Brandon Hull - Latest Comments

Re: Coworker endorsements on LinkedIn

Brandon Hull — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 16:20:50 -0000

Yeah, the first thing I'm going to do when reading someone's endorsement is look at the profile of the person endorsing. If a person has 47 endorsements, that might say something on its own. But if it's, say, 4 testimonials, WHO those people are tells me as much as what they said about the person.

Re: Coworker endorsements on LinkedIn

Chris — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 10:53:09 -0000

Brandon, I couldn't agree more. While I appreciate friends and acquaintances doing what they feel is a "favor," if they've never worked with me or even know what my job entails, they're really not a credible reference. I think that while LinkedIn had a good idea, employers are wise to the fact that there's not much meaning behind these "endorsements" because there's no way of knowing if it's my own mother endorsing my skills at "complex database marketing via CRM" or someone who actually knows what that is.

Re: How would you make Barnes Distribution more social?

Brandon Hull — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 18:57:51 -0000

My response had to do with the fact that my original post had nothing to do with any of those issues. It was a constructive take on how to make an old-school company catch up with the times a bit, from a marketing and customer engagement standpoint. This isn't really a great place to vent about internal company policies and commission percentages.

Re: How would you make Barnes Distribution more social?

Poopinthewoods — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 14:23:17 -0000

Well that's kind of a rude response. I value your opinion Maldrine. Thanks for posting.

Re: How would you make Barnes Distribution more social?

Blala — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 03:07:56 -0000

I worked for these God forsaken KKK nutbags...1% commission most often, managers get 95% of the gross profit...the rep gets 1%...HR is hateful to the field reps...the managers are sadistic bullies and ignorant and incompetent...customer service personnel are dumber than mud and screw up daily and often, giving the field reps a harder time retaining the customer accounts and the customers take the screw ups out on the filed reps...overpriced, often China import fastners,just a greedy company and apparently with an aetheistic and discriminatory philosophy. I have been there (to hell and back) SO RUN AWAY WHILE YOU CAN. THEY NEVER PAY UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS AND WILL BURN YOUR REPUTATION IN ORDER NOT TO PAY OUT.07.25.12

Re: On keeping a business journal

Brandon Hull — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 11:56:40 -0000

Hi David,

Great question. Here's the super-quick answer to the question: My most personal thoughts and ideas aren't published when they're still just being formulated. Period. If I'm just brainstorming, or kicking around some thoughts, I write, write, write, in that business journal. That's it. They're not online.

Re: On keeping a business journal

David — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 15:18:15 -0000

Brandon, Thanks for the post. I've been considering keeping a business journal (I've done it in the past with some success), but I'm a little concerned about privacy. Some of my best thoughts are not necessarily things I want others to read. How do you handle this issue?
David

Re: Groupon: Can you really count on the ROI?

Brandon Hull — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 15:48:43 -0000

Thanks Geoffrey. I updated the post to show a few more articles that I've discovered or have published since my post, regarding retention rates and who really wins in this wonderful series of calculations.

Re: Whoa little fella, you’re not speaking my language

Brandon Hull — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 18:58:10 -0000

Thanks to you too, Dave. I'm busy digging into onyourmarket.com as well. Love your stuff -- just discovered it within the last week or so.

Re: Whoa little fella, you’re not speaking my language

Dave Young — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 13:18:13 -0000

Thanks for noticing! Great addition with the Tommy Boy vid!

Re: Groupon: Can you really count on the ROI?

Guest — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 13:54:08 -0000

Regarding your comment: "And heck, returning once per month for the next year? What’s that metric based on?" That is a very good question. It might be right or it might not. A little analysis up-front can go a long way for the small business owner I think. Great post to share with your community @brandhull

Re: Your restaurant’s Foursquare strategy in one post

jvinch — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 14:30:11 -0000

Brandon - I agree, nicely put. Multiple specials would be nice - or they'd
do what Facebook Places seem to offer; time-sensitive specials. A few days a
week a new customer special, other times a frequency-based one - without
expecting the venue owner to babysit the whole thing.

Thanks for your insights on this one.

Re: Your restaurant’s Foursquare strategy in one post

Brandon Hull — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 14:08:06 -0000

Thanks Jan for commenting and the additional thoughts. To answer your question...

I like the Frequency special because it encourages the one thing bars/restaurants need badly right now: frequent, loyal customers. If I ONLY reward them for that first check-in, it's all that one food/service/atmosphere experience. If I reward them every 3 check-ins, let's say, I'm encouraging that repetitive behavior.

But also, I'm tapping into this:

From the Foursquare "player" or user's perspective...If I see there's a special available at a specific venue, even if that special only rewards a third check-in, but I've never tried the place...I might be willing to give it a try. The reason is I know two things about this place before even stepping foot inside.

1) I know this is a pretty hip, social media-savvy place to be placing specials on Foursquare to begin with. They think like me.

2) If I do like this place, I'm now just two steps away from that reward.

But obviously, with or without Foursquare, the bar/restaurant still has to nail that food/service/atmosphere experience.

Your comment also points out the need for Foursquare to open things up and allow for multiple specials.

Re: Your restaurant’s Foursquare strategy in one post

jvinch — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 10:21:17 -0000

Good stuff, Brandon. Why do you prefer the frequency special (rewarding existing clients) over a new business special that unlocks on first check-in? In general, I do think frequency and count specials are easiest to administer - especially because the special can't be unlocked unless the customer qualifies - that makes things a lot easier for staff on a busy day. In my opinion, the non-automated claim process (where staff has to verify whether someone is eligible) is a bridge too far for many starting Foursquare projects.

Re: The world of social media experts

Brandon Hull — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 16:59:15 -0000

Thanks for the compliment, Mark. You said what needed to be said...I'm just piggybacking.

