Distribution Talk

Want to know the secrets to a successful expansion? For Dan Esch of Esch Construction Supply based in St. Paul, Minnesota, a company's mission is just as important as the advanced field work and the financial analysis.

"This business is all about service." That's a sentiment you'll hear Dan repeat throughout our conversation. He's positioned Esch within the concrete cutting niche as a key collaborator, the customer's go-to source for products, service, and information.

"We go out and solve problems and ask contractors how we can help them. That deep knowledge of that niche is where you can really add value and that's really where the fun of this business is."

Service may be one of Dan's guiding principles but he'd never intended to make his mark in distribution.

Listen in to find out how low unemployment is affecting Dan's future recruitment plans and why the company's successful rapid fulfillment service is a bit of a dual-edged sword.

Get the full show notes at http://www.distributiontalk.com

Thank you to our sponsor INxSQL, software built for distribution.

"That deep knowledge of that niche is where you can really add value and that's really where the fun of this business is." ~Dan Esch

***

Distribution Talk is produced by The Distribution Team, a consulting services firm dedicated to helping wholesale distribution clients remove barriers to profitability, generate wealth and achieve personal goals.

Edited & mixed by The Creative Impostor Studios.

Connect with Jason on LinkedIn.

Connect with Dan on LinkedIn.

Want to know the secrets to a successful expansion? For Dan Esch of Esch Construction Supply based in St. Paul, Minnesota, a company’s mission is just as important as the advanced field work and the financial analysis. 

“This business is all about service.” That’s a sentiment you’ll hear Dan repeat throughout our conversation. He’s positioned Esch within the concrete cutting niche as a key collaborator, the customer’s go-to source for products, service, and information.

“We go out and solve problems and ask contractors how we can help them. That deep knowledge of that niche is where you can really add value and that’s really where the fun of this business is.”

Service may be one of Dan’s guiding principles but he’d never intended to make his mark in distribution. 

Listen in to find out how low unemployment is affecting Dan’s future recruitment plans and why the company’s successful rapid fulfillment service is a bit of a dual-edged sword.

Get the full show notes at http://www.distributiontalk.com

Thank you to our sponsor INxSQL, software built for distribution.

"That deep knowledge of that niche is where you can really add value and that’s really where the fun of this business is." ~Dan Esch

***

Distribution Talk is produced by The Distribution Team, a consulting services firm dedicated to helping wholesale distribution clients remove barriers to profitability, generate wealth and achieve personal goals.  

Edited & mixed by The Creative Impostor Studios.

Connect with Jason on LinkedIn.

Connect with Dan on LinkedIn.

Ankit Sharma, CEO of Kitply Industries LTD. in Vancouver, British Columbia, didn't just take a leap of faith when he started his distribution business a decade ago; he set fire to all of his bridges for good measure.

I caught up with Ankit to find out what motivates this award-winning entrepreneur and why he's on a mission to make wood sexy.

His strategy to attract the same employees that typically head into consumer marketing and high-end tech companies is to operate more like those businesses - inside and out.

His blog, makewoodsexy.com,is a modern hub for woodworkers and way to connect with young people in colleges and high schools, to reach them in a style that they can relate to.

Ankit's working on scaling his business, seeking out areas for expansion and opportunities where he might purchase existing distribution companies, all while adhering to the core values that got him here. "Everyday's a journey of gratefulness."

Want to know why he's an advocate for professional organization membership?

How recruiting scorecards can help your hiring process?

What punching above your (business) weight class can do for your business? Listen in!

Thank you to our sponsor INxSQL, software built for distribution.

***

Distribution Talk is produced by The Distribution Team, a consulting services firm dedicated to helping wholesale distribution clients remove barriers to profitability, generate wealth and achieve personal goals.

Edited & mixed by The Creative Impostor Studios.

Connect with Jason on LinkedIn.

Connect with Ankit on LinkedIn.

