Bookstore
The University of Innovative Distribution recommends the following books to add to your collection. Please note that you will be directed to another website to purchase these books as we do not fulfill the orders.
Value-Added Selling (4th Edition)
Paul Reilly, Tom Reilly
“Value” is about more than just price. Good salespeople understand that and know what differentiates their products from that of competitors. In the first edition of Value-Added Selling, industry guru Tom Reilly tackled the most common problem that salespeople faced: overcoming customer concerns about pricing. That book went on to become the global, go-to guide for value-added selling. Since then, the industry–and the world―has changed dramatically. Developments in technology, including price comparison apps and search engines, now provide consumers with more information than ever, making it much harder to value and sell your product. Additionally, millennials, who now comprise the largest population in the workforce, prefer to do things differently than prior generations. This updated fourth edition of Reilly’s classic guide examines the latest trends and technology that have impacted the market and provides expert advice on leveraging current technology to increase sales.
Value-Added Selling, 4th Edition offers proven strategies and tactics to help you not only close more sales but improve repeat business without compromising on price. You’ll learn how to anticipate the needs, wants, and concerns of buyers from the very beginning of the sales process. The book shows how to compete more profitably by selling value, not price.
Old Dog, New Clicks: Online Industrial and B2B Marketing Know-How for the 21st Century
Bob DeStefano
Two big, related dynamics are changing the field of industrial and B2B marketing: It's an ever-younger crowd with a penchant for the wired and the wireless, and they don't enjoy phone sales calls. They're likely to Google you first, pop over to your website, then check out your social media accounts. How will they find you? What will they find when they do?
Effective Sales Incentive Design for Distributors: What’s the Right Plan?
Mike Emerson, Steve Deist
Effective Sales Incentive Design for Distributors: What’s the Right Plan? is designed for top wholesale distribution executives and sales managers who are looking for the answer to this question: “How can I get my sales reps to just do what I want them to do?”
Getting the Most Out of CRM: Best Practices for Wholesaler-Distributors
Mark Dancer
Experienced wholesaler-distributors say CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is fast becoming a standard practice. More than that, it’s becoming an essential tool for managing a high-performing distribution sales organization.
Optimizing Distributor Profitability: Best Practices to a Stronger Bottom Line
F. Barry Lawrence, Ph.D., Senthil Gunasekaran, Pradip Krishnadevarajan
There are 47 best practices in Optimizing Distributor Profitability: Best Practices to a Stronger Bottom Line and all were developed from actual experiences of 84 real wholesale distribution firms across our industry. This groundbreaking research study is not academic modeling or theory; it is a powerful weapon for you to use to enhance your shareholder value.
Customer Stratification: Best Practices for Boosting Profitability
F. Barry Lawrence, Ph.D., Pradip Krishnadevarajan, Senthil Gunasekaran
Best-in-class distributors categorize customers based on various factors, but customer stratification has long been an unexplored area for most distribution companies. Not anymore. At last, that gap is filled by this first-of-its-kind research study, Customer Stratification: Best Practices for Boosting Profitability.
Sales and Marketing Optimization: Developing Competitive Value Propositions in Distribution
Senthil Gunasekaran, Pradip Krishnadevarajan, F. Barry Lawrence, Ph.D.
Sales and Marketing Optimization: Developing Competitive Value Propositions in Distribution is a first-of-its-kind, best practices study that focuses on aligning customer needs, sales force priorities, and wholesaler-distributor objectives to maximize value creation.
5 Fundamentals for the Wholesale Distribution Sales Manager
Tim Horan, Steve Deist
This book, by Tim Horan and Steve Deist, offers a practical but powerful approach for taking your sales force to the next level. It includes key concepts, practical ideas, and real-world stories taken from the front lines of wholesale distribution. This book will give you the essential leadership skills to keep your career and your business moving ahead and performing at higher levels.
Value Creation Strategies for Wholesaler-Distributors
Steve Deist, Mike Marks, Mike Emerson
In Value Creation Strategies for Wholesaler-Distributors, authors Steve Deist, Mike Marks, and Mike Emerson provide highly actionable insights about how wholesaler-distributors can use a market-driven strategy to increase enterprise value for customers and shareholders.
What's Your Plan? Smart Salesforce Compensation in Wholesale Distribution
Mike Marks and Mike Emerson
According to authors Mike Marks and Mike Emerson in their book, What’s Your Plan? Smart Salesforce Compensation in Wholesale Distribution, there is absolutely no relationship between your sales incentive plan and your likely gain or loss in market share.
Working at Cross-Purposes: How Distributors and Manufacturers Can Manage Conflict Successfully
Mike Marks
It takes a long time to develop good distributor-supplier relationships; unfortunately, it only takes a short time to destroy them. Best seller Working at Cross-Purposes, written by Mike Marks, Tim Horan, and Mike Emerson, takes a look at what really drives these relationships, how often they go bad, and why.
5 Fundamentals for the Wholesale Distribution Branch Manager
Jim Ambrose
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This 5 Fundamentals for the Wholesale Distribution Branch Manager, Second Edition is the classic step-by-step guide to helping branch managers improve their business and leadership skills. “If winning means profitable market share and profitable market share growth, then developing the branch manager is essential to a company’s success,” he says. |
Facing the Forces of Change: Reimagining Distribution in a Connected World
Guy Bissett
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Facing the Forces of Change® is the only major research study analyzing the future of wholesale distribution within multiple lines of trade. Since its inception in 1982, the landmark Facing the Forces of Change® series continues to provide insights about the overall future of wholesale distribution and the role of wholesaler-distributors. |
The Little Black Book of Strategic Planning for Distributors
Brent Grover
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Brent Grover’s latest book on the wholesale distribution industry, The Little Black Book of Strategic Planning for Distributors, is published by Modern Distribution Management. This is a concise book covering the critical pieces of creating a strategic plan for a wholesale distribution company including case studies, exhibits and end-of-chapter questions for your management team. |
Pricing Optimization: Striking the Right Balance for Margin Advantage
Pradip Krishnadevarajan, Senthil Gunasekaran, F. Barry Lawrence, Ph.D., Brijesh Rao
Forward-thinking wholesaler-distributors who strive for above-average returns in the “New Normal” by leveraging pricing optimization best practices that are rooted in sound analytics must read Pricing Optimization: Striking the Right Balance for Margin Advantage!
Profit Myths in Wholesale Distribution
Al Bates
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Al Bates of Profit Planning Group has spent more than 30 years analyzing distributor financial statements. His findings boil down to this conclusion: Much, and possibly even most, of what distribution managers know about improving profitability is wrong. Good economic times mask this fact, while challenging times make this fact absolutely dangerous! |
Strategic Pricing For Distributors: Tools and Rules for Building Higher Margins
Brent Grover
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Experience shows that most distributors are leaving at least two percentage points of gross trading margin on the table. This translates into 2% of total sales. Many companies can ultimately achieve more. The improvement is attainable fairly quickly and has proven to be sustainable. Two percent is the difference between mediocre profit results and stellar performance! |
In Search of the Perfect Customer
Brent Grover
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As wholesaler-distributors operate in today’s economy, they must protect their most profitable, high-growth potential customers and avoid squandering their precious resources. If your sales compensation plan and other policies encourage your staff to misspend their time and your resources on the wrong customers, now is the time to act. If your company is overlooking opportunities to make money and stop profit leakage, this is the book for you! |
