The Partnering Group, LLC, an industry distributor organization, held an education event for its membership on February 25, “Thrive in 2021.” The event focused on inspiring and providing key concepts to help teams engage in 2021 in refreshing ways that yield sales and client growth.

The Partnering Group’s virtual event reached more than 160 distributor members across the U.S. The event’s speakers were CJ Schmidt, president of Hit Promotional Products; Jeremy Lott, president and CEO of San Mar, and David Blaise, co-owner of Blaise Drake & Company, Inc.

Schmidt kicked off the event with a presentation that shared trends to look for in hardgoods for 2021. He broke it down into four main areas: pandemic products, kitting, eco-conscious/sustainability and supply chain changes. Lott’s presentation provided key information on global logistics and the impact on importing and costs. The event ended with Blaise’s presentation that encouraged listeners to reevaluate where they can improve their interactions with their customers and work to sell more despite the economic or pandemic impact. He shared three essential approaches in order to thrive: recapture sales, reactivate clients and sell solutions not products.

The Partnering Group will host several educational/inspiration events in 2021 to take the place of its in-person annual sales conference. Over the past year, the group has enhanced efforts to partner with its suppliers and develop strong relationships with the sales teams for members. Focusing on the “partnership” component of the organization, the group says it is committed to providing resources and tools to help member businesses thrive.