> ERA enters a new era

Ed Smith, CEO of ERA

It has been a whirlwind 45 days. When you replace the GOAT, the expectations are high and people are waiting for what will happen next.

It couldn’t be a more exciting time at ERA. As the Conference continues to get bigger and more useful every year, I would like to thank the committees who do a lot of the hard work to give the Conference vision and help decide the direction of speakers and subjects. The world is being inundated with AI, and so that seems like a natural session.

When I think of AI I try to think, how does it make our sales process more effective? Because any new tool or software is cool but if it doesn’t make us more efficient or allow us more time to sell, the question is…why do it? The economist part of the Conference is always a good overview on how we fit into the bigger financial picture, and what might be affecting the people we deal with daily. I look forward to announcing other general sessions in the near future. Once again, thank you to all the committee members who volunteer time and resources.

I have had the pleasure of attending about five local ERA chapter events and have been impressed at how professional they are and how much charitable work we do in our local communities. This is near and dear to me personally as I live my life on the credo that we should give more than we take from this life, and that is what true success looks like. The less fortunate can always use a helping hand and we are in a great position to give it to them.

I also believe that the local chapters are a differentiator in the electronics association space, as we can speak about things that affect people in a particular geography and not waste time talking about problems in a different geography. It also allows us to help people in a local market. I can’t wait until the next chapter event and look forward to meeting more members and hearing what is on their mind.

The last thing I would like to speak about is a member survey that ERA is sending out via email — we would like members’ input and help with setting the direction of the association in the future. This will be a very easy survey to fill out and I would ask that all of you please fill it out and let your voice be heard. I know surveys are a pain, but I will not do this very often and would appreciate you responding. I will be asking about many of ERA’s existing tools and how are they helping (or are they not helping?) I will be asking what you find valuable and what you do not. I will slip in a Net Promoter Score question to see how we are doing as your association.

Thank you for choosing me to lead ERA into the future. I would be remiss not to thank Walter for all of his help in the transition and thank him for all he has done and will do.

> Celebrating a legacy of success

John O’Brien ERA Chairman of the Board

I’ve been fortunate enough over the past 10 years to work side by side with Walter Tobin on the ERA Executive Committee. Since joining ERA, Walter’s passion and focus have been the driving force behind the resurgence of this association. We all owe Walter a debt of gratitude. In 10 years, ERA has gained relevance in the industry, with our cornerstone event being the national Conference.

Membership is up in all categories and our finances are strong.

Prior to his time at ERA, I was also fortunate to spend the first 20 years of my career working with Walter at Future Electronics. Coming from my perspective as a rep, Walter has always supported manufacturers’ reps. Walter was integral in setting up the first rep council at Future and has since dedicated a lot of time to assisting other distributors in setting up rep councils. His passion goes way beyond his work.

His passion for his family is legendary. Janice, his daughters and all of their many grandkids are his guiding light. We love hearing about his yearly pilgrimages to Aruba, and spending summers at the “Summer White House” in Cape Cod where they all convene and spend time together as a family.

On a personal note, I am honored to call Walter a friend. He’s helped me personally develop in my career by providing perspectives I may not have considered. I’ve traveled quite a bit with Walter. My proudest day was the day we were getting on a plane and he had his boarding pass on his phone, not printed. He still checked his phone 11 times on the gangway to make sure his seat hadn’t changed. My wife and I had the pleasure of attending the Boston Pops Christmas Concert with Walter and Janice. It was an amazing night filled with music, cocktails and the pleasure of seeing firsthand the love and admiration between Walter and Janice.

Thank you for everything, Walter!

> The GOAT

Tom Griffin ERA Board President

As Walter Tobin retires from his role as CEO of ERA, we pause to reflect on a remarkable decade of vision, leadership and unwavering dedication.

Walter began his career at ERA in September 2015, prior to the first ERA conference in Austin, and immediately began work on that conference. Walter’s first conference ended up hosting 200 people, which had been the largest in recent history. Dozens of first-timers attended, due to Walter’s enthusiasm. With his incredible work ethic and remarkable energy, Walter and the hardworking ERA staff began working on increasing sponsorship and attendees. He announced during that Conference that ERA would begin hosting the Conference on an annual basis and it would remain in Austin. (Prior to that, the annual conference was held every other year in Chicago.)

Driving membership growth and engagement

One of Walter’s most significant achievements has been revitalizing the ERA membership base. Recognizing that the true strength of any association lies in its members, Walter championed programs and initiatives designed to engage, support and grow this community. Over his tenure, ERA membership not only rebounded but reached unprecedented levels. His focus on value-driven benefits, professional development and networking opportunities helped members feel connected and empowered.

Building a legacy of innovation

Walter’s leadership was never about simply solving today’s problems — it was about building for the future. Under his guidance, ERA embraced innovation, launching new programs and embracing technologies like SearchLink.ai that modernized our operations and enhanced the member experience. His forward-thinking approach ensured that ERA stayed relevant and positioned for continued success in an ever-changing industry landscape.

A legacy of service and dedication

Walter’s tenure was defined not only by measurable successes but also by his deep personal commitment to ERA and its mission. He has been a tireless advocate for our members, a trusted partner to our board and an inspiring leader to our staff. Walter’s integrity, compassion and vision have set a standard for leadership that will inspire us for years to come.

