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Your company can have the right product for a customer's application and still be overlooked if the customer cannot find the information they need. In this solo episode of Leadership in Manufacturing, Sannah Vinding shares why she wrote Visible or Invisible: How Industrial B2B Companies Win Buyers When AI Builds the Shortlist. She looks at how customers move between AI tools, websites, technical documents, and distributor pages, and how teams can make their knowledge more useful along the way. You will hear: The three buying jobs: Discover, Prove Fit, and De-riskWhy product explanations need clear conditions, limitations, and technical reviewHow engineering, product management, product marketing, sales, customer service, reps, and distribution contribute to reliable answersThe five Visible GTM foundations: Product Truth, Governed Knowledge, Signal Quality, Workflow Readiness, and Human TrustHow to start with one product family and one recurring customer questionWhere human expertise helps customers check assumptions and make decisionsPractical takeaway: Choose a question your team hears repeatedly. Look for the answer where customers research your product. Agree who writes it, who reviews and approves it, and who keeps it current. Check whether it helps before expanding the work. “AI helps prepare, people help customers decide.” Sannah Vinding ABOUT THE BOOK #1 New Release in Industrial Marketing on Amazon. The book includes access to a companion toolkit with interactive templates, worksheets, and scorecards. Access instructions are inside the book. Foreword by Walter Tobin. Learn more: https://visibleorinvisible.com Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HMFQGWJW Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HMFCJJKJ EPISODE CHAPTERS 00:00 The product question a customer could not answer 00:44 Why I wrote Visible or Invisible 02:04 Start small and look beyond internal knowledge 0 2:45 Researching options before a conversation 03:28 Discover, Prove Fit, and De-risk 04:00 Consistent answers and technical judgment 04:55 Shared ownership and one recurring customer question 06:05 Review, approve, maintain, and test the answer 07:02 The five foundations of the Visible GTM System 08:09 Human Trust and helping customers decide 08:49 The companion toolkit, foreword, and book details 09:24 Closing thoughts Host: Sannah Vinding Show: Leadership in Manufacturing Episode: 154 Website: https://leadershipinmanufacturing.com Stay curious, keep learning.

Brooks Mattice, Vice President of Sales and Partner at MFC Group, joins Sannah Vinding to discuss how leaders prepare sales teams for growth through structured training, practical onboarding, feedback, and AI-supported tools. Brooks shares how MFC Group created a common sales training process as the company expanded across 20 states. The program combines skills training, process training, homework, quizzes, and reinforcement through manager conversations. He also explains how AI is helping new salespeople research accounts, identify contacts, estimate market opportunity, understand product fit, and prepare for more relevant customer conversations. The goal is not to replace sales judgment. It is to reduce preparation friction and keep salespeople in front of customers more often. In this episode, you will learn: Why product training alone is not enough for a growing sales teamHow to build a shared minimum standard for sales skills and processesHow AI can support account research, onboarding, and customer preparationWhy human judgment and trust still shape the customer conversationHow leaders can give clearer feedback as their responsibilities growWhy curiosity, humility, hunger, and a willingness to try support growthHow manufacturers' representatives can create more value in a changing market Brooks Mattice brings more than 25 years of experience across semiconductor, electronic systems, EMS, passive, and electromechanical markets. A Purdue University electrical engineering graduate, he has worked in field sales, strategic accounts, sales leadership, and general management. He works with suppliers, distribution partners, and customers across automotive, industrial, medical, aerospace, communications, data center, and other electronics markets. Hosted by Sannah Vinding, the Leadership in Manufacturing Podcast brings practical leadership conversations to leaders across electronics, manufacturing, distribution, and technical industries. Newsletter: https://leadershipinmanufacturing.com/newsletter/ Stay curious. Keep learning.

