Over the last few years, I have been asked to put some of my articles out in podcast format.  I think mid-year planning is super important so I created this short podcast for you to check out. Game Changing Half-Time Strategies Podcast

Game Changing Half-Time Strategies:  Coach Your Team Like a Champion By Frank Hurtte Podcast Version It’s June 30th. The 2025 half-time buzzer is about to sound. Whether you’re up, down, or locked in a defensive struggle, it’s time for a gut-check. Distributors, this is your moment to reassess, realign, and get back in the game. Since sports history is full of great half-time stories, let’s take a few minutes to reflect on some momentous events and the power of a pause. Your sales team might benefit from the same kind of mid-game magic.   Super Bowl LI, 2017: The New England Patriots trailed the Atlanta Falcons by 18 points. At halftime, head coach Bill Belichick and his coaching staff made critical strategic adjustments to counter the Falcons' dominant performance. The result? One of the greatest comebacks in NFL history with the Patriots scoring 25 unanswered points to tie the game and force it into overtime. Ultimately, the Patriots won Super Bowl LI in the first-e...

‘Tis the season—the big holidays are in the rear-view mirror, and the new year is just over the horizon.  Everyone from the TV weatherman to your mother-in-law is spewing some New Year’s resolutions.  Ironically, the experts tell us the following: 1.      88% of people who set New Year’s resolutions fail them within the first two weeks  (Source: “New Year’s resolutions: Why do we give up on them so quickly?”) 2.      20% of those making resolutions will actively keep themselves accountable when sticking to their goals, but it’s unclear what percentage of these individuals ultimately succeed (Source: “New Year’s Resolutions Statistics and Trends [2024]”) 3.      9% of people who make New Year’s resolutions are successful in keeping them , while 41% of Americans who make resolutions indicate a significant failure rate (Source: “Studies Show  91 Percent  of Us Won’t Achieve Our New Year’s Resol...

We love hosting guest bloggers!  Special thanks to Desirée for being a longtime colleague, friend, and now contributor to The Distributor Channel.  Be sure to subscribe to see more of Desirée's features in the future!   There’s a Holy Trinity that exists in March, and it’s not a religious one.  It’s the Holy Trinity of Executing Your Strategy: 1. Plan and Set Goals 2. Execute the Plan 3. Review the Plan Assuming you have a plan, and it runs on a calendar year, after Quarter 1 it’s time for a Quarterly Business Review (QBR).  Dust off that plan you made back in November or December of last year, schedule time with your Sales and Operations teams, and review your progress.   What should be included in that review? For starters, see how you are tracking against your goals.  If you are way off target, either to the positive or the negative, it’s time to drill down and figure out why.  If you are not close to meeting...

It’s June 30 th and the half-time buzzer is about to sound.  It’s half-time for 2023, and I believe distributors should take note.  Since sports history is full of great half-time stories, I took a few minutes to reflect on some momentous events.  Here’s a sampling of three amazing half-time meetings: ·         Super Bowl 2017 - The New England Patriots were trailing the Atlanta Falcons by 18 points at half-time.  During the break, head coach Bill Belichick and his coaching staff made critical strategic adjustments to counter the Falcons' dominant performance.  The half-time adjustments paid off as the Patriots staged an incredible comeback, scoring 25 unanswered points to tie the game and force it into overtime.  Ultimately, the Patriots won Super Bowl LI in the first-ever overtime Super Bowl, completing one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history. ·         Super Bowl I 1967 - At hal...

Several years ago, Jenny tied the end of year planning season to the dreaded Mid-Western season of raking leaves.  The two share several similarities. Here is the shortlist: 1. Leaf raking and annual planning are dreaded by most people. 2. You never really get into a zone, because by the time you get into the groove the work is done for the year. 3. If you ignore either one, next year you will regret it. 4. The longer you put the activity off, the harder it will be to finish. 5. An early start saves a lot of work at the end of the season. One big difference is this:  You can’t hire a neighborhood kid to do your end of year planning.  With this point in mind, we thought we would share a few things to think about for your 2022 plan. If you are planning for 10 percent sales growth, you better think again Reports from across half a dozen industry sectors indicate that manufacturers are laying down a steady stream of price increases.  One distributor told us ov...

Here’s the challenge, with just over four months till year end, everyone is looking for a plan to eke out a few more sales dollars. I firmly believe there’s still time to make a difference. Further, if done correctly, the plan can impact the future as well. One of the most tried and true methods for creating quick success comes via targeting. This process comes from the extensive research we have carried out in the preparation for a book on targeting at distributors. The beauty of the effort arises from three important points: 1) Current customers are the focus of your efforts, eliminating the need for time consuming prospecting, cold calls and the endless phone tag associated with it. 2) It can be combined with normal daily activities to drive the sale of new products. 3) Success comes quickly and is easily measured. How to get started Distributors are often noted for a few of their flagship product lines. Typically, these top five to ten product lines represent over 60 p...