Home Depot's pro sales increased by over 30% in the first quarter, "the fourth consecutive quarter of accelerating growth and the best quarterly growth rate on record," says President and Chief Operating Officer Ted Decker. Pro customers have been spending more thanks to the company's acquisition of HD Supply, Chairman and CEO Craig Menear says.

Ace Hardware has marketed itself during the pandemic as the place to go for high-quality products and neighborly assistance, drawing "more women, more younger buyers and more new home owners," says Chief Marketing Officer Kim Lefko. Meanwhile, CEO John Venhuizen predicts that demand for home improvement products will continue after the pandemic.

Technical and community colleges in multiple states are promoting the benefits of trucking careers and offering certification for commercial driver's licenses in an attempt to overcome a shortage of drivers.

Warehouse growth this year is being driven by import distribution and traditional logistics, according to a report by real estate services firm JLL. Space will especially be at a premium in the New York-New Jersey area and Southern California, the report says.

Use storytelling to convey the value of your business-to-business company in an engaging, entertaining way that also boosts brand awareness, writes Marketing Labs CEO Matt Janaway, who offers four other B2B content tips. These include inviting guest contributors to write content to boost your brand's authority and diversifying content to include video, visuals and copy.

The shift to remote sales during the pandemic will continue to change how outside salespeople work, with shorter meetings and fewer close relationships with buyers, writes Jack Keough. There eventually will be "fewer and better" outside salespeople, says sales trainer Dave Kahle.

Any leader can become self-serving if they find themselves constantly arguing for their point of view, envying others, regularly interrupting or boasting about their success, writes Lolly Daskal. "Few things can do more to undermine your influence, respect and trust," she writes.

Are you well-informed about different best practices and knowledge in our industry? If not, NAW's Top 10 E-book List can help get you up-to-speed quickly so you and your business can stay competitive in these challenging times.

According to Brent Johnstone, "Most distributors suffer from breakdowns in what we call the 'peak performance cycle' for any high-functioning distributor: Assess, Compete, Transform, or 'ACT.' The critical aspect of this framework is that it preserves and provides laser focus for your most precious asset -- your time -- and helps prioritize where you spend it. Do you know best practices, and are you following them? As established in NAW's perennial bestseller, "Optimizing Distributor Profitability," there are 47 distribution best practices that drive performance across seven core functional disciplines." Read his post.

NAW and Distribution Strategy Group have teamed up on a seven-part free series called, "Adding Value in a Post-Pandemic World: New Leadership Strategies for Distributors." We focus on innovative ways for distributors to differentiate themselves from industry disruptors. Distributors will understand the challenges facing the industry, and will be armed with new modes of thinking and information to build robust strategies with staying power. Each part includes a free research report to download and a free webinar to watch live and on demand. Sponsored by Oracle Netsuite, Zoro, Conexiom and McFadyen Digital.