Colin Strother, Executive Vice President at Rochester Electronics, joins Sannah Vinding to discuss how trust, authenticity, and customer commitment shape leadership across a global electronics business. Colin shares how Rochester supports customers across the semiconductor ecosystem and why customer experience cannot depend on one channel. Some customers want to meet face to face. Others want to pick up the phone or use a digital platform. The leadership challenge is creating an experience that supports all three while keeping trust at the center. The conversation also covers how leaders learn from mistakes, why self-awareness and composure matter, how confidence helps new leaders grow, and what picking up a piece of trash can teach us about doing the right thing when nobody is looking. In this episode, you will learn: Why trust has to come before influenceHow authenticity helps leaders turn a vision into results through other peopleWhy customers want choice across personal and digital channelsHow global leaders build local teams and relationshipsWhy self-awareness and composure matter when information moves quicklyHow confidence and support help new leaders step forwardHow small visible actions reinforce leadership standardsAbout the guest: Colin Strother is Executive Vice President at Rochester Electronics. He began his career through an electronics apprenticeship in Scotland and has since worked across semiconductor distribution, customer experience, sales, and global team leadership. Episode 152 is hosted by Sannah Vinding, engineer, product marketing and GTM leader, and host of the Leadership in Manufacturing Podcast. Join the Leadership in Manufacturing newsletter for weekly lessons from conversations with leaders across electronics, manufacturing, distribution, and supply chain: https://leadershipinmanufacturing.com/newsletter/ Stay curious. Keep learning.

Riad Nizam, President of Master Electronics, joins Sannah Vinding on the Leadership in Manufacturing Podcast to discuss how distribution leaders build trust as AI speeds up work across the electronics industry. Riad shares how Master Electronics builds a relationship-first culture through communication, decision-making, feedback, mindset, and customer and supplier trust. He also talks about how AI is helping the organization think differently, bigger, and faster, while people still own the final judgment. This conversation is for leaders in electronics distribution, manufacturing, supplier relationships, sales, product, and technical teams who want to move faster without losing trust, communication, or human judgment. In this episode, you will learn: How Master Electronics supports faster decisions with practical decision toolsWhy trust is still one of the strongest advantages in electronics distributionWhere communication breaks down between suppliers, distributors, and customersWhat customers ask for now around tariffs, compliance, supply chain, pricing, and lead timesHow AI can help teams think differently without replacing human decision-makingWhy mindset, humility, and positive energy are hard to train laterHow leaders can make feedback easier by asking for it firstWhy culture has to grow from both the top and the teamAbout the guest: Riad Nizam is President of Master Electronics, a family-owned and operated electronics distributor with more than 50 years of history. Master Electronics was founded by Ike Nizam in 1967. Riad has held leadership roles across sales, product marketing, general management, and executive leadership. Hosted by Sannah Vinding, engineer, product marketing and GTM leader, and host of the Leadership in Manufacturing Podcast. Stay curious. Keep learning.

Nate Witsaman, Manager of New Market Development at DigiKey, joins Sannah Vinding on the Leadership in Manufacturing Podcast to discuss curiosity, communication, feedback, remote leadership, and developing people in technical teams. Good managers do not wait until something goes wrong to build trust with their people. Nate shares how he thinks about the shift from managing tasks to developing people. He talks about asking better questions, learning how people want to be recognized, making space for quieter voices, and building relationships before the hard moments arrive. In this episode, you will learn: Why curiosity is one of the strongest management skillsHow managers can build trust before a difficult conversationWhy recognition and feedback need to be personalHow remote leaders can avoid becoming only transactionalWhy quieter team members may need room and a direct invitation to speakHow slowing down can help teams improve before pressure risesWhy safe practice helps future leaders grow About the guest: Nate Witsaman, MBA, is Manager of New Market Development at DigiKey. He works with emerging technologies, supplier relationships, product onboarding, and market development across the electronics distribution ecosystem. Hosted by Sannah Vinding, engineer, product marketing and GTM leader, author of Visible or Invisible, and host of the Leadership in Manufacturing Podcast. Sign up for the newsletter: https://leadershipinmanufacturing.com/hello/ Sannah's book, Visible or Invisible, is coming this September. It is about how industrial B2B companies win buyers when AI builds the shortlist. Get on the list here: https://visibleorinvisible.com/ Stay curious. Keep learning.

