In only three years, CEO Eric Chernik has grown Building Controls & Solutions by 700% while retaining the entrepreneurial culture of each company BC&S has acquired.  

Eric knows that employee engagement drives customer engagement, so he enrolls his team in the company’s goals and strategy with transparency and a healthy culture. He embraces great internal communication and employee recognition.  

Don’t miss this episode of Wholesale Change on Jan. 25 at 9 PT/12 ET when we talk to Eric about his path to becoming a CEO and the leadership principles he has applied to achieve fast growth and strong financial results.

Tony Harris, founder of THINC B2B, brings his energy and passion for growth to the Wholesale Change Show on Dec. 14 at 9 PT/12 ET.  

He’ll hold nothing back in his conversation with hosts Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein on how and why distributors need to realign business intelligence, sales and marketing, finance and IT to drive growth in 2023. He’s a highly regarded CEO coach, senior executive mentor and thought leader.  

He’s also the author of “FADS Marketing: Food, Alcohol, Drugs, Sex and the New Marketing World Order.” His career includes providing executive counsel to some of the most recognized global brands. Harris also advises for private equity firms, investment firms, family offices, and venture capital entities, evaluating and preparing recommendations on the viability of potential acquisitions, divestitures and roll-ups. 

Some inside sales programs produce marginal results, while others are veritable home runs. What is different in the execution of these home run programs?  

The superior performance happens in their day-to-day activities as inside sales reps contact customers and prospects, understand their needs, position your products against those needs, close sales and ultimately build strong long-term customer relationships. 

Join your hosts Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein as they welcome Mark Peck on Nov. 30 to discuss the following core elements in highly successful inside sales programs. 

Building and using a structured sales coverage model and plan 

• Allocate your most valuable asset 
• Apply the pareto principle 
• Set expectations with inside sales staff 

Managing with a systemic inside sales performance model 

• Manage the elements of sales rep performance that drive revenue performance 
• Develop an understanding of individual sales staff strengths and weaknesses 
• Use the performance model to coach to achievement of high sales goals 

Join us on Nov. 30 at 9 PT/ 12 ET to learn how these two business models can help drive superior execution in your inside sales program. 

When done properly, proactive inside sales should:

• Grow midsize accounts 15% to 20%
• Increase gross profit through revenue in higher margin accounts
• Reduce sales comp for midsize accounts 30% to 40%
• Increase retention

In our experience creating proactive inside sales programs, we have seen the best – and worst – practices for achieving these results.

In this episode of Wholesale Change we will look at six keys in creating a successful proactive inside sales program including organization design, management support, compensation, account selection, selecting the right people and technology support.

Ed Gerber, CEO of Summit Electric Supply, joins us on the Oct. 26 episode of Wholesale Change. Before joining Summit Electric, Ed was the CEO of the Industrial Supply Association (ISA) after holding a number of senior executive roles for industrial distributors.  

We’ll ask Ed what it was like to switch from the industrial industry to electrical. During our conversation, we’ll explore topics like sales force optimization, digital transformation, value-added services and what it takes for a regional distributor to compete effectively against global players. 

Ed has been highly successful during his tenure at Summit, even though he joined the company less than a year ago. It’s his first CEO role with a distributor, so he’ll tell us what it’s like to be in the top seat compared to other senior executive roles he’s held. 

Bring your questions to the live recording or sign up below to listen to the recording.

Every distributor does an annual budget – but that’s not the same thing as formulating a strategy. The budget process is very tactical, focused on current operations and does not typically account for broad industry trends, disruptors or major technology changes.  

If you don’t want to get blindsided, you need a strategic plan. A strategic planning process will allow you to think about the positioning of your company and how you need to adapt your value proposition over time.  

Join us on the Oct. 12 episode of Wholesale Change at 9 PT/12 ET when Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein, Ph.D., talk about the strategic planning process they’ve developed to help distributors formulate long-term plans. This feeds into the short-term budget process but also enables changes that empower a company to thrive in the long term.

Join us on the Sept. 28 episode of Wholesale Change when our guest will be Alex Tomey, the Senior Vice President of Merchandising for Global Industrial Company.  

Global Industrial is a billion-dollar value-added industrial distributor. Global Industrial offers customers more than a million products — from material handling to packaging and supplies — including its own proprietary brands. Alex was previously the Co-Chief Merchandising Officer at Petco. Before that, he served as Senior Vice President and GMM of Merchandising at DICK’S Sporting Goods and has held merchandising leadership positions at major retailers including Kohl’s and Walmart. 

We’ll ask Alex about his transition from retail to B2B, how he develops merchandising strategies for industrial and commercial customers, and the role of value-added services in differentiating Global Industrial from competitors. 

Most distributors we talk to are disappointed in the ROI of their ecommerce investments. When we dig into their complaints, we find that while they know their expenses, the sales attributed to their websites are way off because they only look at shopping-cart revenue. 

