AWMA Show Attendees Schooled in the Secrets to Success

ORLANDO, Fla. – Members of the American Wholesale Marketers Association (AWMA) are gathered in Orlando this week to get down to business at the 2013 AWMA Show, the Convenience Distributor Conference & Expo, as the trade group kicks off what is sure to be a busy year.

The association's first line of business today – the first day of this year’s event -- was recognizing the 2013 AWMA Hall of Fame inductees. Earning the distinction this year were John White, vice president of Swisher International as the 2013 AWMA Manufacturers Hall of Fame inductee, and the late Bob Douglas, founder of the Douglas Cos. Inc. and past chairman of AWMA, as the 2013 AWMA Distributor Hall of Fame inductee.

Both long-time AWMA members and their companies stand out as leaders in the industry, and the show's keynote speaker, "Becoming a Category of One" author Joe Calloway, offered some key ways that others can follow in White’s and Douglas' footsteps during his opening address.

"Look at the leaders in the marketplace -- and particularly those who have sustained leadership -- and they have one thing in common. They win on the fundamentals," Calloway explained. "Clarity and focus are part of a handful of things that matter most."

When it comes to leadership, there are no silver bullets or shortcuts, he said, adding that what every “category one” company has in common is that they are always on the lookout for ideas they can use, and they don't just look within their industry.

"All innovation is adaptive innovation," Calloway noted.

Innovation, though, doesn’t necessarily mean "wow." "Too many people are concerned with the wow factor. If you want to satisfy your customer, then get it right every time," he stressed. "If you win at the fundamentals and then you build relationships -- boom."