The Fastener Distributor Index from FCH Sourcing Network and R.W. Baird came in at 57.6 in November, a 1.5 percentage point gain from October and the second consecutive monthly increase. However, distributors are increasingly concerned about labor shortages.

Ferguson's US sales for the first quarter rose 27%, 25% of it organic. The company reported overall income of $6.80 billion, which also was up from a year ago.

Imperial Dade has acquired American Paper & Twine, a Nashville, Tenn., company that recently sold its main building for $17 million. No price was disclosed for the transaction.

Businesses need to focus on resilience, agility and digital transformation to manage such challenges as supply chain volatility, labor shortages, higher production costs and decarbonization requirements, according to this McKinsey report. One McKinsey survey noted that nearly all manufacturing and supply chains had been disrupted by COVID-19, yet less than one in six respondents had made significant changes.

Virtual selling has resulted in fewer field salespeople for each inside salesperson in distribution, says Andrew Horvath of Alexander Group. The growth of remote sales has been "a big shift" for sales managers, who are increasingly focusing on coaching, Horvath says.

Prospects won't read sales emails that aren't relevant to the recipient, with Dave Brock sharing his experience getting spammed by sponsors after signing up for a webinar. Such automated emails should focus on the topic at hand instead of random product and service information, Brock writes.

First impressions aren't necessarily accurate, but they leave an imprint, so be ready to make eye contact, be sincere and use open, positive body language, writes BetterUp executive Shonna Waters, who offers nine such tips. If you make a bad first impression, you can recover, but you'll need the self-awareness to recognize your error and the discipline to consistently show up better, Waters writes.