Frank Being Frank: Anybody who’s spent time with me knows I love a good plan. In fact, I’m a loud‑and‑proud believer in annual planning. That’s the big stuff, looking back, looking ahead, and steering the whole business in a better direction. But here we're talking about distributor planning, which plays an entirely different role in DistributorLand. It’s not about setting the company’s course for the year; it’s about making sure you’re spending your time with the right customers and chasing the right opportunities. It's about keeping real business moving. Of course, it's a smaller scope, but it’s the kind of planning that turns intentions into action. And if you ask me, that’s worth doing every time. Are You Planning or “Planning to Plan”: A Distributor Reality Check By Frank Hurtte and Jenny Shannon Planning still sits at the top of the list for effective salespeople. Talent matters, but without a plan, even the most gifted seller leaves a pile of money on the tab...

Why Your Business Needs a Brag Book by Desiree Grace You know how new parents and grandparents always have a never-ending supply of photos to share every time you see them? They carry a digital brag book on their phone or, if they’re truly old school, tucked in their wallet just waiting for the next person who will listen.   Businesses should take a page from that playbook. Your digital presence should be just as current and just as proud. Set up and continually update your social media, your website, your lobby screens, anywhere people interact with your brand. Win an award? Share it.   Hire a new engineer? Share it.   Does your organization support a community cause? Shout it from the mountaintop. Bonus: You provide free press to the worthy cause you have helped. People want to work with winners. Regular updates remind customers, prospects, and even your own employees why your organization stands out. . It persuades them to buy from you ins...

Why Relationships Alone Are Not a Growth Strategy Stop Waiting for Competitors to Retire By Frank Hurtte Relationships matter. If everything else is equal, the salesperson with the relationship usually wins the order. But if your only competitive advantage is that customers like you, you’re setting yourself up for trouble. Your competitor has a relationship, too. And if your growth plan depends on waiting for that competitor to retire, transfer, or die, that’s not a strategy. That’s wishful thinking. I’ve watched salespeople play this waiting game for decades. Their “growth plan” often sounds like this: “I’ll keep showing up. I’ll answer the phone at night. I’ll jump when there’s a problem. I’ll build trust. And when the competitor eventually slips up, I’ll move up the food chain.” Relationships can open doors. The keyword is "eventually." Eventually might mean a year. It might mean five. I’ve seen reps wait a decade for a competitor to “finally mess up.” Meanwhile, the accou...

How AI Turns Missed Quotes Into Real Revenue AI May Finally Solve One of Distribution’s Oldest Sales Problems: Quote Follow-Up By Frank Hurtte Hundreds of quotes go out each week. Most are never followed up on. That’s not a process issue. It’s a revenue leak. Nobody likes to admit it, but we've all seen it happen. Every experienced distributor sales leader knows this. Everyone agrees follow-up matters. Yet in most organizations, it happens inconsistently, sporadically, or not at all. The average distributor produces hundreds of quotes each week. That volume alone represents a major opportunity. If a distributor issues 500 quotes a week and even 5 percent of the unfollowed quotes would have converted, that’s roughly 1,300 additional orders a year. There is nothing worse than losing an order simply because the customer never actually received the quote. It happens more often than anyone wants to admit. Emails get buried. Spam filters intervene. A customer hesitates because the quote ...

Lose the Order? Or Lose the Customer? A Marketing Moment By Desiree Grace For many salespeople, the knee‑jerk reaction is to tell the customer what they want to hear and figure out the rest later. That’s a BIG mistake. You may win the order, but what you lose is far more valuable: trust. Let’s get real. Lead times and supply chain snarls are still the norm. Every contractor, distributor, and panel shop is supporting a data center project with the patience of a toddler. The idea that you can “figure it out later” is wishful thinking. You may not be able to move mountains internally. And when you overpromise, you don’t just lose credibility with the customer. You lose it with your own team.  Your colleagues start wondering what else you’re not telling them. We all HATE losing orders. We wouldn’t be in this business if we weren’t competitive, driven sales professionals. But the worst outcome isn’t losing the order. It’s losing the customer.  Anyone who has spent more th...

A note from River Heights Consulting: Frank is somewhere warm with a drink in hand, pretending not to check email. While he’s off the grid, he’s handing the mic to our friend and industry colleague, Chuck Kitchen, for a sharp look at the Mutual 3 Cs. Beyond the Model: The Mutual 3 Cs of Channel Performance Editor’s Note: This article explores the “Mutual 3 Cs” framework, a practical approach to aligning manufacturers, independent representatives, and distributors. By moving beyond one-sided expectations toward a shared commercial reality, channel relationships can operate with greater consistency, clearer coordination, and stronger long-term stability. In a recent article by Desiree Grace , Choosing the Right Sales Model , she outlines key considerations in selecting between direct, rep, and hybrid sales organizations. Once that decision is made, manufacturers must focus on how effectively the chosen structure performs in the market, particularly when independent representatives a...