As we bid farewell to Walter in his role as CEO, we extend our deepest gratitude for his decade of extraordinary service. His legacy is one of transformation — of taking ERA from a place of challenge to one of prosperity and promise. While he may be stepping into retirement, the impact of his leadership will continue to shape our association for many years to come.

On behalf of the entire ERA community, thank you, Walter, for your dedication, leadership and belief in what this association can achieve. We wish you joy and fulfillment in the next chapter of your life.

> Manufacturers’ rep best practices

FROM THE TOP

by Tom Griffin, CPMR
ERA President

We spend a lot of time at Catalyst Unity Solutions working on and promoting our brand, and ensuring our employees own the brand. An important part of this effort is communicating to new employees, and reminding experienced employees, about best practices. These include everything from call reports to emails, virtual meetings and principal visits and reviews.

Our best practices presentation has remained unchanged for years, until recently. Ken Bellero, formerly of Schaffner and a member of the ERA Executive Committee, assembled ERA’s Manufacturers Executive Council for its ideas on what they view as rep best practices.

Their list is brief, but impactful.

Rep digital marketing programs come highly recommended by the group. The group agreed these programs should be funded by the reps, but support materials should be provided by the manufacturer.

Rep report cards — The Council requested to start a process to standardize manufacturers’ rep report cards. The idea is to use these as a guideline for rep performance. It should include targets based on opportunities.

Succession planning is a best practice for both reps and manufacturers. Both parties should work to have a plan in place, and communicate that plan regularly.

Rep website content standardization — The Council agreed that manufacturers’ rep websites should include a listing of all their lines, and even links back to the manufacturers’ sites.

The work of this group resulted in our company improving our presentations, as well as adding this list to our best practices presentation shared internally.

I hope you find the work of this prestigious group as beneficial as we at Catalyst did. Our thanks to ERA Manufacturers Council members Ken Bellero, Caroline Wells, Holly Good, Robert Derringer, David Bennington and Bob Gourdeau.

> Be the best you can be…now!

EXECUTIVE COMMENTARY

by Walter E. Tobin, ERA CEO

EDS 2025 is now in the history books – did you go? Did you get a lot done? Have you reviewed your notes and action items? Have you reached out to those folks who represent the business cards sitting on your desk just waiting to be followed up on or responded to? Remember: the “follow up” shelf life is 2-4 weeks after any event or meeting. After that, don’t bother. You missed the window and wasted your time at the event or at the meeting. All of your travel woes, dinners, full days and nights will now be wasted. Remember the saying: “Never confuse activity with accomplishment.” You ran around for five days, but what did you get done?

What was the mood at EDS? Excitement? Candor? Nervousness? Are the other companies in my space doing better than I am? If so, why? Do I even believe them? Should I tell the truth when I am asked: “How’s your business? How is your year going?”

I sensed a lot of enthusiasm at EDS. Perhaps, if we tell each other a few fibs, perhaps we can all believe that things are indeed getting better! End-customer inventory seems to be leveling off; lead times are falling; book-to-bills are getting back in the positive ranges. So why am I not seeing the uptick? Or am I?

The topic of tariffs was also never-ending. What should we charge? How much can we lose if eating some or all of the tariff? What is my competition doing? What if my customer agrees to pay the tariff and then short-pays the invoice, paying only for the piece part and not for the tariff? Should I/can I put them on credit hold? What if they are my biggest customer?

The whole tariff discussion does have a bit of a silver lining: we are getting audiences with senior managers at our customers that we have never gotten! They want to understand our position and/or try and leverage their size and relationship with us to avoid paying any tariff. (Is that fair?) How we handle ourselves at these senior-level meetings will have a long-term impact on our presence at the customer.

Frankly, so many of us are just tired of this uncertainty and waiting for something to happen, for someone to declare: The market has turned! Happy days are here again!

There are now so many indices that represent how the market is doing. Book-to-bill ratio, lead times, end customer inventory levels, imports/exports levels, unemployment levels, new jobs created/lost, interest rates, deficit levels, inflation levels, interest rates…enough! How can I make sense of all of this? What is up is now down and what used to be good may now be bad. Sometimes I think we all need to just stop. Or at least pause.

We all know what our organization needs to do now to make it better:

• Plan for the future. Invest in new productivity tools – funnel management, lead follow up, etc.

• Use AI in all areas of your business – what are you waiting for?

• Train our people – when was the last time you did any training?

• Enhance your digital image.

• Hold performance reviews to help lower performers get better or have them exit the business — when was the last time you even did performance reviews?

The old maxim was that when business got tough, the three areas that most companies cut back on were advertising/marketing, travel and entertainment (customer visits) and training. Shouldn’t these be the three areas that you want/NEED to invest in?

Stop waiting for an excuse to put off these critical areas because when the market does turn, you will be stuck with the same systems, productivity tools, digital image, poorly trained sales teams and non-performing employees.

There is a saying: “A rising tide raises all boats.” Rising sales covers up a lot of barnacles and holes in any boat. Whew! Thank goodness no one saw how bad my boat was…but the high tides now cover a lot of sins.

When was the last time you asked your customers/ manufacturers to do a review of your company? How are you doing for them?

Have you ever proactively flown to visit your manufacturers’ headquarters to tell them what you are doing now for them, and then asked them for their feedback?

You want to stand out from all of your other competitors. Separate yourself from those who are calcified from fear of taking action.

Work now to make your company and your people stand out. Be the best you can be – invest, hire, train, improve! Be positioned now to be ahead of your competition when the market does turn.