Ankit Sharma, CEO of Kitply Industries LTD. in Vancouver, British Columbia, didn’t just take a leap of faith when he started his distribution business a decade ago; he set fire to all of his bridges for good measure.

I caught up with Ankit to find out what motivates this award-winning entrepreneur and why he’s on a mission to make wood sexy.

His strategy to attract the same employees that typically head into consumer marketing and high-end tech companies is to operate more like those businesses - inside and out.

His blog, makewoodsexy.com,is a modern hub for woodworkers and way to connect with young people in colleges and high schools, to reach them in a style that they can relate to.

Ankit’s working on scaling his business, seeking out areas for expansion and opportunities where he might purchase existing distribution companies, all while adhering to the core values that got him here. “Everyday’s a journey of gratefulness.”

Want to know why he’s an advocate for professional organization membership?

How recruiting scorecards can help your hiring process?

What punching above your (business) weight class can do for your business? Listen in! 

Thank you to our sponsor INxSQL, software built for distribution.

***

Distribution Talk is produced by The Distribution Team, a consulting services firm dedicated to helping wholesale distribution clients remove barriers to profitability, generate wealth and achieve personal goals.  

Edited & mixed by The Creative Impostor Studios.

Connect with Jason on LinkedIn.

Connect with Ankit on LinkedIn.

What are you selling? Beyond the parts and pieces, what differentiates you from your competitors?

Don't answer, at least not until you've listened to my conversation with Paul Reilly, president of Tom Reilly Training.

His company has been on a 40 year mission to show sales teams that value-driven conversations can help them sell more profitably. The message has never been more relevant than in today's market.

"My father Tom started the company back in the early 80s. What really got us started was that value-added selling message and, in distribution, it's all about finding unique ways to add value, create value for your customers."

Technology has changed many of the physical elements required to make a sale since Tom Reilly wrote the first edition of Value-Added Selling. But tech hasn't gone so far as to disrupt the general principles outlined in the book and taught at Reilly Training seminars.

"People try to convince you that things have changed," Paul says. "They're stirring the pot a little, saying that everything's changed in sales and you can't go to market the same way." He doesn't buy it.

Distributorships have faced pricing pressures since the beginning and the companies that have survived make relationships their goal, not price.

Paul put that value-driven principle into practice before joining the family business. He worked at Hilti for six years, selling products priced 20 to 30 percent higher than the competition's. "You have to learn how to communicate that message of value and translate not only the product and services and what they do, but you have to translate that into meaningful impact to the customer."

The fourth edition of Value-Added Selling blends Paul's fresh experiences with new insights and ideas developed through Reilly training seminars.

As with previous editions, however, the company aims to move sales teams past price. How? "I would say the first tip is to just have better conversations with your customers." he says. For instance, make a point of showing your clients how you can help them reduce their total costs, be they logistical, labor, time, etc. "Cost is a much better conversation to have than price."

Paul shares a few more tips in the episode including strategies for shifting a customer's short-term gain mentality to one where the long-term solution benefits both you and your client. "Asking these questions gets the customer thinking bigger, thinking long-term and all the while they're taking the focus off price."

Ready to experience the bottom-line benefits of value-added sales for yourself?

Then you've got to listen in!

We talk about the number one attribute customers look for in their sales people as ranked by Reilly's internal research, what Aristotle had to say about Millennials (yes, Aristotle), and add two authors to your summer reading list: Mike Weinberg and Daniel Pink.

Thank you to our sponsor INxSQL, software built for distribution.

***

Distribution Talk is produced by The Distribution Team, a consulting services firm dedicated to helping wholesale distribution clients remove barriers to profitability, generate wealth and achieve personal goals.

Edited & mixed by The Creative Impostor Studios.

Connect with Jason on LinkedIn.

Connect with Paul on LinkedIn.

What are you selling? Beyond the parts and pieces, what differentiates you from your competitors?

Don’t answer, at least not until you’ve listened to my conversation with Paul Reilly, president of Tom Reilly Training.

