Today more than ever, all companies especially distribution companies must know and rely on successful digital marketing in order to stay competitive. As simple as it sounds, however, this is one area where I see distributors struggle, quite simply because they don t understand the true goals of a successful digital marketing campaign. For [...]

Don McNeeley, is the President and CEO of Chicago Tube and Iron (CTI) which celebrated 100 years of consecutive profitability earlier this year. In this fourth of five conversations I have with Don, he explains the CTI business model and its evolution over the years. More importantly he explains the why behind each evolution. The [...]

In today s environment where distributors are in a constant quest for improved profitability having accurate market based pricing for your sales and service teams is an imperative. Ken Brown is a partner with Evergreen Consulting and routinely helps distributors develop leading edge profit innovation strategies through the holistic integration of three core strategies: Strategic pricing, [...]

Following my first conversation on vision with Scott Weaver, president and CEO of APR Supply – the microphones were off but our conversation continued. So I turned the microphones back on and captured another gem from Scott as it relates to using vision to drive the needed innovation within your business. Scott and his management [...]

By definition, all businesses were entrepreneurial at their start – or they would not have started. Over time, companies get focused on and good at execution. New competitors and changing market conditions often require that their entrepreneurial spirit get reignited. Steve Epner and his team at The Startup WithIN work with teams to spark, then [...]

You know in this age of disruption, in this VUCA world … Those of you that listen understand what VUCA means, V-U-C-A. Right? Velocity, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. That’s the world in which we find ourselves. How do we lead change, transformation and innovation. How do we lead our teams in this environment? That’s the [...]

High-performance sales results flow from strategically directing and deploying the sales force into the areas that are most likely to provide a high return, armed with tactics that help the customers meet their objectives. Just as importantly, sales reps need to be guided away from accounts and activities that hurt profit and commission levels. New [...]

Steve Riddell is the Chief Sales Officer – Telesales with Sprint. In this episode we explore Steve s insights regarding the fourth component part of The Innovative Distributor – business model innovation. Steve has been an innovator his entire career. most recently at blinds.com and now with Sprint. He has a history of is taking a [...]

What s the #1 concern of most wholesale distributors? Profit. But as you face such challenges as disintermediation, the growth of nontraditional competitors, and technological transformation, ensuring profitability has become increasingly challenging for many wholesale distributors. Despite these new challenges, things haven t change as much as it may seem. Your keys to profitability lie exactly where [...]

Steve Riddell is the Chief Sales Officer – Telesales with Sprint. In this episode we explore Steve s insights regarding the third component part of The Innovative Distributor – value proposition. Now I got to tell you, what you and I know after listening to Innovate for the Future is that it’s compelling value propositions that [...]