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Are you a distributor specialist?

Sometimes called champions, group leaders or product managers, specialists play a unique, important role for distributors

by Frank Hurtte

According to research conducted by River Heights Consulting, more than 80% of the wholesale-distribution market either uses specialists today or plans to in the near term future. Yet no specific definition exists for exactly what a specialist is or does.

To aid in this effort, we developed a book available from The NAW Institute for Distribution Excellence called The Distributor specialist: Customer Champion, Profit Generator.

Here’s how we define specialist:

Distributor employee who supports the “front line” sales team and other departments by playing a specific (usually product or technology related) role in the sales process. They furnish technical support, sales back up, marketing direction and product management within a distributor organization.

Many organizations have specialists operating under a variety of titles. The role evolved over a long period. Different businesses with a wide range of personality types and market conditions all naturally evolved the position. Sometimes it was the result of customer need, other times the position was driven by a key vendor or because the sales force raised their collective hands and said “help!” Regardless of how you got there, the specialist fills a unique space in distributor organizations. Our research indicates that product lines with specialist involvement grow at a faster pace than the rest of the business. But it might be more fun if we took a look at distributor specialists through the eyes of comedian Jeff Foxworthy.

You might be a specialist if . . .
Back in 1993, comedian Jeff Foxworthy developed the tagline “you might be a redneck.” In the past 12 years this phrase has earned Foxworthy millions of dollars and permeated our culture and language.

So, with apologies to Jeff Foxworthy:

If you are responsible for providing back-up for a specific technology grouping, you might be a specialist. When customers need important advice on a product (or technology group) does the sales force ask you to visit the customer with them? After customer service and the account manager try everything in their bag of tricks, are you often the one called to solve the issue? If you know who to call deep in the bowels of the product vendor, you might be a specialist.

Historically, specialists were placed in a back-up position. In some instances they were glorified application engineers who understood the complex technology associated with a product. As the job evolved, companies decided to push the specialist position into a more proactive quadrant. Specialists were charged with growing the business rather than knowing all the features of their widget. Sales training for their particular technology group was shifted from the vendor partner to the specialist. And, in cases where they don’t deliver the training directly, a specialist may discuss the nuances of the training in order to ensure it hits the mark.

If you support your management team by taking a part in the sales management process of a product, you might be a specialist. Specialists have become an important part of the sales strategy for many organizations. There is no one better suited for writing and carrying out a marketing plan (or filling out a vendor required planning sheet) than the specialist who works with the product daily. Which accounts represent the best opportunity for growth? What accounts are ready for modernization? Whose competitive accounts make the best conversion opportunities? These are all questions a specialist should easily answer. Progressive companies ask their specialists to prepare a monthly or quarterly report keeping the management team abreast of the primary opportunities of the day. So, if you are giving your management team an overview of the issues/opportunities facing your company in a specific product group, you might be a specialist.

If you are helping your purchasing team anticipate major shifts in buying habits, you might be a specialist. No one is better suited to assist purchasing teams in determining which new products need to be added to inventory. When products become obsolete, no one is better trained to let your organization know which products need to be moved back to the manufacturer. When it comes to service stock, individual salespeople can talk about their own customers but no one is equipped to discuss the total territory like a specialist.

If, as you read this article, you find yourself nodding to some of these questions, you might be a specialist. You might (also) be a Product Manager, a Product Champion, a Technology Group Leader or a Product Sales Manager. The name isn’t as important as the responsibility. And, the responsibility is huge. A well thought out plan for specialists is an important part of a high performance organization. If you are a specialist you should begin thinking about expanding your influence on the bottom line. If you are a manager, you should begin thinking about further empowering your specialist organization.

Five ideas to get you started

1. Does your sales force know what to expect from its specialists? If not, you should define expectations, lay out rules of engagement, and determine who does what in the sales process.
2. Do you (as a specialist) evaluate the performance of your sales force on a monthly basis? If not, start next month with a very simple measure of sales effectiveness per salesperson. A point to consider: objective is better than subjective. FOCUS analysis is a great tool.
3. Do you have quarterly meetings with your manager/management team to discuss the biggest opportunities and most important threats? If not, schedule the meeting now. Remember, specialists deliver digested data. You are paid for your expert opinion, not for your ability to dump data.
4. Have you prepared a 90-day sliding marketing calendar? Major demos, product launches and promotions take time to set up properly. Every specialist should have his/her own, so don’t be fooled if the company has a “master plan.” If you do not have this spelled out in writing, start doing it now.
5. Do you know who/where your best prospects for growth will come from? If not, spend some time thinking about this list.

Frank Hurtte and River Heights Consulting are dedicated to help distributors achieve more for their efforts. Frank has developed a very unique training system for distributor specialists. He can be reached at (563) 514-1104 or frankehurtte@riverheightsconsulting.com.

This article originally appeared in the July/August 2009 edition of Industrial Supply magazine. Copyright 2009, Direct Business Media, LLC.

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