting for salespeople to find answers anymore. They expect you to already have them. AI has automated the top of the funnel. Service expectations are rising. And “activity” is no longer the same thing as progress. In 2026, the salespeople who win won’t hope for an easier year; they’ll prepare for a harder one. If you want to read the full article published in Industrial Supply Magazine , click here . Frank Hurtte works with industrial distributors who want better sales performance without the hype. A consultant, speaker, and trainer, Frank focuses on practical sales strategy, customer expectations, and preparing teams for what’s next, not what was. He is the founder of River Heights Consulting and a frequent contributor to industry publications like Industrial Supply Magazine. ...

When Marketing Forgets the Basics By Desiree Grace Last week, I was catching up with a friend who works in distribution. She dropped a line that made me stop mid‑sip: “My marketing department sucks.” That’s a strong statement. So I asked the obvious question: why? It turns out that her team launched a promotion without looping in IT or Logistics. Promotional pricing wasn’t loaded into the system. The featured product wasn’t even on the shelf. Someone in Marketing sent out the flyer, internally and externally, but skipped the operational steps that make a promotion actually work. Suddenly, her frustration made perfect sense. I’ve been fortunate enough not to experience this in electrical distribution or manufacturing, but I’ve seen similar misfires during my retail days. Few things sour a customer faster than hearing the dreaded word “raincheck.” Being out of stock or having to override pricing does more than slow things down. It also chips away at trust and the overall customer e...

The Real Barrier to Value‑Driven Selling (Hint: It’s Not the Salespeople) Abridged Every distributor says they want value‑driven selling. Fewer are willing to change the behaviors, measurements, and habits that keep the old model alive. And that’s the real barrier, not the sales team. Most leaders genuinely believe in value‑driven selling. They just want it layered neatly on top of the relationship‑based model that made them successful. They want better results without discomfort, disruption, or delayed revenue. That’s understandable. It’s also unrealistic. Traditional selling feels good because it’s familiar. But today’s buyers, especially younger ones, care far less about tenure and far more about insight, data, and financial impact. Even long‑time customers are under pressure to justify decisions internally. Loyalty doesn’t disappear, but it does get audited. When value‑driven selling stalls, leadership often blames compensation or field capability. But compensation plans simply en...

The Real Barrier to Value‑Driven Selling (Hint: It’s Not the Salespeople) When distributors talk about shifting from their old sales model to something more data‑driven, knowledge‑based, and value‑centric, the discussion usually turns into a heated three‑way debate. Is the problem leadership mindset? Compensation structure? Or field capability? Everyone has a favorite culprit. Conveniently, it’s rarely the one staring back at them from the mirror. In my experience, the biggest barrier is leadership mindset. Not because leaders don’t believe in value‑driven selling, but because many want it without the discomfort of changing anything meaningful. They want the benefits of value‑driven selling layered neatly on top of the old model that made them successful. They want change with minimal disruption and results by next quarter. Setting a strong goal? Maybe. Wishful thinking? Perhaps. A real strategy? Definitely not. Old‑school, reactive, relationship‑based selling feels good. It’s familia...

Your Greatest Competitive Advantage Is Your People. Are You Investing Accordingly? In distribution, people are not just an expense line. They are the business. Depending on your trade, employee costs often account for 60–70% of operating spend . When acquisitions happen, buyers rarely start with the building or the trucks. They start with one question: Will your people stay, and can they perform? Without the team, a distributor is an empty warehouse, aging equipment, and a customer list worth less than a well-run operation. Yet many distributors still treat workforce investment as secondary to equipment, software, or expansion. That’s a mistake, especially in today’s market.   Growth Mode Requires Talent Strategy Economists continue to point toward growth phases across many distribution sectors. Growth periods are the ideal time to strengthen capability, not just infrastructure. But too often, “investing in the business” translates into buying things. T...

What Can a Carnival Fortune-Teller Teach Us About Customer Experience? By Desiree Grace Imagine a fortune-teller at a carnival. You walk into her tent, engulfed in the smell of incense, and there she sits with her crystal ball. “Welcome,” she says. “I am Madame Desdemona. I know you have questions. With the help of the spirit world, I have answers. Sit, and I will tell you what you need to know about the future of customer experience in the B2B world.” I’ve sat in enough customer experience reviews to know the questions sound eerily similar. She gazes deeply into your eyes, as if she can see into your soul. “I see you have concerns about AI,” she says. “If AI could replace good customer service, it would have already done it.” The conversation continues. You discuss how AI can improve and predict problem resolution, especially for routine issues like lost order tracking, proof of delivery, and invoice discrepancies. You realize that many of these challenges can be anticipat...