Check out Frank’s latest column in Industrial Supply Magazine Frank has questions and so should salespeople.  In his recent book, "The New Sales Guy Project," he dedicates significant time to the questions salespeople should be able to answer.  His most recent column talks about developing foolproof questions so no one is left asking the "dumb" ones! Read the article HERE. .

Since the launch of Industrial Supply Magazine nearly 14 years ago, I have had the privilege of authoring nearly 150 articles for their readers.   I love the publications because they serve the markets that I find most interesting.   I also know that many of my long-time friends read and find value in the messages contained on their pages.   Last year I was offered to host an ongoing column devoted to sales in our business and I accepted the new challenge.  Here is the good news, the bad news , and the great news . The good news – Quoting one of my heroes, Teddy Roosevelt, this column gives me a “Bully Pulpit” for talking about issues that I feel strongly about.  The Pulpit part implies preaching, which I promise to tone down.  But still, things like the sales process, getting paid for our knowledge, and fee-based services have been part of my lexicon since long before starting River Heights Consulting.  I guarantee I will constantly remind peo...

Everywhere you turn, people are talking about inflation.  Whether you're out to dinner, in line at the grocery store, or filling up at the pump, rising prices are hitting everyone like a punch to the gut.  So what do we do?  Eat out less often, buy cheaper cuts of meat, work from home a few days a week?  Those seem like feasible options for a temporary problem.   But what if inflation is more of a long-term, possibly permanent problem? Here's what we know in Distributorland... Fuel prices are through the roof Logistics costs are escalating We must continue investing in our people We can't just sit idly by and hope for the best So, now what?   My recent article in Industrial Supply Magazine attacks this issue head-on.  Click  HERE for the rest of the details. Frank Hurtte, Founding Partner of River Heights Consulting, shares his personal experiences with 28 years of "in the trenches" training and 17 years as a consultant.  He serves ...

Below is a snippet from the latest issue Industrial Supply Magazine (May/June 2021).  This focuses on how to thrive in a post-pandemic, death of the 9-5 workday, New Normal world.   Making decisions about the unknown can be frustrating and costly.  We'll help you make your choices carefully to get on the right path. From Industrial Supply Magazine:   After the Pandemic by Frank Hurtte We have been thinking a lot about life after the pandemic and the reality of the new normal. One thing that keeps surfacing is working remotely. For instance, a recent post by famed CRM provider Salesforce stated, “The 9-5 workday is dead.” Office buildings will no longer house the thousands of workers once important to maintaining operations. Salesforce categorized the future of their workers this way: Flex:  When it is safe to return to the office, employees around the globe will work flex. This means they will be in the office one to three days per week fo...

Over the past year, I have been called to assist distributors and their supply partners in developing new and innovative marketing plans. I laid out a few of these plans last year in an article for Industrial Supply Magazine called It’s time to rethink Joint Marketing Plans. It seems at least a few others are thinking about distributor marketing as well. Rivet/MRO, a blog site sponsored by an organization providing software to track co-op funds, piggybacked my article and said this, “The fact is, most independent distributors have limited marketing expertise…” They go on to provide additional information on how and why distributors spend money on logoed promotional items and how-to better use co-op funds in general. You can read it here .  Just as implied by my Industrial Supply article, it is time for distributor marketing to move forward - first, move into a position of strategic thinking and second, improve to become a tool whose effectiveness can be meas...

How often do the services you provide cost you more than money than they bring in? What determines why one customer access to free services while others are charged? Do any of your slow pay customers receive free services? Frank Hurtte answers these and other often controversial questions in the November 14th Webinar hosted by Industrial Supply Magazine and sponsored by Epicor.  Register here to join us !  This event runs from 12:00 pm-1:00 pm Central Time. ___________________________

Research by industry consultant Brent Grover indicates the typical distributor invests over $150,000 before a salesperson generates profit for the company. Here’s an attention grabber, that new guy out there struggling to figure things out is burning through dollars like a forest fire. A couple of months ago, I hosted a meeting of new distributor salespeople. Their common link; they all had fewer than 18 months experience in the outside role. We asked which of them had any training when they hit the road. Unfortunately, most were introduced to their new job the same way as their bosses: “Here’s the key to the company car, there’s your territory, go forth and sell.” Despite high costs and financial mounting financial pressures, most distributors start new salespeople off without a well thought out onboarding process. One of the critical points of bringing on any new salesperson comes in setting process expectations. They start their career without truly understanding some ...

Many segments of the wholesale business use rebates as a plan to modify and reward distributor behavior. While the roots of these end of year rebates and similar programs are mostly lost to history, they have become an important part of the distributor financial sheet. For example, Electrical Distributors typically report around 40-60 percent of their bottom line comes by way of rebates. Other lines of trade indicate similar numbers. This information is not anecdotal. This is not beer talk, the Profit Reports published through groups like NAED and others back up the statement. Without rebates, the channel could be in serious trouble. Marketing and Buying Groups help drive the rebate dollars Many independent distributors receive their rebates through   marketing groups. Organizations like IMARK and Affiliated Distributors (AD) in the electrical industry come to mind, as do groups in other lines of trade. Here is a short list (mostly top of mind): • Distributor P...

Deep Dive – It’s Time to Think About People By Frank Hurtte We will be posting a lot about people over the next couple of weeks.  Why?  Without people distributors basically become an empty warehouse, a collection of well-used computers and an assortment of worn out office furniture.  Speaking with an assortment of folks (from inside and outside the industry) looking to purchase distribution businesses, the conversation typically revolves around three major points – profitability, solid customer relationships and stability of people.  Take away the latter two and the distributor is valued somewhere near zero.  Further, it might be argued, without the people there are no solid customer relationships.  So talking about people is doubly important. Our brand of wholesale distribution is one of the most people-intensive business models in existence. Sure, we have warehouses, inventory, customer credit, computers and company fleets of cars, trucks and lord ...

Industrial Supply Magazine recently published River Heights Consulting Founder Frank Hurtte’s follow-up article on scams facing distributors.  Read here . http://www.industrialsupplymagazine.com/pages/Print-edition---JanFeb17_Hurtte.php We have received even more notifications from distributors who were suckered or nearly swindled out of their hard earned dough.  Most of these scammers are pretty sophisticated, others not so.  Either way, our informal study into the subject indicates scammers are costing distributors mega bucks.  We have had our fair share of those looking to spare others by sharing their horror stories: "Watch out for those customer willing to accept full list price. In this day and age people can find competitive pricing instantly with a few clicks of the mouse. Why would an experienced purchasing agent not shop or a least haggle." "Be wary if a customer calls in an order with a credit card and sends someone else to pic...

As featured in Industrial Supply Magazine online this month.  I would like to suggest a new term to the lexicon of selling: value engineering. Today, many of the worst and some of the very best salespeople touch up against value engineering for completely different reasons. Let me elaborate. The worst of sales guys use a low-end form of value engineering. With no real eye for adding new value for the customer, price is their crutch. Armed with the customer’s bill of materials, the price seller searches for discount opportunities. Sacrificing their own margin and that of their suppliers, they look for ways to provide the same stuff at discount prices. Basically, the customer gets a minor discount at the expense of those who actually came to the party with ideas in the first place. In extreme cases, these low-skill sellers suggest lower quality parts without regard to customer application, life cycle needs or improved performance. The high-end sellers take a completely dif...