Distribution Talk

"The gift is in the giving. And I will tell business people that when you give to a good cause...you give the gift in the giving." ~Steven Lazar Can surplus commodities become a driver for change? If you ask Steven Lazar, president of Lazco Corporation , the answer is a resounding "yes!". We began our conversation discussing the business of buying and selling surplus HVAC equipment but quickly exp...

"The greatest thing to do, the best thing to do, is to be prepared… But if you're not prepared, it's going to bring down your business." ~Tom Held If you haven't given IT security much of a thought, this episode will change your mind about doing so...immediately! I got the chance to speak with Tom Held, Senior Consultant of Cyber Security and IT Risk Management with The Oakland Group , about intel...

" I'm such a believer that my kids need to do something different, at least for a period of their life. Go apply for your own job. Negotiate your own salary. Negotiate your own working conditions and work hard and impress your own boss. Find out if that's right for you or if that's maybe not as easy as it appeared to be. "   ~Bryan Keen A century is a long time to be in business. While Bryan Keen,...

"We're focused on delivering what our members are asking us to do. And what our members are asking us to do is train their people and help develop relationships between themselves and the manufacturers."   ~Kevin Higginbotham Imagine running a company and having to answer to 58 bosses. As CEO of Evergreen Marketing Group , that's Kevin Higgenbotham's daily reality. I sat down with Kevin to find ou...

30 episodes. Thousands of unique downloads. Dozens of interesting guests. Listeners in upwards of 30 different countries. It's been an amazing first year for Distribution Talk. I'm genuinely grateful for your support and your continued interest. Thank you! As for this installment, I've opted to go solo with a question: do you own a business or a job? As the year, the decade , draws to a close, the...

"Well, I think it's the author Jim Collins that talks about two business models: the genius with a thousand helpers model versus a solid management team. And, you know, when you're a genius with a thousand helpers, you have nothing to sell because when you walk out the door, the business is worthless." ~Jim Sobeck Jim Sobeck , CEO of New South Construction Supply out of Greenville, South Carolina,...

"At some point, we have to have a real assessment of whether these [social media] platforms are giving us what we want. And, the truth is, the more time you spend on them, the less happy people are." ~Curt Steinhorst Can I have your attention? You've probably got a million things (besides this episode of DT) vying for your notice. And I'll bet you're trying to devote fragments of time to all of th...

"I never thought that I would be here 36 years later having worked in this industry as a woman, but I love it. I feel totally blessed. I love everybody I work with. Not every day is a great day or an easy day, but it's worked... it's been so good for my family. " ~Michelle Shearer-Rodriguez If you've listened to this show for a while (and, I know you have!)you've no doubt heard many guests reminis...

"Friends in the rep business are very important. I mean, from acquiring lines to sharing best practices, it's not just one guy and in one territory. There's a bunch of people that know each other and work together." ~Dave Wright This episode is 30 years in the making. That's how long I've known Dave Wright, president of WG Wright & Associates . In that time, the company has transformed from a manu...

"Ninety-nine percent of distribution sales people are going to tell me their purpose is to make a sale, right? I think they're wrong. The purpose of the world's top-producing sales organizations is to identify and then satisfy our customer's needs profitably." ~Dirk Beveridge By definition, innovate means to make advantageous changes to something established. My guest Dirk Beveridge, founder of Un...

"You can't chase every single need, but when there's a consistency from one contractor or one customer to the other, that becomes an opportunity. And if there's a trust that you have built, the opportunity turns into profitability." ~Jeff Peterson, Geneva Supply, Inc. How does an affable guy who started out in the liquor industry become a leader in e-commerce strategy and fulfillment? When you mee...

"We go in and look at your program. We benchmark it to what we know we can negotiate on your behalf and, by the way, our contracts that we negotiate are in our clients' name. They're not in our name. That's important because the client owns the contract not us." ~Joe Barrer, Global Logistics, Inc.   It's not often (if ever) that I get to say this episode comes with a free bonus offer!   But first,...

