Distributors face issues that can make every day feel like a struggle. The first step to overcoming these issues is to define them. Here are four common problems that can be prevented:

·  Data-free discussion: You repeatedly talk about market share and whether you are getting as much as you can out of specific accounts in sales, marketing and management meetings, often with no actionable result.

·  Shotgun selling: Your salespeople have too many accounts and a diluted focus that too often causes a presentation spray-paint approach. They also spend too much time selling to existing customers without a clear agenda.

·  Sales silos: Your salespeople hold knowledge about their customers close to the vest; you don’t have a CRM system or an effective way to extract and share customer data across the organization.

·  Daily fire drill: You should get more intentional about marketing but are just able to keep up in this strong business cycle.

Once you've identified the problem or problems, be proactive. Plan how to allocate resources more effectively. Adding data to this discussion helps create a clear picture of your market share and even wallet share.

Industrial Market Information can help you define your market and wallet share. For more information, please email us at info@imidata.com.