News and Trends

• Why distributors' advisory boards should include outsiders
  Distributors can benefit from having an advisory panel that is made up of outsiders who are experienced businesspeople and can provide real insight and objective opinions. Creating an advisory board is "one of the best things I've ever done," said Julia Klein, president and CEO of building materials distributor CH Briggs Co. Modern Distribution Management (7/10)

• Brightstar gets multimillion-dollar investment
  Brightstar has secured a $283 million equity investment from investment firm Lindsay Goldberg, which the wireless equipment distributor said it plans to use to expand its global operations and finance a European subsidiary. cellular-news (U.K.) (7/11)

• Tech Data makes deal with Virtual Iron
  Tech Data Corp. has signed a deal with virtualization vendor Virtual Iron, under which the distributor will offer a complete line of Virtual Iron's server virtualization and management solutions. eWeek (7/10)

Best Practices

• Companies maximize diversity
  Businesses are becoming more diverse to better function, compete and succeed in today's global market. That means tailoring policies and adapting business strategies to fit multiple languages, different religious backgrounds and cultural nuances. "Diversity is at the heart of globalization. It's happening across economies on a global scale, and it will only grow in the future," said the CEO of diversity-consulting firm Virtcom Consulting. USA TODAY (7/8)

• How to cope with generational gaps
  Managers today are challenged to address the needs of multigenerational groups of employees who have a variety of work approaches and expectations. Although baby boomers still make up the majority of the workplace, they're more often sharing space with younger employees. Managers may need to reassess their approach to subordinates as a result. The Wall Street Journal (7/9)

Sales

• Develop pricing strategy that achieves top profit
  Keeping a competitive advantage is more about value than price, and in developing a pricing strategy, companies should consider a number of factors. "Profit is not a dirty word," this business strategy expert asserts, and he offers suggestions for appropriately pricing services or products. CEO Strategist (6/28)

Hot Topics

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

• Parker Hannifin to acquire Mitos Tech (Progressive Distributor)

• Watsco to buy HVAC products distributor (Modern Distribution Management)

• Wolseley accumulates five more bolt-on acquisitions (Modern Distribution Management)

• Is casual Friday a goner? (MSNBC)

• Counter sales people on the front lines of your business (CEO Strategist)

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

Small Business Manager

• How beneficial is incorporation?
  While each case is unique, most companies won't gain a significant tax advantage by becoming incorporated. "The marginal tax rates for corporations with taxable incomes between $75,000 and $335,000 are actually higher than the marginal tax rates for an individual with equivalent earnings," one expert says. BusinessWeek (7/11)

Executive Life

• Apple users can program Macs to find favorite shows
  Macintosh users can rely on a program called TV Forecast to create their own guide to favorite shows. After the user selects favorite shows, the software will look up the airtimes and, when a show is clicked, launch the browser to a site that provides detailed information. Akron Beacon Journal (Ohio) (7/13)

• Study: Dairy will help maintain healthy metabolism
  Consuming milk and other dairy products can help protect against metabolic syndrome, which includes central obesity, hypertension, and disturbed glucose and insulin metabolism, a European study found. DairyReporter.com (7/12)

NAW Insider

• Cost effective Virtual Terminal through Solveras
  NAW teams with Solveras to provide wholesaler-distributors with the latest processing technology. Virtual Terminal allows processing from any computer with Internet access. It provides businesses lower cost card-not-present transactions. Mail, telephone orders can be processed through secure Web-based application that's easy to use. Get a FREE savings analysis to see the program savings. For information, visit http://www.solveras.com/naw.html or call (800) 613-0148.

• Now distributors can quote prices with greater confidence
  NAW's Price For Success: An Online Course for the Wholesale Distribution Sales Team shows your inside and outside salesforce how to quote prices with complete confidence that they are striking the correct balance between pleasing the customer and achieving the company's profit goals.

Weekly Poll

• Is your business incorporated?
  After voting once, check out the real-time poll results on NAW's All Access page as often as you'd like.

	Yes
	We are in the process
	Not yet, but we may consider it in the future
	No, and we have no plans to incorporate

Accounts Payable Supervisor Headco Industries, Inc. Broadview, Illinois Sales and Marketing Manager Plumbing Market Border States Electric Supply Harlingen, Texas Distribution Center - Logistics Manager GRAINGER Niles, IL (Chicago) Branch Operations Manager Erie Bearings Co. Meadville, PA

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It is not so important to know everything as to appreciate what we learn." --Hannah More, British philanthropist and writer