Distributing Ideas, The NAW Blog
From Purpose to Performance: Lessons for Distribution Leaders – Developing Your Workforce #7
As a distribution leader, have you ever wondered about the following questions? How do I prevent people from just “going through the motions” at work? How do I get people to devote more of themselves to work? How do I motivate people to take initiative in their jobs? How do I get people to perform to their full potential? Every CEO wants to have a more committed [...]
Invent Zero-step Distribution to Save the Value Chain – Distributors in the Digital Era #54
Many distributors are striving to transform their business to fend off the threat of disruption by virtual marketplaces and other new players. In doing so, distributor leaders are looking to the future as they leverage digital tools to offer new customer experiences and dramatically improve their operating efficiencies, sales productivity and marketing effectiveness. These efforts are [...]
New Technology and New Thinking Can Help Your Team Sell Smarter – Value Creation Strategy #2
Last month, I talked about how often outside sales reps should call on existing customers. The answer largely depends on two things: whether there is opportunity for increasing sales to that customer, and how often that customer wants to see a sales rep. Both of those factors are evolving along with our rapidly changing marketplace. But while it may be a sound business decision to [...]
Chairman’s Column: Attract, Train, Challenge!
What does it take to win in the digital game? I have pondered this question for more than a decade. There are more questions: What does the organization look like that will prevail in the digital arena? How does a CEO develop a vision for the future, when that future is charging toward a new competitive framework that is rapidly changing and requires flexibility and quick response? How does a CEO [...]
Which Talent Strategy Has Your Company Adopted? – Developing Your Workforce #6
Your company's talent strategy is directly affected by your perceptions of people — people as capital, people as resources, people as talent, and people as cost. Below are six types of talent strategies, what my coauthors, Barry Lawrence and Bharani Nagarathnam, and I call the 6 Bs, which are rooted in different propositions: Buy, Build, Borrow, Bounce, Bind, and Boost. They come from our [...]
Can Gig Technician Services Pay Distributors for Value? – Distributors in the Digital Era #53
When it comes to getting compensated for value, there is a massive elephant in the room — distributors are in the wrong business. Or, more accurately, they have the wrong business model. Distributors are service companies built around a business model designed to sell products. Customers buy products and reap value created by distributor services for free. Granted, distributors attempt to [...]
How Often Should Sales Reps Call on Customers? – Value Creation Strategy #1
How frequently should sales reps call on existing customers? It's a good question, because most distributors we've worked with are investing $75 or $80 per sales call once they account for all expenses associated with hiring, training, managing, transporting, supporting and compensating an outside sales rep. In some ways, though, this question misses the mark by assuming that outside [...]
Make Performance Management TRULY Work – Developing Your Workforce #5
In digital times, performance has taken on broader meanings, and how to improve performance at both the individual and organizational levels has topped the CEO’s agenda. Many organizations are questioning the effectiveness of semi-annual/annual performance reviews and commonly used performance measures. Some forward-thinking companies such as Adobe, Accenture and Google have abandoned the [...]
What Is the Purpose of Distribution in the Digital Age? – Distributors in the Digital Era #52
Recently I attended The World Innovation Network’s TWIN GLOBAL 2018 conference, led by Professor Robert C. Wolcott, Professor of Innovation at Kellogg School of Management. Readers of my research for the NAW Institute for Distribution Excellence may recognize Professor Wolcott’s name. He introduced me to the Innovation Radar framework, a tool which helped advance our investigations, [...]
Working with Millennials Doesn’t Have to Be a Pain – Developing Your Workforce #4
Did you know Millennials are the largest population in the U.S. labor market today? By 2025, Millennials will account for 75% of the U.S. workforce, and they are increasingly foreign-born with their first language being other than English. What does this reality tell us? Three messages: Working with Millennial employees is a new norm. Understanding Millennials on a deep level [...]
