Resources: Strategic Consulting

Can’t afford to retire, but want to work less? This strategy may be for you. Congratulations to Dave Watson, who after more than 25 years building Custom Advertising, recently hired us to sell his business. The transaction closed...

The results are in – sales reps aren’t the only ones who benefit from consistent coaching. If we could just train our sales reps, and then they could sustain high levels of consistent performance, we wouldn’t need to...

Last month I wrote about planning for success and how distributor owners would benefit from looking forward using tools such as a business plan template and budget. While reviewing 2025 results with clients, one clear trend has emerged...

  In a recent article on growing margins, I discussed the “Danger Zone” of small orders with low margins as these are money-losing orders for distributors. For most distributors, sales rep compensation plans reward reps for all sales...

When it comes to the next recession, it’s only a matter of when, not if – so let’s get prepared. The promo industry has reported declining sales for Q1, although we see lots of distributors still growing, especially larger companies. Here are some tips for distributors to keep growing sales and even profits regardless of tariffs, economy, and recession concerns.

Average distributor gross profit margins (GPM) range between 34% - 36%, but I work with many distributors that average 40% - 45%. So, what is their secret and how can you raise your margins? It mostly comes down to the mindset of the distributor owner that they have passed on to the sales team. If it’s embedded in your sales culture to get 35% margins, then that is what you will get. The good news is that changing this mindset is not difficult and the benefits include an immediate and long-term increase in profitability.