SEDA Safety Scene Online
January 2003

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What is the Future of the Distributor Sales Force?

A presentation by Dave Kahle

Audio/Web Conference hosted on Tuesday, March 18
12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time

Distributors have always been, first and foremost, sales companies.

In the last decade, the sales force has been buffeted by the winds of change just as severely as the rest of the distributor business. Sales people have seen their responsibilities change, their compensation plans modified, their relationships with their customers strained, and their relationship with the operations of their own companies altered. In many distribution companies, salespeople have gone from route-type service people who focus on writing down today's orders on yellow pads, to highly skilled consultative sellers intricately attached to networked lap top computers.

But this radical changing of the role and responsibility of the field sales force isn't finished. In fact, it may have just begun. The forces of change are swirling about the field sales force, causing most executives to wonder about its future.

Toss the typical distributor sales executive into the middle of this storm, and he/she is overwhelmed and often paralyzed with apprehension and confusion. Everyone understands that something must be done with the sales force. But few know what to do or where to begin.

The uncertainty swirling about the future of the sales force may be closer to the heart of the typical distributor than almost any other issue. In an industry where most businesses are built on the foundations of a field sales rep with a geographically defined territory, anything that jeopardizes that structure threatens the entire business.

The forces of change are threatening the very foundations of most distributors. It's time to clear some of the fog around the issue.

Dave Kahle does just that, with an insightful analysis of the forces causing changes, a set of predictions of the future for distributor salespeople, and a number of recommendations for executives who want to manage that change.

What will you learn?

Who should attend?

Executives and managers for distributors and their suppliers

Who is the speaker?

Dave Kahle is a consultant and speaker who specializes in helping distributors and their suppliers grow their sales and their people. He's a world-class speaker who has presented in six countries and 41 states.

He's acquired his message through real-life experience. As a distributor salesperson, Dave took a new territory to over $5,000,000 in sales in 5 short years, becoming the top salesperson in the nation. He's been the number one salesperson in the country for two different companies in two separate industries.

As a general manager of a start-up division of a distribution company, Dave directed that company's growth from $10,000 in monthly sales to over $200,000 in just 38 months.

Since 1988, he's served as president of The DaCo Corporation. Dave has trained thousands of salespeople, and has authored five books, 32 multi-media programs, and has been published over 400 times. His credits include: How To Excel at Distributor Sales, The Six-Hat Salesperson, (AMACOM) which has been translated into three languages and is sold in more than 20 countries, and his latest book, 10 Secrets of Time Management for Salespeople.

Dave serves on the editorial advisory panels of the Distributor and Wholesaler's Advisor, as well as The Competitive Edge.

Register Now!

Fee is $149.00 per company—unlimited participants at each site. After March 10—$159.00. Canadian registration fees are $15.00 more per site.

To register, call KRM Information Services at 800-775-7654 and reference Seminar # AEA 7519-0. Let them know you are a SEDA member. Or register online at www.krm.com/regonline/aeavcregs.nsf/aea7519-0.

Once registered, KRM will provide complete instructions on how to participate via the Internet and telephone.