But the shopping cart is usually the smallest part of the direct revenue generated by your website. Customers must use purchase orders, so instead of checking out, they shop on your website and then buy through other channels – including “lights out” methods like email, EDI and punchout. 

Join us on Sept. 14 when Distribution Strategy Group co-founders Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein, Ph.D., will reveal how you can build a better website that drives more revenues and how you can do a better job measuring the return on your current investment. Your ROI is probably much better than you think, and we can show you how to increase it even more.   

Conventional thinking claims that only distributors larger than a billion dollars can build successful marketplaces. Bay Supply is much smaller than that, but its fastener marketplace is taking off.  

Like most wholesalers, Bay Supply is facing new marketplace entrants supported by tech startups, national distributors, manufacturers and even software providers that are fighting to reach the buyer directly through these rapidly evolving platforms. Unlike other distributors, Bay Supply jumped into the marketplace competition itself. And they’re recruiting manufacturers and distributors to join their platform in a friendlier ecosystem than many of the alternatives.  

Mike Eichinger, Bay Supply COO, joins us on the Wholesale Change show on Aug. 31 at 9PT/12ET. He’ll share how Bay Supply is taking a collaborative approach to supporting distributors who want to reach sourcing professionals with an efficient solution while maintaining their brand and positioning as experts in the field. 

In nearly 20 years with Specialty Building Products, Jeff has served as CFO, President and COO, and now CEO. Throughout his long career, which has included many acquisitions, a company name change (SBP was formerly known as U.S. LUMBER) and most recently, new ownership, Jeff has focused on building great teams.  

Jeff knows this means recruiting great new talent to go along with the experienced veterans. SBP has earned a reputation as a great place to work for Millennials and Generation Z employees – and not just because Jeff plays video games with them. He’ll be joining us on the Wholesale Change show on Aug. 17, where Ian and Jonathan will ask him about the part he has played in building such a successful company. 

Sign up to watch live on Aug. 17 at 9 PT/12 ET so you can ask your questions, too. Or to receive a link to the recording or podcast.

Eric Hoplin, CEO of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW), will be joining us for the July 20 episode of Wholesale Change. He’ll share his take on key concerns and trends – including labor, supply chain disruption, digital transformation and more – based on his ongoing conversations with dozens of senior distribution company leaders. He’ll also provide an update on NAW, including the work they are doing to support distributors in Washington D.C.

Bring your questions on July 20 at 9 PT / 12 ET.

Alex Moazed burst onto the scene as a platform business expert when he co-authored the best-selling book, “Modern Monopolies” in 2016. Since then, Alex has been widely acclaimed as an expert on marketplaces and has appeared on multiple television shows, including Fox Business News and Bloomberg TV. He’s a featured keynote speaker at many conferences and on July 6 at 9 PT/12 ET, he’ll be joining us on the Wholesale Change Show.

Alex will share his unmatched experience working with major distributors, technology startups, venture capital firms and manufacturers as they formulate their marketplace strategies. We’ll ask him to update us on the latest trends in B2B marketplaces and share some key lessons distributors need to know as they choose how to compete in the fast-changing competitive landscape. Don’t miss this opportunity to follow the conversation and ask questions of one of the brightest thinkers in B2B digital strategy.

Monte Salsman, President of the Winsupply Acquisitions Group, joins us on the Wholesale Change Show on Wednesday, June 22. We’ll explore the company’s unique entrepreneurial business model, where they strive to have “an ownership team under every roof.” Winsupply owns a majority equity stake in more than 640 local companies across the United States in many categories, including plumbing supplies, HVACR equipment, pipes, tubing, water heaters, wires, cable and more.

Monte will share principles he has used to foster a successful entrepreneurial culture at WinSupply including:

1. Take ownership.
2. Adopt an expertise habit.
3. Become a professional at developing relationships … especially with people who are difficult for you.
4. Get paid what you are worth (not more and not less).
5. Communication … beginning with mastering listening.

Monte says, “I see those things in every successful business and individual.”

This will be fascinating discussion and you can join in with your questions. Don’t miss it.

Learn how distributors can evaluate and categorize their customer base – profit peaks, profit drains and profit deserts – and make a plan to act. Treating all customers the same won’t cut it.

In this webinar, Erik Gershwind, President and CEO of MSC Industrial Supply Co., talked about how the company has reimagined its value proposition, driven digital transformation and learned to build its culture and retain talent in a virtual world.

In this episode of Wholesale Change, Dirk shared why distributors must adopt new ways of leading their companies to build a sustainable business today.

Profitability expert Dr. Al Bates joined us on the Wholesale Change show to talk about why distributors are stuck in a profitability “rut” and how they can escape.

Watch this episode to learn how Randy’s impressive focus on culture is directly tied to business results.

CEO Paul Kennedy about how the company’s focus on customer experience has driven profitable growth.

n this episode hosts Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein share the true costs of customer defection – and the real upside of reducing it.