Sales & Marketing

In this week's MDM podcast, Walter SVP Chester Collier shares four decades of international sales management and business development experience across industrial distribution channels. We discuss the current state of channel dynamics and how sales management has — and has not — evolved in the face of rapid change the past few years.

The field salesforce is the heart and soul of distributor go-to-market strategies. For great reasons. It’s also the biggest hidden bite to profitability today. Here’s a primer on the challenges and 3 keys to successful sales transformation that every distributor can profit from.

In MDM's first 2022 podcast, we explore three factors for how smaller distributors can gain competitive advantage against larger competitors.

Customer expectations are shifting and distributors are rethinking the qualities that make for a strong salesperson.

Customers are engaging in purchasing behavior contrary to their own decision confidence, but distribution sales reps can help.


Without having price visibility, one channel or customer may be capable of driving the entire market down, a costly consequence.


To remain competitive, B2B sales organizations can reassess their sales infrastructure and identify new strategies to promote business agility.


Analytics on transactional data, sales force input and customer input via surveys and interviews can all inform customer buying criteria.



Customers are engaging in purchasing behavior contrary to their own decision confidence, but distribution sales reps can help.


With the right strategies, distributors can reduce price/cost volatility impacts by using predictive analytics and evaluating cost pass-through methods.


Days are numbered for the traditional inside-outside sales model in distribution, say executives at Earnest Machine and Gustave A. Larson. Here's how they developed a new integrated approach.


How distributors will plan and adapt for 2022. Actionable insights to build profitable revenue and market share growth.
Investment Banking Directory
The MDM Investment Banks in Distribution directory is a listing of firms with expertise in the wholesale distribution industry.
Featured Content


Getting Your Sales Team to Adopt a New CRM Solution
User adoption is the key to achieving the greatest return on investment from your…


Credit Where It’s Due
B2B Point-of-Purchase Buying Habits Are Evolving. Data Now Points to a Need for More…


Winning Strategies for Customer Experience: Benchmarks & Best Practices
In this report, MDM Research benchmarks the state of distribution customer experience delivery and…


Turn Searches into Sales: No More Customers Lost in the Sea of Products
Finding a product on a B2B distributor’s site can be like playing a game…


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