Linde earned $978 million in the third quarter, up 42% from the year-ago period. The industrial gases company had sales of $7.67 billion, a 12% increase.

Lawson Products earned $3.7 million in the third quarter on revenue of $105.6 million, with both figures up from a year ago. Lawson's organic sales growth was 8.4% when removing revenue from its acquisition of Partsmaster.

LKQ had third-quarter profit of $284.06 million on revenue of $3.30 billion, both increasing from a year earlier.

Companies with operational resilience have treated the issue as a leadership priority that trickles down to every level of the business, according to this McKinsey analysis. This approach is especially important for industrial companies, as McKinsey shares examples from manufacturers related to outsourcing production, what assets to prioritize and managing risk in supply chains.

Business-to-business marketers can be more successful by using empathy in five key ways, starting by understanding why prospects are seeking a new solution and showing how their brand can solve particular pain points, Nick Vasilikaris writes. Research trends and keywords to create content that's relevant to each stage of the buying journey, communicate your unique value across social media and other channels, and show customers that your brand is invested in their success, Vasilikaris recommends.

It may be time to reassess and adjust sales quotas when salespeople are regularly missing their targets, writes Susan McCullin. On an individual level, foster improvement by helping sales representatives focus upon their strengths while shoring up weaknesses.

Avoid micromanaging your team by giving them clear guidance on what success looks like, a system of regular progress reports, motivation to meet deadlines and an accountability process, writes Know Your Team CEO Claire Lew. "True team accountability is about doing everything you can to create the clearest possible picture for what needs to get done and why, and sharing as much context as possible to achieve those expectations," Lew writes.

Many distributors experience the paradox of watching marketplaces grow sales at explosive rates while seemingly seeing no sales erosion to Amazon Business, etc., themselves. How can this be? What is the nature of the threat? When will it affect you? Most importantly, what should you do about it? Discover the answer to these questions and more on Nov. 2 at 2 p.m. ET by registering today!

This 4-part series will take you from AI-unsure to AI-adopter through a riveting compilation of live webinars, thought-provoking articles and actionable whitepapers! You will gain the intel you need to formulate new strategies and ensure that your company thrives through this era of technology transformation. Register for this month's upcoming webinar "Understanding AI and How it Works" and learn the basics of Artificial Intelligence and how to understand business conversations about it.

Join NAW for an industry-wide virtual event for distribution CEOs on Tuesday, Nov. 9 from 2-3:30 p.m. Tailored specifically to CEOs of distribution companies with annual sales up to $80 million, the discussion will focus on the future of the distribution industry salesforce during a period of rapid post-pandemic change. NAW Institute Fellow Brent Grover will lead the discussion -- you don't want to miss out! Register today!