Words like Pandemic, Lock-down, Disrupter, Social Distancing, and Community Transmission wash over us like a tsunami in an ocean of hand sanitizer.   Whole countries are under lockdown.   Tradeshows and other events are going into cancel mode.   States are declaring health emergencies and closing all public gathering places and there are forecasts of even more stringent plans in development. Many of our customers are considering going into emergency mode.   Travel is curtailed, everyone who can do so is telecommuting and business is being conducted in non-traditional ways. As distributors I feel we have two options available to us: 1.       We can stand idly by and simply react to the situation.   2.       We can anticipate the situation, make some plans, and push forward. Anticipating the situation It might be safe to assume the following will accelerate: Increased number of...

As our products become more technical and demo units get more complex and, in many cases, harder to lug around, one might wonder how much time is spent handling the logistics of a customer demo.   Thinking further, most distributors have moved out of run-down warehouses on the bad side of the tracks and invested in modern facilities equipped with classrooms, demonstration areas, and other niceties.  Yet, many wholesalers struggle to convince customers to drive across town to participate in a demo or attend important seminars.  Internal tradeshows and other selling events often fall between the cracks with important customers.    Forward-thinking distributors are maximizing their time and efforts by practicing what we call “selling wholesale”.   Let’s spend just a moment defining the selling wholesale concept.  The practice involves moving customers out of their own facility to meet you at some central point.  In an ideal world, the c...

Demos and Samples – Are your demo units showing up on Pawn Stars? I believe in demonstrations.  I trust that samples placed in our customer’s hot little hands still plays a part in selling.  In an age of internet everything, one critical difference between the well versed knowledge-based salesperson and the web-only competitor is a customized demonstration.  I love demo units.  But, most distributors do a poor job with demo units. Why do I say this?  First, conversations with dozens of distributors reveals massive investments in samples and demos.  It’s not uncommon for even a small sized distributor to have $50,000 tied up in demo equipment.   Secondly, I have visited the storage spaces where demo units are held.  Many could best be described as massive heaps of scuffed cases, dusty products and mangled wires.   A good many have been robbed of parts; rendering them all but useless to any sales activity....