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10 FEDA News & Views The push for more collaboration throughout the channel has been a major priority of FEDA President Brad Pierce since taking office, so it's not surprising that much of the talk at this year's FEDA Convention focused on win-wins. "We're all on the same team, and when we work together," noted Pierce from the podium, "it's better for all of us collectively and it's better for the industry as a whole." Along with NAFEM President Mike Whiteley, he moderated the "Dealer/Manufacturer Best Practices" panel discussion. The goal being to highlight acts, on both sides of the aisle, that not only strengthens distributor/ supplier relations, but also yields value-adds for all parties involved, including a superior level of service for the end user. Two topics that warranted more time than the format: the merit of joint sales calls and the use of supplier performance scorecards. More specifics are covered in the following two articles below, in addition to insights from this year's convention speakers, and plenty of convention photos. going to work together on pricing and not abuse the relation- ship as the account gets bigger. "It all comes down to picking the right partner," he says. "We use the term a lot in our industry but we don't act like part- ners as much as we should. But when you do, and you have a positive experience, it makes you want to repeat it." Recently, it was the decision to include the supplier partner, and rep, in the early stages of courtship that really helped Pierce's company, Restaurant Equipment World, win a choice piece of repeat business. "The customer even commented, 'Wow, you guys really do work with the manufacturer,'" says Pierce. "Everyone that walks through the door says they are the best and works with the best, and they all have super-tight relationships and support. For the customer, a new player in the industry, it was refreshing to see that we weren't just providing lip service. Having the manufacturer and rep sitting right in front of them, confirmed that they would have access CONTINUING THE DIALOGUE Takeaways from the 2015 FEDA Convention Why Joint Sales Calls are a Good Idea There's a lot of upside to a dealer and supplier tagteaming on a sale, yet you tend to hear more about the risks—like walking into a call with a partner that's not prepared or being sideswiped by an ill-advised quote. But for many in the chan- nel, lack of trust seems to be what's preventing more dealers and suppliers from leveraging their strengths and capitalizing on a potential competitive advantage. Sometimes it's the dealer that's concerned about the manufacturer/rep leaking a lead or going direct, other times it's the manufacturer that's slow to partner for fear of being beat up over pricing, or a dealer swapping out a spec. "There's hesitation on all sides," says FEDA President Brad Pierce. "Every dealer has had a bad experience with a rogue manufacturer or rep that decided they could put a few extra dollars in their pocket by damaging that trust. And the manu- facturer also needs a commitment from the dealer that they're T h e M e rit s o f Pe rf o r m anc e Sc o r e ca r d s 2015 CONVENTION See Page 12