His company has been on a 40 year mission to show sales teams that value-driven conversations can help them sell more profitably. The message has never been more relevant than in today’s market.

“My father Tom started the company back in the early 80s. What really got us started was that value-added selling message and, in distribution, it’s all about finding unique ways to add value, create value for your customers.”

Technology has changed many of the physical elements required to make a sale since Tom Reilly wrote the first edition of Value-Added Selling. But tech hasn’t gone so far as to disrupt the general principles outlined in the book and taught at Reilly Training seminars.

“People try to convince you that things have changed,” Paul says. “They’re stirring the pot a little, saying that everything’s changed in sales and you can’t go to market the same way.” He doesn’t buy it.

Distributorships have faced pricing pressures since the beginning and the companies that have survived make relationships their goal, not price. 

Paul put that value-driven principle into practice before joining the family business. He worked at Hilti for six years, selling products priced 20 to 30 percent higher than the competition’s. “You have to learn how to communicate that message of value and translate not only the product and services and what they do, but you have to translate that into meaningful impact to the customer.”

The fourth edition of Value-Added Selling blends Paul’s fresh experiences with new insights and ideas developed through Reilly training seminars.

As with previous editions, however, the company aims to move sales teams past price. How? “I would say the first tip is to just have better conversations with your customers.” he says. For instance, make a point of showing your clients how you can help them reduce their total costs, be they logistical, labor, time, etc. “Cost is a much better conversation to have than price.”

Paul shares a few more tips in the episode including strategies for shifting a customer’s short-term gain mentality to one where the long-term solution benefits both you and your client. “Asking these questions gets the customer thinking bigger, thinking long-term and all the while they’re taking the focus off price.” 

Ready to experience the bottom-line benefits of value-added sales for yourself?

Then you’ve got to listen in!

We talk about the number one attribute customers look for in their sales people as ranked by Reilly’s internal research, what Aristotle had to say about Millennials (yes, Aristotle), and add two authors to your summer reading list: Mike Weinberg and Daniel Pink. 

Thank you to our sponsor INxSQL, software built for distribution.

***

Distribution Talk is produced by The Distribution Team, a consulting services firm dedicated to helping wholesale distribution clients remove barriers to profitability, generate wealth and achieve personal goals.  

Edited & mixed by The Creative Impostor Studios.

Connect with Jason on LinkedIn.

Connect with Paul on LinkedIn.

What does your sales force look like in five years? In ten? If you don't have an answer yet, my chat with Eric Wessinger, president of Richards Supply, will definitely spark some ideas.

Officially, he's lead the company for a little over six years. Unofficially, Eric's been in and around the distribution business since childhood. As a second generation leader, he's drawing on his decade of outside work experience as well as his lifetime of insider knowledge to tackle the company's million-dollar sales question.

"We've talked about it a ton with both the leadership and the management team," Eric says regarding the future of sales and service.

Challenges inherent to smaller businesses can thwart creative problem solving, especially when overshadowed by the seemingly limitless reach of the national brands. In search of guidance, Eric looked to Richards Supply's core values. "We've been around for eighty-five years so we're doing something right already. So how do we take that foundation and move it forward?"

Communication has always been key for the company. "I think outside sales, and face-to-face relationships, is still a differentiator for us." To that end, Eric and his sales force check in with its customers and refine the partnership by asking clients how they want to interact with the company.

"I talk to customers all the time," he says. "If you looked at the top fifty, top one hundred customers, we do business with each one of them very differently. I think that's been a strength for us...being able to ask the right questions and listen to the answer and try to adjust accordingly."

Although customization looks vastly different today from when the company began, the principle has stayed the same: meet the customer where they are. "If you ask a customer how they want to be served, you better be ready to say 'yes' to whatever the answer to that question is."

For Richards Supply, that means an omni-channel approach to service options: outside sales, counter service, and a newly revamped website with a robust presence all its own.

"You have to consider your website as an extension of your business, basically as a branch," Eric says. "You would never open a branch without inventory in mind or a sales methodology or a plan."

