How the Manufacturing Sales Process Changed Over 40 Years
I think we all can agree that the manufacturing sales function has had its challenges and has changed over the past several decades. Today we have a guest post from Alan Sipe, President of Toolbox Sales and Consulting. Alan has over 40 years of experience including...
Get Your Message Across in an Ad-Blocked World
By Rachel Kerstetter, PR Architect, Sonnhalter A recent report shared that 32% of global page views are impacted by the use of ad block and mobile sees three times the rate of ad block use than desktop. Did you know that even some people who work in advertising block...
Are you Trying to Sell or Connect Emotionally with Contractors?
There’s a time and place to sell and you need to know when that is. Social media is one of those times when selling shouldn’t be your prime objective; connecting with your target audience should be.
Time (and Advertising) Stops for No One
By Chris Ilcin, Account Superintendent, Sonnhalter That’s one of my favorite quotes. Not because I’m in marketing and advertising, but because it dispels one of the biggest myths about manufacturers. That is: All manufacturers are engineering and sales driven, and...
3 Tips for Improving New Product Rollouts
Today we have a guest post from Alan Sipe, President of Toolbox sales and consulting. Alan has over 40 years of experience including Sr. VP of Sales and Marketing for Klein Tools and President of Knipex Tools. His insights in selling through various distribution...
Are You Ready to Talk to the Media?
By Rachel Kerstetter, PR Architect, Sonnhalter We're officially in trade show season, which means planning booths, putting together promotions, connecting with customers and preparing your staff for the show. One often overlooked aspect of trade show participation is...
Contractors are the Most Important Customer in Building Materials
Today we have a guest post from Mark Mitchel of Whizard Strategy. Building materials companies frequently only see the customer who is directly in front of their nose. They are laser focused on selling a builder, an architect, a facilities manager or even a homeowner....
How to Create Distributor Plans that Incent Growth [FREE TEMPLATE]
Many manufacturers treat their distributors equally. They offer everyone the same discounts, the same promotions, and the same training programs. However—not all distributors work equally hard for your business.
Call Reports & Sales People…the Reality!
OK, let’s get real about sales people for a minute. Sales people want to make sales calls. They want to make calls on qualified leads and on profitable customers who can generate sales and compensation. They are like gunslingers interested in the “quick kill.” You hire them to sell and that’s where you want them to spend their time.
Manufacturers: When’s the last time you looked at your Value Proposition?
Have you given contractors clarity and conviction as to who you are? Sometimes manufacturers focus all their efforts on products and not enough time on developing their value proposition. Others take for granted that everyone knows who we are and what we do.