Reflections from a Road Warrior: The Power of Clean Bathrooms and Good Coffee A Distributor Channel Marketing Moment By Desiree Grace Early in my career, I logged a lot of miles in a company car across the Midwest. One of the first lessons I learned was where to stop, and where not to stop, for coffee, fuel, and the inevitable bio break. I quickly became a fan of Casey’s, and there’s a lot we can learn from them. Casey’s understands how to deliver what matters. It’s not just the gas. It’s the clean bathrooms, the fresh hot coffee, the decent beverage selection, and the surprisingly good pizza. For road warriors, those details add up. Some aspects of their customer experience aren’t obvious, but they clearly figured out what their travelers value. Let’s be honest: not all rest stops are created equal. For those of us who prefer a non-unisex bathroom, ample paper products, and reliable soap, Casey’s is a safe bet. I’ve had more than one unpleasant surprise in less-than-sanitary gas...

Supply Chain Whiplash: Survive It, or Use It to Pass the Competition By Frank Hurtte   A few years ago, I closed a six-figure deal in a gas station bathroom. Seriously, it’s no joke. How? The timing was super deluxe because the customer was ready, and I was nimble enough to close in an unusual spot. That kind of agility matters more now than ever. The supply chain is doing somersaults. One day, freight is cheap. The next day, there’s a two-week backlog. Factories shut down. Regulations shift overnight. It feels like whiplash, and everyone’s rubbing their necks. And if you’re sitting there thinking, ‘It’ll smooth out next quarter,’ let me save you the wait...it won’t. But here’s the kicker: when your competitors freeze, that’s when the real winners move. You don’t win by waiting out the chaos. You win by preparing, adapting, and spotting the openings that others miss. Let’s talk about how distributors can turn volatility into opportunity.   1. Map the Weak Links First Let's f...

AI’s Closing Argument: Frank Hurtte Remains Guilty  | By Frank Hurtte (and AI) Forward I have been a proponent of Artificial Intelligence for a very long time. In fact, one of the reasons I am sitting here today was a book I read when I was 8 years old called “Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine.” This late 1950s book for kids told the story of a young man programming a computer to do his homework. That has been my life’s dream. With that in mind, is it any wonder I have closely followed the development of ChatGPT and other platforms for the past couple of years?    I believe AI will be a game-changing tool for our industry. Those who embrace it early will definitely have a competitive edge against the “laggers.”   Last weekend, I scheduled “play time” and researched some of the new features of my favorite AI platform. After burning through a rainy morning of experimentation, I had the silly thought of testing what ChatGPT knew about me. I was working on an...

Fast Cars, Smart Marketing: The Mix That Works By Desiree Grace Lamborghinis. Maseratis. Bugattis. Ferraris. Alfa Romeos. They all make my heart race. Who doesn’t love an Italian sports car? What these brands have mastered is the Marketing Mix , the essential combination of Product, Price, Place, and Promotion that shapes their go-to-market strategy. Yes, they’re expensive. But oh my goodness, are they a joy to drive. Speed, traction, handling on the curves of a racetrack, the product is superb. The value is there. For someone who loves sports cars, the exchange of money for product makes perfect sense. Place? Highly selective distribution. You can’t just stroll into any dealer in any small town. You must journey to an authorized dealership. That exclusivity adds prestige. Promotion? If you know, you know. These aren’t brands advertised during average TV shows. Instead, they lean into prestige, exclusivity, performance, and emotion. This is not your average mass marketing plan...

Price Increases & The Rolling Stones: You Can’t Always Get What You Want By Desiree Grace “You can’t always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need.”,  Mick Jagger & Keith Richards, Let It Bleed Yes, even The Rolling Stones can teach us something about price increase realization . Most price increases don’t translate into an instant, full boost to your top or bottom line. Often, they’re designed just to stop the bleeding , whether it’s tariffs, raw materials, labor, freight, or the inflationary tide lifting all costs. Manufacturers don’t make these decisions lightly. Behind every increase are hours of modeling and analysis , often applied with surgical precision: Certain product categories may take a bigger hit than others. Some may be spared entirely. Competitor benchmarking inevitably plays a role. But after the internal analysis and spreadsheets are done, the real work begins: communication. First in...

Superheroes in Sales: Meet Your Iron Salesman By Desiree Grace Who’s YOUR favorite superhero? Mine is Iron Man, Tony Stark, billionaire inventor and party animal turned do-gooder. He’s also one of the founding members of the Avengers, alongside Captain America and Thor. Iron Man reminds me of one of the superhero roles in B2B sales: the technical specialist. Savvy manufacturers, and even some high-tech distributors, know this role is a game-changer. Why? Technical specialists, like Iron Man, combine brains and engineering talent with another superpower: sales skills. They need a rare combination of technical depth, problem-solving abilities, and people skills. A true tech specialist can walk into a customer site solo, solve problems on the spot, and keep the deal moving forward. At a minimum, they keep customers happy. At best, they close the business. Their skills differentiate your brand from the competition, much like Tony’s repulsor rays knock enemies out of the fight...