Jason on Moneyball for Distribution

"The old sales process is dead and, frankly, good riddance. " ~Jason Bader Can a decade-old film about baseball provide fresh ideas for distribution? In this rare solo episode, Jason talks with you about driving company growth using the intelligence you already have at hand. As a self-professed data junkie, it's no great leap for Jason to pull cues from Moneyball while discussing the lessons he's learned at his day job as a consultant. The 2011 true story follows Billy Beane, the general manager of a middling baseball team, as he becomes first in the major leagues to embrace economic algorithms as a tool for uncovering value - in his case, underrated and, therefore, underpriced players. The gut instincts of seasoned field scouts couldn't override empirical evidence: intelligent analysis saves money and wins games.  In baseball, the data begins with an analysis of past performance. In distribution, past transactional data provides the foundation upon which to build new customer avatars and expand current client profiles. T his data allows businesses to grow sales by understanding what people are currently doing versus what they could be doing in the future. Business intelligence prompts smarter questions and provides more precise answers. That information translates into more efficient and more profitable sales teams. If COVID has taught us anything, it's that the old ways of courting and calling on customers are dead. And good riddance, too. The worldwide reset has forced companies to address wasted time and energy, own up to mediocrity in their sales process, and get serious about their survival. All distributors have to do is extract (and use!) the data they've already collected.  Just like Beane did with his 2002 Oakland A's. *** Distribution Talk is produced by The Distribution Team, a consulting services firm dedicated to helping wholesale distribution clients remove barriers to profitability, generate wealth and achieve personal goals.    http://www.distributionteam.com This episode was edited & mixed by The Creative Impostor Studios.  Connect with Jason Bader on LinkedIn. If you need any help out there in your distribution business, reach out to Jason.  Thank you for helping drive this podcast over the year. Have a safe and happy holiday. And, hey, let's look forward to 2021. Special thanks to our sponsor for this episode: INxSQL Distribution Software, integrated distribution ERP software designed for the wholesale and distribution industry.