Top Story

• Distributors pursue growth through acquisitions
  Acquisition was an important vehicle for growth for many distributors last year, including Wesco and MSC Industrial Direct, writes Jack Keough. Wesco made four acquisitions in 2012, and MSC's acquisition of Barnes Distribution North America is expected to help MSC achieve its $4 billion target. TED Magazine (3/5)     

• Graybar opens 3 locations
  Graybar has opened locations in Dickinson, N.D., and Carrizo Springs, Texas, and a sales office in Rockford, Ill. American City Business Journals/St. Louis (3/7)     

Operations and Technology

• Reshoring trend gains momentum, survey says
  Last year, the majority of durable goods manufacturers sourced more materials and services from U.S. companies, according to a survey. Companies cite shorter lead times, better communications and improved supply chain control. Modern Distribution Management/Management & Strategy blog (3/5)     

• Why IT needs to embrace cloud computing's disruptive nature
  Tech and business leaders must embrace the disruptive force cloud computing is having on business and the realm of doing business, according to John Considine, chief technology officer at Verizon's Terremark division. Now is the time to establish relevancy in cloud computing, Maribel Lopez writes. "As they face this disruption, CIOs and IT leaders have to look at moving up the stack and spend less time on low-level operational tasks," Considine said. Forbes (3/6)     

Sales and Marketing

• A modern approach to sales management
  Sales managers have to act as sales coaches in the current business climate, writes John Jantsch. Coaches' duties include getting marketing and sales on the same page and measuring their representatives' success, he adds. The "only way to develop honest measurement, the kind you can base compensation on, is to instill a culture of transparency," he writes. Duct Tape Marketing (3/6)     

• Are some salespeople making your teleprospecting team less effective?
  The productivity and morale of your teleprospecting representatives can be affected by their relationships with other salespeople, writes Peter Gracey. In particular, their productivity can be damaged by salespeople who waste time with unnecessary conversations or who act as bullies, he writes. Gracey provides suggestions for handling both types of problematic salespeople. Sales Prospecting Perspectives blog (3/6)     

Hot Topics

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

• HD Supply reportedly ready for an IPO (Reuters)

• Why branch managers need to understand the company's strategy (Modern Distribution Management)

• Using data to target the right customers and acquire them faster (CFO.com)

• Stay ahead of competitors by paying attention to customers (Sales Benchmark Index)

• A 3-step process for choosing the size of your sales force (Harvard Business Review online)

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

The Business Leader

• Why bosses should keep on talking
  Good leadership is the art of engaging in the right conversations at the right times, write Alan S. Berson and Richard G. Stieglitz. Conversations help bosses build relationships, develop leadership qualities in their direct reports, make better decisions and execute more effectively, they argue. "[I]t is something you need to do well -- consciously and unconsciously -- every minute of every day," they write. Knowledge@Wharton (3/6)     

• How to lead like Henry V
  A famous speech from Shakespeare's "Henry V" holds lessons for modern leaders, writes Nigel Roberts. Henry's soaring rhetoric provides an upbeat call to action based on a higher goal -- the same strategy CEOs should use to win over their employees. "[T]he Bard managed to capture some universal truths about human nature and the complex way that individuals relate to each other which can provide useful lessons for today's corporate leaders," Roberts writes. Knowledge.Insead.edu (3/7)     

• 5 ways to put your self-assessment to work
  It's important to take a clear-eyed look at yourself from time to time, but it's equally important to actually act on that self-knowledge, writes Mary Jo Asmus. Consider setting specific goals, creating an action plan and measuring your progress through an accountability partner. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Leadership (3/6)     

NAW Insider

Position Title Company Name Location Regional Sales Manager Johnstone Supply Columbia, SC Business Unit Manager - Clamps EFC International St. Louis, MO Director of Supply Chain Uline Pleasant Prairie, WI Vice President of Distribution Uline Pleasant Prairie, WI Metals Buyer / Trader Olin Brass Louisville, KY Product Manager Ryan Herco Flow Solutions, Inc. Burbank, CA Eclipse Systems Manager Crescent Electric Supply Co. Dubuque, IA Business Manager Curbell Plastics, Inc. Arlington, TX Corporate Credit Manager Behler-Young Company Michigan, MI Customer Service Representative (Inside Sales) DW Distribution DeSoto, TX

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SmartQuote

Hope never abandons you, you abandon it." --George Weinberg, American psychologist, writer and activist