"Any organization that wants to create a sustainable future, if they're not spending a lot of energy and time as leaders on culture - defining it, refining it, enhancing it - in my book, they're missing the mark." ~John Wiborg John Wiborg, president and founder of Stellar Industrial Supply , believes there's only one thing separating your distributorship from the competition. It isn't price or ful...

"It was a line-of-duty death that created this business," says John Tragiai, former owner of Keeprs , a law enforcement supply company based out of St. Cloud, MN. A s origins stories go, Keeprs stands as the most heartbreaking ever featured on Distribution Talk. John's arc within that history - from broadcasting major to police office to successful businessman - is one of the most inspiring.  "It...

"Every business has to change." That's what Brenda Puckett, president at West-Lite Supply Co . says when asked about navigating turning points in the wholesale lighting industry. West-Lite Supply was founded in Los Angeles, CA in 1981 with the purpose of becoming America's premier distributor of lighting products. What was then a commodity based business selling lamps and fixtures, has now transfo...

Carolyn Quinn never wanted to be known as a child employed by the owner of a business -- she wanted to be the chief executive officer.  Now president at Pike Systems, Inc, a cleaning supply and equipment company based in Illinois, Carolyn leads an effective sales team that is intensely focused on providing value for their clients. From support tools to on-site training, Pike Systems is committed t...

Third-generation leaders face challenges -- if the business survives long enough for them take the helm at all.  Lauren Roberts, president of cfm Distributors, Inc. of Kansas City, is one such leader who's applying digital native solutions to her company's customer experience challenges. But she's not stopping there. She sits down with me to discuss why it's good for everyone in the industry succe...

I caught up with Gian Marco Palazio , a serial entrepreneur, author , and business leader based in Managua, Nicaragua. Our conversation is packed with insight into measuring success and learning through failure, creating rituals that invite growth, and nurturing a legacy that honors the past while serving the future. "[It's] a lot of trial and error, you know? University doesn't teach you how to b...

Think your DIY customer survey produced the data you needed? Are you confident in your ability to analyze that information and implement those client recommendations?  I sat down with Martha Brooke, chief customer experience analyst and founder of InterAction Metrics , to find out how better questions translate into meaningful customer insights. "Just because you have a platform like SurveyMonkey...

When things go badly, rest assured the situation can always get worse. That's what happened to Steve Cohn, president of Premier Beauty Supply .  If you think salon sales has nothing in common with you r distribution business, hang with this episode. My conversation with Steve yields some great advice for everyone, regardless of industry, about resilience and reinvention -- especially when things g...

What have you done to secure your company's future? Beyond upgrades to your tech, your  warehouse space, and your fleet, what investments have you made in your people? Michael Meier, VP and COO of Meier Supply Company , discusses how his own professional growth has translated into a passion for training company talent and clientele.  Michael laughs when he tells his origin story and it probably re...

Want to know the secrets to a successful expansion? For Dan Esch of Esch Construction Supply based in St. Paul, Minnesota, a company's mission is just as important as the advanced field work and the financial analysis.  "This business is all about service." That's a sentiment you'll hear Dan repeat throughout our conversation. He's positioned Esch within the concrete cutting niche as a key collabo...

Ankit Sharma, CEO of Kitply Industries LTD. in Vancouver, British Columbia, didn't just take a leap of faith when he started his distribution business a decade ago; he set fire to all of his bridges for good measure. I caught up with Ankit to find out what motivates this award-winning entrepreneur and why he's on a mission to make wood sexy. His strategy to attract the same employees that typicall...

What are you selling? Beyond the parts and pieces, what differentiates you from your competitors? Don't answer, at least not until you've listened to my conversation with Paul Reilly, president of Tom Reilly Training . His company has been on a 40 year mission to show sales teams that value-driven conversations can help them sell more profitably. The message has never been more relevant than in to...

What does your sales force look like in five years? In ten? If you don't have an answer yet, my chat with Eric Wessinger, president of Richards Supply , will definitely spark some ideas.  Officially, he's lead the company for a little over six years. Unofficially, Eric's been in and around the distribution business since childhood. As a second generation leader, he's drawing on his decade of outsi...