The company's relationship driven, tech minded culture is a modern, practical approach to figuring out the future of sales. "It's a massive challenge and exciting. And it's fun but it's definitely something that's not snap of the fingers kind of thing." It's clear, however, that Eric and his staff have given Richards Supply a good head start.

Dive deeper into the company's massive website overhaul and find out how Eric's years as a recruiter have helped him bolster the company's hiring process. Listen in!

Thank you to our sponsor INxSQL, software built for distribution.

***

Distribution Talk is produced by The Distribution Team, a consulting services firm dedicated to helping wholesale distribution clients remove barriers to profitability, generate wealth and achieve personal goals.

Edited & mixed by The Creative Impostor Studios.

Connect with Jason on LinkedIn.

Connect with Eric on LinkedIn.

What does your sales force look like in five years? In ten? If you don’t have an answer yet, my chat with Eric Wessinger, president of Richards Supply, will definitely spark some ideas. 

Officially, he’s lead the company for a little over six years. Unofficially, Eric’s been in and around the distribution business since childhood. As a second generation leader, he’s drawing on his decade of outside work experience as well as his lifetime of insider knowledge to tackle the company’s million-dollar sales question.

“We’ve talked about it a ton with both the leadership and the management team,” Eric says regarding the future of sales and service.

Challenges inherent to smaller businesses can thwart creative problem solving, especially when overshadowed by the seemingly limitless reach of the national brands. In search of guidance, Eric looked to Richards Supply’s core values. “We’ve been around for eighty-five years so we’re doing something right already. So how do we take that foundation and move it forward?”

Communication has always been key for the company. “I think outside sales, and face-to-face relationships, is still a differentiator for us.” To that end, Eric and his sales force check in with its customers and refine the partnership by asking clients how they want to interact with the company.

“I talk to customers all the time,” he says. “If you looked at the top fifty, top one hundred customers, we do business with each one of them very differently. I think that’s been a strength for us...being able to ask the right questions and listen to the answer and try to adjust accordingly.”

Although customization looks vastly different today from when the company began, the principle has stayed the same: meet the customer where they are. “If you ask a customer how they want to be served, you better be ready to say ‘yes’ to whatever the answer to that question is.”

For Richards Supply, that means an omni-channel approach to service options: outside sales, counter service, and a newly revamped website with a robust presence all its own.

“You have to consider your website as an extension of your business, basically as a branch,” Eric says. “You would never open a branch without inventory in mind or a sales methodology or a plan.”  

The company’s relationship driven, tech minded culture is a modern, practical approach to figuring out the future of sales. “It’s a massive challenge and exciting. And it’s fun but it’s definitely something that’s not snap of the fingers kind of thing.” It’s clear, however, that Eric and his staff have given Richards Supply a good head start. 

Dive deeper into the company’s massive website overhaul and find out how Eric’s years as a recruiter have helped him bolster the company’s hiring process. Listen in! 

Thank you to our sponsor INxSQL, software built for distribution.

***

Distribution Talk is produced by The Distribution Team, a consulting services firm dedicated to helping wholesale distribution clients remove barriers to profitability, generate wealth and achieve personal goals.  

Edited & mixed by The Creative Impostor Studios.

Connect with Jason on LinkedIn.

Connect with Eric on LinkedIn.

Yes! It's possible to remain laid back and move your business forward. Bill Morse, former owner of Constar Supply out of Clovis, California, is proof. Bill sat down to discuss the philosophies that have lead him to create solid banking relationships, honor employee freedoms over management scrutiny, and find the right corporate fit for his company's next chapter.

There's a lot to learn from a guy who's been around since the dinosaur years, when deals were made over coffee and a handshake and banks came calling with capital to lend. "We moved banks two or three times in the early years," Bill says, "because banks were wooing us back then...and we wanted to keep the pace of growth going."

