Manufacturers and distributors make up about 80% of my clients. They are in sexy industries like lumber, chemicals, plumbing, HVAC, electrical, and other industries that make the world go around.

The vast majority of my clients are currently supply constrained.

That is, they’re sold out, or very close to it.

Manufacturers are selling everything they make, and distributors are selling everything they can get from their suppliers.

This has been an unexpected outcome of the post pandemic world: containers are difficult to find, as are cargo ships, trucks and drivers. Further, raw material production is having great difficulty keeping up with demand. As discussued in this newsletter last week, workers are very challenging to find. Many people are happy not working. Production shut down overnight when the pandemic hit, and now it’s having difficulty snapping back.

But something very significant has been materializing over the last few weeks.

Clients are telling me more shipments are arriving from China.

They’re finding trucks and drivers more readily. Not easily, but easier.

The phones, several chemical distributors have told me, are ringing less frequently. Not a lot less, but noticeably.

You may have seen many of the recent stories about lumber prices falling by over 70% since May after a record-setting run-up.

Overall, there is more product available. Inventory is loosening. Logistics are improving. It’s early, so if this is not yet so in your industry, it will be soon.

Are you ready for it?

Here’s what all this means: Right now, as you read this, you have an extraordinary opportunity to dramatically ramp up your sales productivity and results.

Because your competitors ceased any proactive selling effort as they were trying to keep up with incoming demand.

You have a window, which is open right now, to sell more, build market share, and permanently take business from your competition.

How do you do this?

By starting to systematically communicate with customers and prospects when nothing is wrong.

The fancy technical jargon for this is to make proactive calls and ask people what they need that you can help with.

The window is open. It won’t be for very long, but you have about six to nine months, in my estimation, to take advantage.

The growth you create will be permanent because your customers buy from you repeatedly.

You will be stacking new customers and new line items for existing customers.

If you’ve been thinking about improving your sales function, now is the time.

Now is the time to get ahead.

Now is the time to help your customers and prospects.

Nobody is showing up to help them.

But you can.

And when you do, they will thank you with their money.