Bruised and battered from one of the worst years in the distribution trade's history, attendees came to this year's annual conference of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) singing the same song: We are already lean beyond belief. We are feeling mean because of the -20 percent or worse shellacking our sales took in 2009. We have honed our businesses into efficient fighting machines to battle our way out of the recession. What ideas do you have to help us survive?

Gathering Jan. 26-28 in Washington, D.C.'s Fairmont Hotel, wholesalers from a diverse array of distribution trades were treated to a mix of economic and political forecasts, a panel discussion where several distributors discussed their survival strategies and sessions on best practices in sales, marketing and hiring.

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Thank-you from the staff of Electrical Marketing.