Evolving customer expectations, increased competition, supply chain disruption, talent shortages, and technology changes have made it hard for independent distributors to compete and gain leverage against national competitors.
Your sales team must have the tools and education to adapt, transform, and overcome.
In the NetPlus Alliance Fourth Quarter 2023 Industry Outlook Survey, 83% of distributor respondents said they are prioritizing selling more to existing customers in 2024; many plan to grow this year in existing geographies. A quarter of respondents said they are looking to diversify their product offering.
To do this successfully, they’ll need to train their sales team and other customer-facing staff to build the knowledge required to grow. This goes beyond job skills. Instead, distributors should offer their teams comprehensive training that covers product knowledge, industry insights, communication skills, technology proficiency, and customer service.
About half of our members who responded to our quarterly survey plan to increase the training of their team members in 2024.
The most successful distribution businesses have training programs that teach teams how to do their jobs and prepare them to grow and evolve within the organization. Here are four types of training to incorporate into your plan:
Product and application training is crucial for closing sales as knowledge builds trust, solidifies relationships, and helps customers overcome challenges. However, learning the features and benefits of every product line can be overwhelming without manufacturer support. Building relationships with your preferred suppliers can simplify and improve training with hands-on demonstrations, online training, and one-on-one support.
The customer life cycle is complex. With thousands of products, rapidly changing buyer behaviors, and multiple purchasing channels, distributors are turning to technology to create efficiencies in their sales and marketing. A well-implemented CRM system can help track customer interactions, identify sales opportunities, and manage the sales pipeline more efficiently. But it’s not enough to integrate CRM; you must train your team to use it.
We’re seeing more and more experienced employees either reach retirement age or leave the industry altogether. As a result, distributors are tasked with attracting new talent to take their place, often with little industry or job-related experience. Plus, the industry requires a workforce that is adaptable and continuously learning.
To meet these challenges, distributors must expand their job training programs to include soft skills like:
60% of salespeople say taking the time to understand the key business challenges customers face is an important factor in making a sale in B2B.
For distributors, customer satisfaction is about more than the product alone. How they engage with and provide value to their customers is critical to differentiating from their competition. Customers expect timely delivery, a personalized experience, and proactive problem-solving. Consultative selling prioritizes relationships and finding solutions to customer needs. Training your team how to uncover those pain points can go a long way to developing customer relationships that last.
The NetPlus Academy, powered by BlueVolt, is our online training academy that offers over 1,000 industry specific courses from 48 preferred suppliers.
The platform is free for NetPlus distributor members, and they can use these courses to train their existing teams or onboard new sales professionals.
We also host onsite supplier training events throughout the year. Click here to view upcoming trainings.
Through the NetPlus Academy, powered by BlueVolt, you can find:
NetPlus has also invested in OpenSesame to offer members access to a diverse array of business-related training courses. These courses encompass topics such as Excel, sales training, marketing, customer service, and more. All of this content is available on the NetPlus Academy, powered by BlueVolt.
Why is sales training important?
Upskilling your team today helps you succeed tomorrow. Beyond onboarding, training can help your business build brand value, create a competitive edge, teach employees valuable soft skills, encourage collaboration, and help you sustain long-term growth. Training also has a direct impact on sales. When your team knows your products and their applications in the markets you serve, they feel more comfortable selling them.
Learn more about how engagement with the NetPlus Academy powered by BlueVolt, can improve your bottom line. Read: Why Training is Important: Benefits, Savings and Beyond
Here are just a few ways NetPlus Alliance distributor members have experienced success from engaging in online training programs available through the NetPlus Academy:
Dunlap Industrial Hardware Inc. completed over 400 courses on the NetPlus Academy, powered by BlueVolt in 2023.
General manager Rich Barnett said: “All of our staff took courses on the NetPlus Academy, powered by BlueVolt. One of my younger salespeople made a point of learning a certain product category. During a conversation, he began to explain specifics regarding a tool. The store manager asked, ‘How did you know that?’ The salesperson said that he learned it in class.”
Barnett was pleased with how every staff member found value in the coursework. “One minute, you are just selling a product, then you take a class and learn more about the background of that product, its benefits, how it’s used, and what goes into it. Next thing you know, you hear a salesperson discussing what they learned with another salesperson. That knowledge helps our people’s product knowledge and confidence when explaining the benefits and use of tools to our customers.”
Action Fasteners & Supply is another example of a distributor member that included training in their growth plans.
Tanner Chaffin, who is the owner of Action Fasters, has been actively exploring courses on the NetPlus Academy, powered by BlueVolt since 2021. In 2023, Chaffin decided to have Action Fasteners employees complete a 20-course challenge.
“The courses provide a great base of knowledge for new hires, especially. We’ve had to hire more staff, and with the current challenges of the labor force, we have hired some people with no industry experience. This helps us hire the right person and then train them for their role. The NetPlus Academy, powered by BlueVolt helped get them up to speed.”
Beyond sales training, Chaffin also said the online training has helped warehouse and sales staff better identify products, spot mistakes, investigate inconsistencies, and address them before they become problems.
Cheryl Hoffman-Coniglio and Christian Coniglio from C&C Supply Company didn’t anticipate experiencing additional benefits from their NetPlus membership beyond the supplier rebates.
“We initially joined NetPlus Alliance because their robust rebate program guaranteed us an immediate ROI. However, we quickly realized the NetPlus benefits went far beyond the rebate: from ongoing product training and education to maximizing our relationships and buying power with suppliers.”
If you're already a NetPlus member, find out how to kickstart your team's engagement on the NetPlus Academy, powered by BlueVolt platform, today by contacting us.
Curious about the benefits of NetPlus Alliance? Fill out our consultation form, and we'll connect with you to share more information if we believe you're a good fit.