Grace Under Pressure: The Power of Decency in Leadership By Desiree Grace We’ve lost some great leaders in the electrical industry lately, people of real accomplishment and longevity. But what has me reflecting most is not just what they achieved, but how they did it. What stands out most is their decency . Leadership and decency are not mutually exclusive. You can be both a great leader and a decent human being. One of these leaders took the reins of a company after the founder retired. He grew the business, expanded into new sectors and geographies, and had a profound impact on the industry, the customers, the employees, and the communities where the business operated. He also had a personal impact. He was, as you would expect, highly intelligent. But more than that, he was polite, professional, and decent, with a dry sense of humor. Even in hard times, like during layoffs and pay cuts, he conducted himself with grace and a clear moral compass. Another leader comes to mind—a...

Little Johnny was a Bully in Third Grade, Now He’s a Purchasing Agent Are there Bullies in the Purchasing Department New Sellers are Falling Victim to Bad Guys Dressed as Purchasing Agents All three of these were considered as titles for this article.  I like them all, but I don’t like what purchasing people do to new sellers across our land. Throughout my life, I have dealt with hundreds if not thousands of purchasing departments.  Purchasing departments come with many different monikers – Purchasing, Procurement, Supply Chain Management, Sourcing Group, Resource Management, Indirect Supply Management, and probably a dozen more.  For simplicity, let’s call them purchasing people.  Their main role is to handle the administrative side of the products needed by their company with one large additional task.  Many purchasing people are also charged with buying those products at the lowest possible price.   Most purchasing people imply that they are ...

Once again, working with Distribution Strategy Group has been a blast!  If you didn't catch the webinar on Competing and Winning with Value-Added Services, you can watch it >>>HERE<<< . Of course, we realize some people learn better from reading the material rather than from listening.  The webinar material has a whitepaper format that can be downloaded >>> HERE <<<. Special thanks to both Distribution Strategy Group and Epicor for putting on a first-class production!

It has been an honor to work with our friends at Distribution Strategy group again.  We recently spoke about how competition is in a state of flux.  We're no longer vying for the top spot with the typical competitor.  There are now strictly digital players without a name or face.  In this webinar, we tackle how to up the ante in a digital world to become a more strategic partner. Check it out >>>HERE<<< TIP: Frank feels he sounds much better, and possibly more normal, at 1.25 speed.  Give it a shot! Special thanks to Epicor for sponsoring this event.

Now that your new graduates are settled in at your company and have been wowed by HR paperwork and sales meetings, the race is on to get those joint calls under their belts.  It's back to school for these wide-eyed wonders as they soak up as much knowledge as possible.  The following is a tweaked version of an oldie but goodie-- focused on creating expectations for success.  It would be great fodder for your experienced salespeople as well.  Now, let's get those books cracked and ready. We've said it before- product knowledge is the bedrock of selling. From this sound foundation flows the ability to present solutions, grow enthusiasm, and drive sales. Product knowledge pushes to the surface like a fresh spring in the desert wilderness. And, just like the spring water, the most productive flows are channeled to the place where they do the most good. In sales, a well-developed process serves to direct product knowledge to the most productive utilization. Think of this...

Last week I received a question which is worthy of sharing. This was more than just a question; it was positive reinforcement. There are executives in the manufacturing world who believe distribution is key to their success. Thinking further, some of these leaders are exploring ways to help their distributor channels improve and prosper.   This was the question: In a world where some of our competitors are quick to take business direct and bypass the distributor all together, what can a distributor-friendly manufacturer do to help their distributors outperform the pack? Since I believe manufacturers need to get their distributor channel "into shape" for the fight – a battle for the very market distributors and their partners created, I felt it appropriate to share some thoughts.   The following things are imperative to the health of the channel: 1) Shed distributors who are not performing.   We analyzed one manufacturer’s channel and discov...

“Customer intimacy is our stock and trade, our most valuable asset and the reason our supply partners select us as their channel to market…” was the message shared with Supply-Partners during conversations regarding the addition of new product lines, territory expansions and other relational interactions. I totally agree with the statement, but... The question is, what are distributors doing to get a better picture of their customer’s interests? I believe not enough. For years I have encouraged distributors to take a deeper dive, to employ new techniques and look at their customers from a different angle. One way is to use a Voice of the Customer Survey as a tool. More progressive members of the distributor community have made the leap and the findings have been eye-opening. The question becomes why aren’t more using this time-tested tool? Join me as we review the most common reasons why some DO NOT use survey techniques. Reason One: We already know our customers. With s...

Just in case you happen to be one of the three people on the planet not familiar with the term AI (or Artificial Intelligence for long), the topic seems to be the subject of thousands of blogs; technical, political and otherwise. Based on a few of the headlines I have seen, AI is destined to: • Take jobs away from millions of people (ranging from drivers to cardiologists) • Destroy the Earth (which kind of reminds me of a million old drive-in movies) • Change Human Relationships (where people seek robots for companionship) • Replace people in Burger Joints (I wonder if a robot will ask if I want fries?) If time permitted, I could go on and on with other examples of scary headlines. I won’t. Before I proceed further, allow me to say, a 1950s kids book about AI launched me into my career in technology. Even at age eight, I thought AI sounded like a pretty cool concept. Allow me to digress. Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine changed the course of my life. A brief recap of t...