Technical sales still runs on credibility. AI can help teams move faster, but speed does not replace substance, follow-through, or customer trust. In this episode of the Leadership in Manufacturing Podcast, Sannah Vinding talks with Michael "Mic" Cardone, President at ENOVA USA. Mic leads the company's U.S. growth in professional audio cables and connectors for musicians, studios, live-sound teams, and AV integrators. Mic shares what he has learned from building ENOVA USA, using AI for marketing and business operations, learning new skills, and staying grounded in the kind of credibility customers can actually feel. One line from earlier in his career shaped the conversation: "All you salespeople, you're all foam and no beer." In this episode, you will learn: Why credibility still matters in technical sales How AI can support sales and marketing without replacing judgment Why authenticity matters when customers can spot generic messaging quickly What ownership teaches leaders about patience and decision-making How leaders can keep learning from people who know more than they do Why face-to-face communication still matters for younger leaders What persistence looks like when building a company About the guest: Michael "Mic" Cardone is President of ENOVA USA. He has more than 25 years of experience across sales, management, channel development, Pro AV, systems integration, telecommunications, and OEM markets. Hosted by Sannah Vinding, engineer, product marketing and GTM leader, author of Visible or Invisible, and host of the Leadership in Manufacturing Podcast. Sign up for the newsletter: https://leadershipinmanufacturing.com/hello/ Sannah's book, Visible or Invisible, is coming this September. It is about how industrial B2B companies win buyers when AI builds the shortlist. Get on the list here: https://visibleorinvisible.com/ Stay curious. Keep learning.

How should manufacturers use AI better without turning it into another tool that adds more noise? In this short follow-up conversation, Andy Coyle, Senior Director of Sales at ebm-papst Inc., talks about using AI for research, CRM updates, follow-up, documentation, quoting, and sales support. Sannah connects that back to the real leadership point: AI can speed up repetitive work, but people still own the thinking, the judgment, and the customer conversation. This short episode follows my two-part conversation with Andy Coyle. Listen to the full conversation in Episode 146 and Episode 147: Episode 146: Why the Last Mile of Sales Still Happens Face to Face https://leadershipinmanufacturing.com/why-the-last-mile-of-sales-still-happens-face-to-face-episode-146/ Episode 147: Why Strong Leaders Get Comfortable Saying “I Don’t Know” https://leadershipinmanufacturing.com/why-strong-leaders-get-comfortable-saying-i-dont-know-episode-147/ Andy Coyle has spent more than thirty years in electronics, distribution, and manufacturing sales, with experience at Hallmark Electronics, Sager Electronics, Laird Technologies, and ebm-papst. Hosted by Sannah Vinding, engineer, go-to-market leader, and host of the Leadership in Manufacturing Podcast. Sign up for the newsletter: https://leadershipinmanufacturing.com/hello/

Strong leaders do not have every answer. They know how to make decisions, support their teams, and create enough trust that people can say what they need. In this episode of the Leadership in Manufacturing Podcast, Sannah Vinding continues her conversation with Andy Coyle, Senior Director of Sales at ebm-papst Inc. This is part two of the conversation. Part one focused on sales training, AI as a practical tool, and why the last mile of sales still depends on trust. Part two moves into leadership. If you missed part one of my conversation with Andy, listen to Episode 146, where we talked about sales training, AI as a practical tool, and why the last mile of sales still depends on trust. Andy talks about authenticity, having your team's back, making decisions with incomplete information, the mentors who shaped him, and the lesson he wishes he had learned earlier: being comfortable saying, "I don't know, but together we can figure this out." In this episode, you will learn: Why authenticity matters more than polish when people decide whether to trust a leaderWhat it means to have your team's back in hard moments and good onesHow leaders make decisions when the information is incompleteWhy mentors can give direction without giving every answerHow travel, relocation, and global work can shape leadership perspectiveWhy your team decides what kind of leader you areHow leaders can respond when someone asks for more directionAndy Coyle is Senior Director of Sales at ebm-papst Inc. He has spent more than thirty years in electronics, distribution, and manufacturing sales, with experience at Hallmark Electronics, Sager Electronics, Laird Technologies, and ebm-papst. Hosted by Sannah Vinding, engineer, go-to-market leader, and host of the Leadership in Manufacturing Podcast. Sign up for the newsletter: https://leadershipinmanufacturing.com/hello/ Stay curious. Keep learning.

