I had a fantastic summer which included renewing a number of work relationships that have stood the test of a career shift to stay lasting friendships. I also had the distinct honour of being invited to join my former team as they were wrapping up a meeting that included all of their Canadian employees. I…

I was sitting at my desk thinking I needed to come up with some fresh content for my website blog which in turn would anchor my monthly newsletter. Maybe it was because of the summer and being in “vacation mode” but I had nothing. Then as I was scrolling through Twitter, I came across a…

You may have seen me teasing the launch of a new business venture and then kicking off MarketsConnection.com at the ISSA Show in Toronto several weeks ago. I realize this begs some questions: What does this mean for the Shade’s Mills Group? And also: What is exactly is MarketsConnection and how do the two businesses…

As you go digging into sales strategies and sales models, you will encounter a whole new language that is acronym rich! For several years now I have been keeping a document where I will jot down a new term and then find an explanation or a definition. Seeing as it has been some time since…

Our Tom Fournier joins Tom Gale, CEO of Modern Distribution Management to discuss the world of selling jan-san products in the Canadian B2B market.

A number of things that I have been working on has me thinking about the inventory that a distributor holds. What metrics do distributors use to measure their inventory in terms of their business performance? I have come across the term:  GMROI That is Gross Margin Return on Investment. GMROI evaluates profitability of your inventory…

It has been several months since I made available a self assessment for B2B sales strategies and sales effectiveness. I really encourage you to try the test.  It is fast, insightful and does not cost anyone. You can take the survey here: SURVEY If you do so, I will also send back a scorecard showing…