“When I grow up, I want a career in wholesale distribution.”  

Unless your family owns a distribution business, you probably never said this. The reality is that most people find themselves working in wholesale distribution by happenstance. They needed a job after high school or college, and a distributor had a job opening. Before they know it, several decades have passed, and that job they accepted has turned into a career. 

Right now might be one of the best times in history for young professionals who are establishing their career in the wholesale distribution industry. As the baby boomer generation is rapidly retiring, distribution leaders across the country are handing over their responsibilities to younger generations in the workforce.  

Even with these changes happening, the next generation of leaders must still prepare themselves. New leadership titles and responsibilities on their business cards or LinkedIn profiles will not guarantee success in the future. But young professionals who develop certain foundational skillsets will have countless opportunities ahead of them. 

3 Skillsets That Will Take You Far 

Throughout our careers, we will need to develop many skillsets to help us navigate personal and professional growth. 

So, which areas should a young professional start cultivating first? 

While there are many skillsets that vary dramatically from entry level to executive level in wholesale distribution, here are three that are foundational for anyone at any stage of their career:   

1. Selling Skills 
2. Problem Solving Skills 
3. Relationship Building Skills 

Mastering these skills will give anyone an advantage over those who fail to prioritize them. 

Selling Is More Than Products & Services 

Believe it or not, and like it or not – everyone is in the business of selling. 

When we think about selling skills, most people will default to thinking about selling products and services that our company offers. It would be easy for someone with a career path in admin, operations or supply chain to dismiss selling as a skill that they must develop. But it would be a big mistake. 

Successful professionals know that there are two things they must always be selling: themselves and their ideas. 

As professionals, selling ourselves is both verbal and nonverbal. It’s all about how we communicate and demonstrate our professionalism to those around us. If we want more business or responsibilities, we first need the right people to buy into us.  

Selling, in its purest form, is all about understanding and fulfilling the needs of others. Our employer, coworkers, customers and suppliers each have one need in common: They need to know that we are capable and responsible enough to accomplish our job duties. We must sell ourselves on our ability to meet this need every day. 

Idea-selling is another essential skill that people must develop to achieve career success.  

A person might have the best ideas around, but those ideas will fall short if they can’t influence other people to buy into them. Being able to sell your ideas can help you gain support, secure resources and ultimately bring your vision to life.  

There’s more involved than just convincing others that your idea is valid. It’s also about building credibility and showcasing your expertise. 

Large or Small, Problem Solved 

One thing is always guaranteed in any business, large or small: problems will arise. Problems can be found everywhere there are people, processes and technology involved. 

Wholesale distribution is no exception. 

As our career responsibilities grow, the size of the problems we encounter each day will tend to grow proportionately. A person’s ability to engage and overcome these problems at each stage of their career will be a major contributor to their likelihood to advance. 

So, what does it take to solve problems effectively? 

Mindset is the key. 

Our mindset plays a major role in how we approach problem solving. Do we believe that there’s always a possible solution to any problem – maybe even a win-win? Can we look at things from different angles and perspectives than we have before? Are we confident that we can make and sustain the changes necessary to fix them? 

With the right mindset, the answer to all of these questions is “yes.”  

Ultimately, we can either look at problems as insurmountable obstacles or we can view them as invaluable opportunities. People are either problem spotters or problem solvers. Everyone can spot problems, but success will follow those who can solve them. 

Relationships Still Matter 

Traditionally, wholesale distribution has always been a business driven by relationships. 

Even in a modern work environment, this probably won’t change any time soon. 

People who do well in this industry understand that there’s more to it than transactionally selling products and services. The real driver of success is the quality of the relationships they can establish with coworkers, customers, suppliers and industry peers – even competitors. 

Unlike in retail and other industries, the people we interact with each day in wholesale distribution are often around for many years. Most distributors rely on repeat business-to-business transactions. Professionals who nurture these business relationships – some of which last for decades or entire careers — will tend to win more repeat business and experience far greater success than those who do not. 

And remember those problems mentioned earlier? 

Healthy relationships are essential for helping overcome problems as they arise. A supplier might not ship a rush order on time. Wrong products sometimes get sold to a customer. Conflicts will happen internally between sales and operations. These things happen all the time, and having strong relationships will help to work through most issues. 

Career success is impossible without other people, so relationship skills are essential. 

The Bottom Line 

Part of setting ourselves up for success is our ability to focus on the things that are most important. 

There are numerous skillsets that we will need to develop over the course of our careers: computer skills, leadership skills, job-specific skills, organizational skills, communication skills, time management skills, etc. The list goes on and on. 

Each of those other skillsets is useful, but ultimately, mastering the abilities to sell, solve problems and build relationships will reap the greatest rewards in the wholesale distribution industry.