Sales teams have more tools than ever. Product training has expanded. CRM training has expanded. AI training is next. But the basics of selling still matter when a buyer pushes back, a customer relationship gets tense, or a major opportunity needs trust before it can move forward. In this episode of the Leadership in Manufacturing Podcast, Sannah Vinding talks with Andy Coyle, Senior Director of Sales at ebm-papst Inc., about sales training, trust, AI, and what it means to be a high-touch leader in a high-tech world. Andy shares why his team went back to the basics after COVID, including networking, prospecting, pre-call planning, sales calls, follow-up, and role play. He also talks about why vulnerability is a strength, how distribution and manufacturing move at different speeds, and why AI can support sales work without replacing human judgment. In this episode, you will learn: Why sales training still matters in electronics, manufacturing, and technical salesWhat gets lost when teams focus only on product, CRM, and tool trainingHow vulnerability helps leaders and salespeople ask better questionsWhy distribution and manufacturing often work at different speedsWhat Andy's post-COVID sales boot camp taught his teamHow AI can help with research, comparison, and preparationWhy the last mile of sales still depends on trust, judgment, and face-to-face conversationAbout the guest: Andy Coyle is Senior Director of Sales at ebm-papst Inc. He has spent more than thirty years in electronics, distribution, and manufacturing sales. His work focuses on sales leadership, channel development, customer and distributor relationships, and helping teams grow through people-first leadership. Hosted by Sannah Vinding, engineer, go-to-market leader, and host of the Leadership in Manufacturing Podcast. Subscribe to the Leadership in Manufacturing newsletter: https://leadershipinmanufacturing.com/hello/ Stay curious. Keep learning.

Automation can improve distribution operations, but only when leaders understand the work, the team, and the flexibility the business still needs. In this episode of the Leadership in Manufacturing Podcast, Sannah Vinding talks with Aaron Hein, Senior Director of Distribution Operations at Sager Electronics, about leading operational change, building a new distribution operation, and choosing flexibility before locking into automation too early. Aaron shares what he learned from leading teams through change, communicating when information is incomplete, and staying steady when the plan keeps shifting. He also talks about where AI fits in warehouse and distribution operations today, and why the human side of leadership still matters. In this episode, you will learn: What distribution leaders should consider before they automateWhy flexibility can matter more than a fixed system in a new operationHow to lead through a facility transition with empathy and clarityWhy steady leadership matters when the plan keeps changingWhere AI can help operations, and where human judgment still mattersHow leaders can build trust before asking teams to changeWhat younger leaders should know about patience and opportunityAaron Hein is Senior Director of Distribution Operations at Sager Electronics, where he leads operations, logistics, and quality efforts. He brings more than 15 years of experience in distribution, supply chain, continuous improvement, and industrial engineering across the electronics and manufacturing sectors. Hosted by Sannah Vinding, the Leadership in Manufacturing Podcast brings practical leadership conversations to leaders across electronics, manufacturing, distribution, and technical industries. Newsletter: https://leadershipinmanufacturing.com/hello/ Stay curious. Keep learning. This Podcast episode is sponsored by Sager Electronics

The manufacturers rep role is changing. Territory coverage and relationships still matter, but manufacturers now expect stronger opportunity visibility, better data, more technical confidence, and a clearer reason to keep investing in the rep relationship. In this episode of the Leadership in Manufacturing Podcast, Sannah Vinding continues her conversation with Walter Tobin, former CEO of the Electronics Representatives Association. This is part two of their discussion on the electronics channel, and it focuses on how rep firms need to evolve beyond traditional sales positioning. Walter explains why the best rep firms are thinking more like consulting firms, how AI can help identify customers and opportunities, why digital presence matters, and why succession planning should be visible to principals before it becomes a concern. In this episode, you will learn: Why rep firms need to prove value beyond the line cardHow lead flow has changed between reps and manufacturersWhy digital presence matters for customer trustHow the consulting mindset can help recruit technical talentWhy succession planning matters to principalsWhat manufacturers often misunderstand about the rep modelWhy technical training matters for the next generation of channel leadersHow AI can help identify customers and opportunitiesAbout the guest: Walter Tobin is the former CEO of the Electronics Representatives Association. He spent much of his career in electronic distribution, including senior leadership at Future Electronics, before leading ERA and supporting the independent rep community across the electronics channel. Hosted by Sannah Vinding, engineer and go-to-market leader focused on practical leadership in technical environments. Sign up for the newsletter: https://leadershipinmanufacturing.com/hello/ Stay curious. Keep learning.

