Genuine Parts on Thursday reported third-quarter profit of $227.5 million, the same as a year earlier. Overall sales of $4.37 billion declined from a year earlier, with automotive sales up 6% and industrial sales down 18.6%.
Watsco on Thursday said it earned $106 million in the third quarter on revenue of $1.54 billion. Revenue was up 10% overall, with a 15% gain in same-store US sales.
How retailers should embrace the new normal The pandemic has reshaped consumer behaviors and the customer experience, most likely permanently. As we look to 2021, retailers need to focus on planning for the future with strategies that meet both the immediate and long-term needs of their customers and maximize the potential of all their sales channels. Join SmartBrief and retail industry experts to explore how the retail landscape has changed this year and how retailers can succeed in 2021.
With e-commerce projected to reach $4.5 trillion worldwide by next year, cybercriminals will respond with all the tools at their disposal, including phishing attacks and e-skimmers, which steal personal information from websites. David Lukic of IDstrong.com has a checklist for how buyers and sellers should handle cybersecurity and eventual data breaches.
Business-to-business marketers should be evolving to collaborate closely with sales on top-of-the-funnel activities and focusing more attention on customer retention and expansion, writes Demandbase's Jon Miller. Marketing and sales need to operate as one team, with each owning the right activities, to effectively operate in a multichannel world, Miller writes.
Your video setup, how you present yourself and how you connect emotionally are three distinct but equally important parts to how you act like a leader during online interactions, writes Scott Eblin. "If you want to be the energizing online leader, be intentional about taking the time to connect on a personal level at the beginning and end of meetings," he writes.
According to David Bauders, CEO of SPARXiQ Intelligent Sales and Profit Acceleration, "As modern buyers have embraced self-service (via internet searches, social media and e-commerce platforms) for much of their buyer journey, the need for traditional sellers who provide product information -- and even application insights -- has dropped radically. Buyers complete 70 percent of their journey before they even engage with sellers. COVID-19 has accelerated the pressures to boost productivity and elevate sales teams' value-add." Read his post.
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Designed for C-suite executives, these virtual roundtables provide actionable strategies that will help put your COVID-19 recovery plan in place! Companies belonging to this community are from distribution firms between $100 million and up to a billion in annual sales. You'll engage in robust conversations with your peers and hear from industry experts on topics to help your business transition to the new normal -- all in the comfort of your own office/home! Register today.
