Thinking about a Late-Night Conversation At the AHTD Fall meeting a few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to join a group of young leaders in the automation industry.  Several points of discussion are worthy of further discussion.  Here is a recap of the earlier post.    Last night I joined a group of young leaders in our business for “one more round” and found myself listening intently to a discussion centering around eCommerce and the future of the automation industry.  Without giving away the entire conversation, the focus of the chat involved: ·         Does an “online only” distributor truly create a market for manufacturers serving this industry? ·         What is the difference between being a solution provider and a market server via a webstore? ·         How do customers, especially Millennial customers, use the internet in making buying decisions? ·...

After surveying and interviewing distributors across the country with Distribution Strategy Group, we are pleased to present the 2022 State of Distributor Sales. The webinar features: How distributors organize their sales forces by size, customer type, geography, and other factors Techniques for providing better, faster, and more efficient customer support Current trends in sales force compensation Best practices in telesales Which technologies and data sources distributors can employ to drive sales productivity Click HERE to watch the webinar for free.  Sponsored by Epicor and proton.ai. Thanks to all who participated in this project!  We appreciate your time and your contribution. .

Today, more than ever, the need for an unvarnished look at customer opinions is of unparalleled importance. Sounds like hype? It’s not.  Here are a dozen reasons why: 1. We are in the midst of a massive generational shift. Millennials come to the workplace with a much different mindset than your customers of old. What’s more, they are finding their way into leadership positions and their buying power is steadily increasing. They are impatient for change. They question the way things are done. As digital natives, Millennials are more than ready to toss your sales team aside and move onward to another supplier. 2. The choices of communications with customers have gone from phone and fax to a thousand options. Chats on social media, instant messaging on your website, text messages, and new options in development are quicker and easier for your customers. Each customer contact will do business with the organization that matches their preferred method of contact. Do...

If you've been reading much recently, you know how much we love KYKLO around here.  Today we are honored to have KYKLO Co-founder and CEO, Remi Ducrocq just us as a guest blogger.  He recently attended the European Distributor Conference and has agreed to give us his feedback. Welcome, Remi! Early in May, I had the opportunity to attend The European Union of Electrical Wholesalers (EUEW) conference in Brussels. This organization, founded in 1955, is a 16-nation body representing the interests of the electrical wholesaling channel throughout Europe.  During this meeting, I had the opportunity to attend a session conducted by Ian Heller of US-based Modern Distributor Management. His message was timely, poignant and was delivered in a manner that lingered well beyond the meeting and into an after-hours conversation.  Allow me to expand on this.  Artificial Intelligence (AI) will forever change distribution .  AI will enable sweeping efficiency shi...