The Distributor Channel

My assistant came back to the office today with a distinct look of disgust.  Apparently she did some last  minute dress shopping over lunch.  She went on to explain how infuriating it is when a salesperson tries to cram a “hideous mess of a dress” on to anyone willing to buy.  She further explained how she had met this salesperson before and was given a song and dance about how great an outfit looked, when clearly it was just meant for a mannequin.  This trip, she tried to avoid this salesperson and with good reason.  While I laughed at her fitting room trials, I couldn’t help but think about how it’s not just mall employees who push their way in for a buck. Tips for the New Guy – Don’t sell a square peg for a round hole Want to ruin your career?  Just establish a reputation as a guy who “force fits” the wrong product into customer applications. Customers will never forget or forgive you for it.  I call the practice selling square pegs for round holes. Allow me to share a

This month the fine folks at InTech Magazine were kind enough to ask me to write an editorial on the automation market.  My guess is they really wanted someone who was “long in the tooth” to comment on the cavalcade of changes in product technology – "a back in my day the PLCs ran on kerosene" sort of piece.   Being a distribution guy, I penned “ Selecting an Automation Distributor?  It’s about finding the right stuff ”.  In the automation world, over 89% of the customers buy from distributors.  Yet many are tossing dimes down the drain because they aren’t tapping into the right distributor services.  Catch us on Lulu.com In the article I charged customers with asking their distributors these questions: ·          What can your organization do to improve the uptime of my facility? ·          Do you have a plan to help us drive down our cost of doing business? ·          Do you offer one-on-one training for our engineers, technicians, and electricia

In the age of Star Wars for Distributor Sales, it’s still the Sticker Wars Don't let this be the last impression you left on your customer As strange as it may seem, in the age of the internet, iPads, smartphones, and   digital catalogs, best practices in distributor sales still rely on some very “old school” selling methods.   Those of you who have been with us a while may find this contrary to our article on Technology Killing the Dinosaurs , so b efore you write me off as suffering from premature dementia, let me explain.   In sales, it’s not about the seller.   You can be tech savvy and proud of it, but customer comfort is king.   For new salespeople, this is perplexing.   You maneuver through the e-catalogs of at Amazon.com.   You carry your life on a tablet – calendar, catalogs, contacts, kid’s pictures the whole shooting match.   Regardless of your electronic life, you have to understand many of our customers are still using comfortable old methods whil

Poorly Planned Direct Sales Policies First let me start off with a statement:   I’m not a negative guy.   Just the opposite, I typically walk around with a smile on my face and fill the silent void with sonic sweetness – whistling my own renditions of rock classics.   I am a distributor guy with a special spot in my heart for manufacturers who recognize the power of a well-developed channel.   You can call me Mr. Nice. The problem is my cerebral serenity is torn, stapled and otherwise mutilated by irate calls from distributors looking to load their emotional baggage on to the consultant guy from Iowa.   Here’s the scoop.   In the Saturday afternoon matinee Westerns of my misspent youth, the hero took a shot of whisky, put a bullet between their teeth and growled “yank it on out”.      In this case the flaming arrow is lodged in the muscular torso of our hero Trust and his faithful companion Cooperation.    The Poorly Planned Direct Sales Model In this case, th