Author: Art Waskey

Avatar photo

Art Waskey has over 50 years’ experience in the welding and gas industry. He travels across the country consulting and giving seminars on business skills and has published 3 books on sales skills stories. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering, and a Master of Ministry in Leadership Development. You can subscribe to Art’s weekly sales/leadership tips and monthly articles on his website. Also, check out his Posts on LinkedIn. For services, contact Art at 720-341-9405, [email protected], impactspeakingdynamics.com.

The Customer Relationship I consult primarily with distributors with revenues of $10 million and below. This is a group that succeeds based on its ability to provide exceptional customer service along with its products. Technology has dramatically changed the way these services are delivered. The salesperson’s one-time habit of regular customer visits to catch up on personal and professional information has been replaced by online communications. With so much material available on the internet, salespeople find it difficult to add something technically significant to a sales discussion. Also, digital interactions broaden the time between sales calls, diminishing a rep’s ability…

Read More

According to a report from Digital 360 Commerce (“B2B marketplaces are shaping the future of B2B ecommerce,” Digital 360 Commerce, Oct 18, 2022), sales in B2B marketplaces shot up 131% to $56.5 billion in 2021. They are projected to increase at a similar pace to $130 billion in 2022. How do we, as distributors in that marketplace, increase our customer share? Distributors may find themselves overwhelmed by the idea of trying to compete with the internet giants. Sales industry guru Mark Dancer says, “Many distributors are slow to embrace online marketplaces because they assume that their offering is similar to…

Read More

By Art Waskey In his book Thriving on Chaos, Tom Peters states, “If you’re not confused, you’re not paying attention.” The rate of change in the sales world has been accelerated by digitalization and I have noted that this has caused a lot of confusion. To put the chaos in order, I find that taking the time to plan a solution to the problem is the best approach. As Collin Powell said, “There is no secret to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” Let’s look at how to build a successful sales team…

Read More

Proverbs 11:14 — “Where there is no guidance, the people fall, but, in abundance of counselors, there is victory.”  I find these words inspiring. The periods of greatest growth in my own career have occurred while I have been under the guidance of wise, mature leaders. Today, I work as a mentor to the owners of mid-sized distributorships, guiding the next generation of leaders to success. The people I work with appreciate that my counsel is borne out of years of experience in the distribution industry.  The objective of a mentoring program is to pass on the skills and knowledge…

Read More

When Steve Guglielmo advised that this was Welding and Gases Today’s anniversary edition, I was excited. As it happens, the magazine’s landmark issue coincides with an anniversary of my own. I started my career in the gases and welding business 50 years ago on June 1, 1972. From Floppy Disk to the Cloud My long and fulfilling career has been punctuated by the digital changes that have transformed society. I still have my first calling card that bears the title, “Sales Engineer, North Texas, Airco Welding Products.” In that position, I called on distributors. As part of my training, I…

Read More

Digital transformation involves the strategic adoption of new technologies in the marketplace. It’s used to improve processes and productivity, deliver better customer and employee experiences, manage business risk, and control costs. Myriad tools, solutions, and processes are used in digital implementation and today, we are all unavoidably part of the transformation. With past experience in helping to grow a distributor business from $10M to $65M, I am now a consultant to small and mid-size businesses (SMBs). I find that digital transformation can seem daunting to this group. Smaller companies often feel they are at a competitive disadvantage to larger distributors, who…

Read More

My sales career has given me the opportunity to call on many successful people in different types of businesses and with varying levels of education. These associations have allowed me to learn about the ways individuals find achievement. While the variety of paths taken on the road to success is astonishing, they all share one direction — belief in oneself. To achieve success, you must not just conceive of a way forward, you must believe in it. Banish Negativity Napoleon Hill stated, “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” Hill is an example of someone…

Read More

We’re all living through unprecedented times. On a Zoom call with a large California distributor, I learned that, with four employees out with COVID, one owner was driving a route truck and the other was manning a branch store. Sound familiar? The pandemic has forced us all to be more flexible. The need for new safety protocols and innovative ways of dealing with everything from employee absenteeism to supply chain outages and customer closures, have left us struggling to maintain effective operations. On top of the extraordinary pandemic events, the long-term outlook for traditional distributors continues to be under threat.…

Read More

There is good news on the horizon and companies find themselves gearing up to bring back employees and hire additional staff. As the vaccines for COVID-19 are approved and people are immunized, we look forward to getting back to work on a broader scale. The pandemic, however, has left a lot of upheaval in its wake. I recently spoke to a newly appointed VP of Sales who said his first challenge was to replace 4 of the 6 regional sales managers at his company. Imagine the cost and emotional impact of such a dramatic transition. It is expensive to find…

Read More

I have had the privilege of working with some very bright Millennials (born 1980 through 1994), individuals who have excelled in their use of effective sales tools. Among them, a select few have shown the passion and skill set necessary to become “best in class” sales managers. There was one person, in particular, who I felt was very talented. Her goal was to develop a career in executive distribution management at the regional level. To achieve that, we worked together on sharpening her expertise in the areas necessary for success as a next generation sales manager. Here are some of…

Read More