News and Trends

• Cardinal CEO looks to improve Supply Chain Medical
  Cardinal Health Inc. hopes to improve the outlook of Supply Chain Medical, the drug wholesaler-distributor's medical lab and surgical equipment distribution business, CEO R. Kerry Clark said in a conference call. "...I do think the business can be fixed and I really do think we're going to start to see noticeable signs of turnaround by the second half," he said. Reuters (6/27)

• Supreme Court votes to remove price floor ban
  The Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a 5-4 decision that manufacturers and retailers can set price floors on products if the minimum prices promote competition, overturning a 96-year-old ban on such practices. The longtime ruling "is inappropriate, and there is now widespread agreement" that price floors can boost retail competition, wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy in support of the ruling. Read NAW's legal advisory here. Modern Distribution Management (6/28) , The Examiner (Washington, D.C.)/Associated Press (6/28)

• Report: Vision problems cost businesses $8B per year
  Uncorrected vision problems among U.S. workers cost businesses about $8 billion a year in lost productivity, according to a new report. The costs exceed $1 billion in 18 states and $500 million in 13 other states, according to the state-by-state analysis. Forbes/HealthDay News (6/26)

• Other News

• Xpedx to increase Canada operations
  The Cincinnati Enquirer (6/25)

Best Practices

• Recruit top talent
  Recruit and retain the best employees by exhibiting qualities that workers value, including truthfulness, transparency and integrity. Analyze and adjust your organizational structure so that it incorporates a high-performance culture and grows great leaders, which will appeal to high-potential prospects. FastCompany.com (6/25)

• Stand your ground to make headway
  There may come a time at work when you need to stand up for an opinion or defend your actions. Taking a stance or putting your foot down can be difficult, but changes can occur if you are organized, remain calm and stay focused on the issue at hand. Forbes (6/19)

Sales

• Forget type A or B, what's your sales personality type?
  Each salesperson has his or her own style of selling. One columnist breaks down these selling personality types into three categories, Finders, who are aggressive and competitive yet impatient with paperwork; Minders, who focus on building relationships and on customer service; and Grinders, who persevere and reject rejection. Every salesperson should identify their dominant style and build off these strengths to improve success. Entrepreneur (6/2007)

Hot Topics

Top five news stories selected by NAW SmartBrief readers in the past week.

• New owners' plans for HD Supply (Modern Distribution Management)

• Hagemeyer announces planned CEO resignation (Modern Distribution Management)

• Successful sales plans: All about timing (DaveKahle.com)

• Southwest courts business travelers (MarketWatch)

• Pay attention to customer objections (American City Business Journals)

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

Small Business Manager

• Protect SMBs from Internet threats
  Secure your small business from crimeware, a general term for technology that steals financial information and other sensitive data, by utilizing easy-to-use and widely available security solutions. Focus on protecting your assets by choosing worry-free monitoring technology with manageable components that allow you to install and forget about it, while still being protected. SmartBIZ (6/26)

Executive Life

• Without further ado: The iPhone
  Apple's widely hyped and speculated iPhone hit store shelves Friday, amid consumer frenzy that rivals or surpasses that of any product launch in recent history. The phone, which converges a media player, Web browser and cellular device, has raised Apple stock prices more than 30% since its January unveiling. ClipSyndicate (6/29) , Reuters (6/29) , The Dallas Morning News/Associated Press (6/29)

• Savannah savors the past with an eye on the future
  Georgia's gem, Savannah, long has been one of the loveliest cities in America, says a writer in The New York Times, with its 21 squares around which the heart of the town is organized. Now, the city boasts a developing art scene, bolstered by civic boosters working to position the area as the "Creative Coast." The New York Times (7/1)

NAW Insider

• Download key economic data on your line of trade
  Download immediately individual economic analysis reports that are most relevant to your business from the 19 major wholesale distribution sectors in the 2007 Wholesale Distribution Economic Reports. These reports supply a wealth of channel benchmarking data, including revenue and employment growth trends, the number and size distribution of companies, gross margins, wages and many other operating statistics. Quantity discounts apply.

• Brand-new 5 Fundamentals for the Wholesale Distribution Sales Manager
  This book from the NAW Institute for Distribution Excellence offers a practical but powerful approach for taking your sales force to the next level. It includes essential theories, key concepts and real-world stories taken from the front lines of wholesale distribution. Use this book as a foundation to help you become an effective, high-performing sales manager. Order your copies today!

Weekly Poll

• According to the Entrepreneur article featured in today's SmartBrief, which best describes your sales personality?
  After voting once, check out the real-time poll results on NAW's All Access page as often as you'd like.

	Type F -- aggressive, competitive and impatient
	Type M -- a people-person and a relationship builder
	Type G -- relentless but not flashy or fuzzy
	A combination of two or more

Branch Manager Northeastern Supply Inc Brentwood, MD Vice President of Sales and Field Operations Louis and Company Brea, CA

Editor's Note

• Publishing notice
  In observance of the U.S. Fourth of July holiday, NAW SmartBrief originally scheduled to be published Wednesday, will be published Tuesday, July 3.

Featured Content

SmartQuote

Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow; Don't walk behind me, I may not lead; Walk beside me, and just be my friend." --Albert Camus, Nobel Prize-winning French writer