For many distributors, the last price paid is the go-to price. Salespeople know it worked last time, so they use it again. But over the past several years, more distributors have invested in pricing software to help them hit the right price – and not just the lowest or highest – on each transaction.
IRCG Managing Partner Mike Marks recently joined PROS Director of Industry Marketing Sean Duclaux to discuss the power of data in a National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors webinar, “Realizing Revenue and Profit Growth for Wholesale Distributors.”
“The key thing with data is it’s not about getting a high price. It’s how do you figure out what the right price is,” Marks says. When you use data strategically and get rid of prices that are at the bottom, the margin will go up. With the right prices, you stop giving things away. “But it doesn’t work if you don’t have the data.”
It’s not about taking flexibility away from an individual distributor salesperson, Marks says. Instead, you’re giving them better information to make better decisions. “Give them the insight. This is a flexible process. It’s not rigid, which can hurt distribution.”