Re: The world of social media experts

Mark W Schaefer — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 11:50:46 -0000

This is a fantastic extension of the discussion on the original post, Brandon. Well, said. Thanks for being a member of the {grow} blog community!!

@markwschaefer

Re: How would you make Barnes Distribution more social?

Brandon Hull — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 16:48:02 -0000

No involvement whatsoever with Barnes on this, as there will be none with future companies I select for this exercise. No survey. No conversations. Nothing.

Re: How would you make Barnes Distribution more social?

Ralph — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 16:42:59 -0000

Brandon, would you be honest enough with us readers to say if you are conducting a survey for Barnes on this topic or are looking for some type of re-employment with the results of the research?
I just couldn't imagine your interest in this without return benefit. Thanks for letting us know.

Re: How would you make Barnes Distribution more social?

ABC — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 12:35:46 -0000

Everything here ties back into 2 issues.
1st is bottom line profit. While MSC and Fastenal have expanded over the years, gaining more market share, Barnes has consolidated locations, (SSG's, store fronts and warehouses) and relied on it's field sales people and field management to retain, penetrate and add new customers and new business.
Product training for a variety of MRO product is available on the company Webb site. Right or wrong, company sponsored Social networking VIA utube and other outlets may reduce the need for direct CSR interface and could even have an adverse effect by customers using it to support purchases from competitors.
Secondly is bottom line profit. The workhorse of the company is the field sales rep. The constant erosion of the (senior) commissioned sales reps (due to earnings and reductions in commissions) is creating an influx of new (salaried) employees from the most current generation with little or no experience in the MRO field. I could go on and on but you have to consider that if the priority is not to keep your reps earnings at a scale commensurate with their responsibilities and expenses, how much importance can one expect to be placed on Social networking?
You have some good ideas and when Barnes hires you back to implement them, please remember these comments. Regards, ABC-

Re: How would you make Barnes Distribution more social?

Brandon Hull — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 15:38:14 -0000

Jan, my old friend, thanks for checking in. And you're absolutely right -- you don't shoot then aim. And any sort of organizational effort to reach out has to have that level of buy-in.

Re: How would you make Barnes Distribution more social?

Jan — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 12:52:43 -0000

Brandon,

You're making some really good points here. But it goes back to the heart of the question for many organizations - "what am I, why am I here"? You take the angle of the folks at Barnes being the expert, the go-to people for anything related to nuts, bolts, wires and whatever else you mentioned in your post. The trusted advisor.

But if you ask Barnes senior management, what do they say? Do they look at the company like that? Looking at the "about" page, I think the answer is no.

Many senior corporate people still don't really "get" social media beyond reconnecting with high-school classmates and looking at pictures of their grandkids online - let alone how it can help, no - how successful social media engagement is *critical* for their business. They have simply defined their organization and its purpose differently. Point is - if you can't really envision it, you can't really build it.

Jan

Re: How would you make Barnes Distribution more social?

Brandon Hull — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 11:59:18 -0000

Maldrine,

Thanks for commenting. However, none of that has anything to do with this post or what social media is all about. I understand your plight, but this isn't really the right place for it. There may be a Yahoo group or someplace for you to talk about these things with co-workers.

Re: How would you make Barnes Distribution more social?

Maldrine — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 08:52:11 -0000

Brandon,
As you can see from the post the mindset of alot of salespeople is it won't work.
I started with Barnes,Bowman at that time, in 1979. I think the real problem with Barnes and other companys similar to them is the amount you have to sell now for the same earnings you could achieve 20 years ago. I sold close to $300,000.00 in 1988 at 20.2 % comm. and that comm. was close to the average. Now to make 60 thousand you will have to sell close to 550 to 600 thousand and make quota. On top of that exspenses have risen. Now you have to have a cell phone, high speed internet and close to three times the cost for fuel plus the price of cars and insurance. Selling 550 thousand at lower prices also takes much longer to put the order away. Without help 600 thousand in straight VMI business is about all one person can handle and you are working 70 hours to achieve that.

Re: How would you make Barnes Distribution more social?

Brandon Hull — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 00:45:36 -0000

Thanks for the comments. I appreciate your take as a 20-year veteran. "A start" is a good way to look at it. Social media isn't going to rescue a company or neutralize all of a company's ills. It's just one way to engage customers in a new way.

Your comments about comfort zones is a real issue, too, though it's not just a Barnes thing. So many companies rely on a field sales force to do it all for them -- market, sell, deliver the bad news, etc. And they do it because there's no company-to-customer relationship. The relationships are almost entirely the property of those salespeople. Missed opportunities...

Re: How would you make Barnes Distribution more social?

Audisfan — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 22:21:40 -0000

I think Barnes' business model is limited. I feel there is a certain percentage of the market for VMI. Fastenal didn't grow fast by VMI alone ( which I feel Fastenal doesn't even come close to VMI the way Barnes does it), they grew by putting stores up all over the country and the business came to them in a sense. Basically, the only marketing Barnes does is through it sales force. So, Barnes is pretty much relying on sales reps to penetrate the marketplace to get the word out. Most sales reps are in their "comfort zone " and do not do much prospecting IMO. By the way, I have been with Barnes Distribution for over 20 years as a sales rep. I like your ideas on putting videos on Youtube for customers to seek out answers or see product demonstrations. I also agree that Barnes needs to find new avenues to connect with their customers other than just the sales force. There are other ways to build relationships with customers besides relying on your sales reps. Barnes' always preaches it's "Value Added Services" that it brings to the table, so the Youtube idea could be another extension of that. I have a had a great career so far at Barnes and think it has been a great company to work for, but I feel Barnes has relied too heavily on the VMI model and hasn't had the vision to make itself grow other than through acquisitions. This could be a start.