As NEMRA hired a new director of Digital Transformation, it led me to think of how digital is changing rep selling. Transformation can impact operations, but it also affects sales processes. Using my own experiences. and that of others I […]
My objective is to develop an ongoing series of marketing articles consisting of two parts, the first focusing on questions I have been asked and the second on concerns I have. I have lots of both, so it is impossible […]
Van Meter, which acquired Werner Electric (MN), earlier in the year is moving quickly to assimilate the company and to operate as one company. There have been a number of management and marketing (and perhaps other departments) personnel changes at […]
Of course you are! Your salespeople are always talking to your customers, gaining their insights to help your business, and your customers volunteer information … even to the point of answering the questions your salespeople don’t know you want them […]
We’ve been asked to share a role that is opening in the industry. It combines writing and lighting. If you like to write content and have an interest in lighting, this could be your next opportunity. A client, for whom […]
First let’s go to Wikipedia for a definition. A spiff is slang for an immediate bonus for a sale. Typically, spiffs are paid, either by a manufacturer or employer, directly to a salesperson for selling a specific product. Frequently they […]
The manufacturers do not have as much money as they used to! Really? So many responses to that statement come to my mind. Unfortunately, in today’s politically correct atmosphere I am not at liberty to use most of them, so […]
Do national or regional promotions offered by the manufacturer work and are they in the best interests of the distributor? That largely depends on what the distributor does with the opportunity. Most of us would call these “canned promotions”. Specifically […]
If the last year and COVID has done anything for our business acumen, it would be the importance of continued customer contact through any means possible including the benefit of a relatively new sales tool … virtual meetings (euphemistically most […]
Everyone likes to talk about their successes, and I am no exception. The road to success, however, inevitably has some speed bumps, or what sales and management may call “failures.” Let me tell you about two of mine, but how […]
