Author: Art Waskey

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.…

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…

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…

The coronavirus outbreak has reminded us all that with adversity comes the challenge to find new ways of approaching our day-to-day lives. This is especially true in our jobs, which often require personal interaction. I am a sales consultant to a machine tool distributorship that has seven salespeople who are now unable to make face-to-face contact with their customers and prospects. The company asked me to help find effective ways for its sales reps to utilize their time in this shelter-in-place world. Stickiness Malcom Gladwell in his book, The Tipping Point, describes times of change, like the one we are…

A Generation X (born 1965-1985) sales rep asked me whether I thought social media was an effective tool for sales prospecting. He found his experience with Facebook, where he spent an inordinate amount of time reading about family and friends, to be counter-productive from a business perspective. As a Baby Boomer (born 1944-1964), I did not grow up with social media but I have grown along with it and could offer the rep some insights. I was recently reminded of social media’s critical importance to marketing when asked by Vicara Books, the publisher of my latest book, how many hits…

A respected friend in his mid-seventies came into my office, dropped into a chair, and asked if I could help him with an emotional dilemma. I couldn’t imagine why this brilliant PhD was approaching me for help. I was humbled and felt a bit inadequate when he asked, “What am I going to be when I grow up?” Thirty years later that question still resonates with me. How many times have you wondered about your future self? Do you think that perhaps, “what you can be when you grow up” is too big a dream or too tall a task…

I hate shopping! Fortunately, my wife, Sandy, enjoys it and is willing to put in the time to make the right purchase at the right price. Whenever I need shirts or pants, she will bring home several selections so I can choose what looks best on me. This personal shopping system works well for casual attire, but I find that buying a suit requires a more concerted effort on my part. Early in my career, I was promoted from sales engineer to sales manager. At that time, the company’s vice president advised me to buy a suit, noting that people…

In 1972, I graduated LeTourneau College (now LeTourneau University) with a degree in welding engineering and began working for a small manufacturing firm as part of its five-person engineering group. My fellow team members were over 40 years old, which seemed ancient to me at the time.  However, I found it rewarding to introduce them to the exciting new ideas I had learned in college, which made the experience enjoyable. Over time, I noticed I did not share the enthusiasm my colleagues had for the work we performed, and this made me anxious. Eventually I approached my manager with a…

Sales professionals operate within broad territories, are tasked with challenging goals and interact with a great many people. Effectiveness as a sales rep, therefore, requires organization — lots of it. As a sales manager and trainer, I am aware of the importance of organization, so I am constantly looking for ways to improve territory management. In fact, I’ve developed key tools designed to help sales reps become more organized and improve their management techniques. The Inspiration Key There is an effective way to inspire even the most reluctant trainees, I’ve found. Early in my career, at Bruce Breier’s seminar, The…