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...

 Hey everyone, Santa here.  Remember me?  I’m the stout guy with the big beard and dapper red suit.  If you can get away from your Zoom calls and COVID concerns for just four minutes, I want to give you a seasonal update. You think you have problems, let me clue you into things at the North Pole.  Things are not great up here.   How about keeping 300 elves in social distancing mode?   Their perpetual diet of cookies leaves crumbs everywhere and every time they rummage around inside the cookie jar it makes me wince.  No hand sanitizer, no plastic gloves, just bare-handed grabs; there is no telling where Sneezy’s filthy little paws have been.  Mrs. Claus is on the warpath too.  These elves seem to be eating toilet paper.  Her snide comments about the world-wide shortage of toilet paper are anything but festive.   Top that off with tens of thousands of kids sending me handwritten cards and letters.  Exactly whe...

Let’s review our current situation.  Just about the time we were  starting to get out and visit a few customers, the next wave, second wave, surge, or whatever they are calling it this week, has put salespeople back in their home office.  Is this discouraging?  You bet.  And, based on my conversations with many of your customers, they are getting weary of the situation as well.   Salespeople continue to push forward.   Based on dozens of ongoing coaching sessions with sellers in our industry, today’s activities appear to follow a pattern.  I have listed them in the order of reported time allocated: 1. Keeping in touch with our best customers by periodically calling them to see how things are going. 2. Follow-up on any incoming calls from customers. 3. Receiving calls from supplier sales types who are currently locked up and clamoring for information about specific customers and industry types. 4. Taking supplier calls about new p...

Friday, March 13, 2020: A day deeply burnt into our memories, the day the Coronavirus Pandemic became real, the day our economy shut down and the day distributors and their customers suspended in-person sales activities. We quickly adapted; switching to phone calls, Zoom Meetings, and other telesales activities. Early on, the phone calls were easy. We commiserated on the drawbacks of working from home, discussed available customer resources, and showcased a few new products. The calls flowed and each week we discovered some new ground without boring the customer. Today, some 11 weeks later, salespeople are struggling to keep the phone conversations fresh. To use a colloquialism from an old-time seller, “We’ve fished this pond to death.” Aside from normal sales call conversations, salespeople depend on non-verbal clues to generate new selling opportunities. For instance, during a quick walk through the customer facility, they might see a pile of parts stacked near a co...