Complete Story
09/27/2025
020. CRM That Works: A Hands-On Audit and Roadmap Workshop
Instructor: Brian Gardner
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm
Every month without a well-aligned CRM means lost opportunities, hidden margin leakage and inefficient sales activity. For many distributors, this is the reality. Adoption is weak, and ROI is low. Sales teams are likely working around CRM instead of with it, creating data silos and blind spots that compound over time. The reason? Too many distributors approach CRM as a technology purchase instead of a sales process improvement initiative. That results in feature-heavy systems that fail to deliver adoption, alignment or ROI. This workshop reframes CRM around business processes and shows participants how to build a practical, phased roadmap that ensures a CRM investment pays off. Drawing on the proven SalesProcess360 CRM Audit, this hands-on session will guide participants step by step through evaluating current sales processes, uncovering process gaps and prioritizing sales initiatives. And now, with the rise of AI in distribution, the stakes are even higher. AI can make it easier to analyze customer data, spot trends and uncover opportunities but it’s only as good as the data and processes behind it. Without a clean, consistent and well-adopted CRM, AI tools can’t deliver real insights. With the right foundation, however, AI becomes a powerful accelerator and can help sales teams work smarter, improve forecasting and maximize margins. This workshop isn’t about software demos or feature wish lists. It’s about linking CRM to ROI by tying it directly to sales processes, uncovering quick wins and creating a realistic adoption path. Participants will also leave with a clear understanding of how CRM maturity positions them to take advantage of AI without the risk of bad data leading to bad decisions.
Bookstore
Achieving Effective Inventory Management – 6th Edition
Jon Schreibfeder
Achieving Effective Inventory Management, 6th Edition, based on our most recent research and up-to-date “best practices”, provides a complete guide for managing a large and often troublesome asset: inventory.
The economic challenges facing distributors today have resulted in EIM conducting a thorough review and update of the entire 5th edition. This update, coupled with discussions regarding the impact and adjustments that the current economic challenges have produced in all areas of inventory management, has produced our new 6th edition.
This book helps you achieve the goal of effective inventory management — to meet or exceed customers’ expectations of product availability with the amount of each item that will maximize your organization’s net profits or minimize its total inventory investment.