It became apparent that building relationships with the people who greenlighted loans was crucial to avoiding the curse of a successful failure. Like many of us, Bill found that capitalizing on those relationships wasn't one of his strengths. "If you don't know it or if you're not comfortable with it or you just don't want to do it," he says, "find somebody who does...because that's essential!"

Regardless of how friendly you are with your banker, Bill admits that the Great Recession has changed the banker-business relationship. Still, some aspects of applying for funds have stayed the same. "In every business, whether you're a doctor, a professional, or just a contractor, you really are in some part salesman and you have to sell your whole idea."

To that end, Bill says that the work put into creating a forecast and outlining your vision comes down to selling yourself, otherwise, "they're not going to buy into it. And banks these days are especially tough. You really have to give them a real argument."

Personnel is another challenge that's been a near constant since the beginning. When he started out, Bill says, "I had connections so I was able to pull some people away that had been in the industry for a long time." But there's a difference between finding an employee and finding the right employee.

Once found, Bill gives his outside sales team their independence. "I don't put our salesmen on call reports. I don't track them. I don't give them too many barriers to making the sale." The payoff for Constar has been staff loyalty and a healthy bottom line - as well as a successful corporate buyout.

If you've been in the industry for decades or are just starting out, give this episode a listen. It's a quick half hour of amazing insight on what it takes to stick around and stay successful. There's even a barista analogy.

Thank you to our sponsor INxSQL, software built for distribution.

***

Distribution Talk is produced by The Distribution Team, a consulting services firm dedicated to helping wholesale distribution clients remove barriers to profitability, generate wealth and achieve personal goals.

Edited & mixed by The Creative Impostor Studios.

Connect with Jason on LinkedIn.

Connect with Bill on LinkedIn.

Yes! It’s possible to remain laid back and move your business forward. Bill Morse, former owner of Constar Supply out of Clovis, California, is proof. Bill sat down to discuss the philosophies that have lead him to create solid banking relationships, honor employee freedoms over management scrutiny, and find the right corporate fit for his company’s next chapter. 

There’s a lot to learn from a guy who’s been around since the dinosaur years, when deals were made over coffee and a handshake and banks came calling with capital to lend. “We moved banks two or three times in the early years,” Bill says, “because banks were wooing us back then...and we wanted to keep the pace of growth going.” 

It became apparent that building relationships with the people who greenlighted loans was crucial to avoiding the curse of a successful failure. Like many of us, Bill found that capitalizing on those relationships wasn’t one of his strengths. “If you don’t know it or if you’re not comfortable with it or you just don’t want to do it,” he says, “find somebody who does...because that’s essential!” 

Regardless of how friendly you are with your banker, Bill admits that the Great Recession has changed the banker-business relationship. Still, some aspects of applying for funds have stayed the same. “In every business, whether you’re a doctor, a professional, or just a contractor, you really are in some part salesman and you have to sell your whole idea.” 

To that end, Bill says that the work put into creating a forecast and outlining your vision comes down to selling yourself, otherwise, “they’re not going to buy into it. And banks these days are especially tough. You really have to give them a real argument.”

Personnel is another challenge that’s been a near constant since the beginning. When he started out, Bill says, “I had connections so I was able to pull some people away that had been in the industry for a long time.” But there’s a difference between finding an employee and finding the right employee. 

Once found, Bill gives his outside sales team their independence. “I don’t put our salesmen on call reports. I don’t track them. I don’t give them too many barriers to making the sale.” The payoff for Constar has been staff loyalty and a healthy bottom line - as well as a successful corporate buyout.

If you’ve been in the industry for decades or are just starting out, give this episode a listen. It’s a quick half hour of amazing insight on what it takes to stick around and stay successful. There’s even a barista analogy.

Thank you to our sponsor INxSQL, software built for distribution.

***

Distribution Talk is produced by The Distribution Team, a consulting services firm dedicated to helping wholesale distribution clients remove barriers to profitability, generate wealth and achieve personal goals.  

Edited & mixed by The Creative Impostor Studios.

Connect with Jason on LinkedIn.

Connect with Bill on LinkedIn.