Customers are harder to reach. Inboxes are full, LinkedIn pitches arrive too fast, and more outreach is not solving the problem. In this episode of the Leadership in Manufacturing Podcast, Sannah Vinding sits down with Walter Tobin, former CEO of the Electronics Representatives Association, to talk about why sales training matters in the electronics channel. Walter brings decades of experience across electronics distribution, manufacturer relationships, and the manufacturers rep community. The conversation covers how customer behavior has changed, why reps and distributors need to work together, what manufacturers risk when they bypass rep relationships, and where AI helps sales teams without replacing the human part. In this episode, you will learn: Why customers ignore most outreach today.How to think about value before sending the message.Why sales training is still missing in parts of the electronics industry.How reps and distributors can work together to win and keep the socket.Why AI helps with research, but not with trust.What it takes to become a trusted advisor in the electronics channel. About the guest: Walter Tobin is the former CEO of the Electronics Representatives Association. Before leading ERA, he held senior roles at Future Electronics, Pioneer-Standard, and Arrow Electronics. He is known for his work connecting manufacturers reps, distributors, and manufacturers across the electronics industry. Hosted by Sannah Vinding, engineer and go-to-market leader focused on how leaders operate when complexity is high and the answers are not always obvious. Newsletter: https://leadershipinmanufacturing.com/hello/ Stay curious. Keep learning.

Jeff Newell is the President of Mouser Electronics, a global distributor with more than 4,000 employees, 1,200 manufacturer partners, and customers in 223 countries and territories. In this episode, Jeff sits down with Sannah Vinding to talk about what leadership actually looks like at the top of a multi-billion dollar global business. Jeff is direct, practical, and refuses to put himself on a pedestal. He is a servant leader. He does not ask his team to do anything he would not do himself. He believes the readiness of your successor is the most accurate signal of whether you are ready for your next role. He shares his own mistakes openly because he believes that is how trust is built. This is a conversation for senior leaders who are quietly asking themselves whether they are doing the work that actually moves people forward. In this episode, you will learn: Why building your successor is the real test of leadership readinessHow to give feedback without making it personalWhy a servant leader at the top of a global business gets more doneHow to step into a long-tenured leader's role without changing too much too fastWhy being open about your own mistakes builds more trust than hiding themHow to read industry cycles before they roll over *Why staying open is the career move most senior leaders stop making About the Guest: Jeff Newell is President of Mouser Electronics. Before stepping into the President role in 2025, he served as Senior Vice President of Products for over a decade. He spent more than 20 years at Texas Instruments earlier in his career. Hosted By: Sannah Vinding hosts the Leadership in Manufacturing Podcast. She is an engineer and go-to-market leader focused on how leaders operate when complexity is high and answers are not always obvious. Sign up for the newsletter at https://leadershipinmanufacturing.com/hello/ Stay curious. Keep learning.

What does the field sales rep actually deliver in a market where buyers research with AI before they engage? Lonnie Power, Customer Business Manager at Heilind Electronics, joins Sannah Vinding to talk about how the role has shifted from information delivery to translation, bridging, and problem solving. Lonnie has spent close to three decades inside the electronics industry, working both the supplier and distribution sides of the table. He talks about why AI is a powerful tool but not a replacement, why it answers confidently whether the answer is correct or not, and what it takes to develop the next generation of talent in an industry where most people stumble in by accident. This conversation is for sales leaders, distribution executives, rep firm owners, and senior professionals who are rebuilding how their teams sell, support, and grow customers in a market where the rules are being rewritten week by week. In this episode, you will learn: Why AI speeds the search but judgment closes the dealHow the field rep role is shifting from information to translationWhy younger buyers default to Amazon and Alibaba, and what to do about itHow to reframe the 80/20 rule for where the industry is goingWhy managing your personal brand is the one thing you controlWhat it looks like to lead through pivot moments without losing momentumAbout the guest: Lonnie Power is the Customer Business Manager at Heilind Electronics with more than two decades of experience selling component solutions across the electronics industry. Hosted by Sannah Vinding. She is an engineer and go-to-market leader focused on how leaders operate when complexity is high and the answers are not always obvious. Get the weekly newsletter at https://leadershipinmanufacturing.com/hello/ Stay curious. Keep learning

AI can pull the datasheet, cross-reference the part, and draft the follow-up in minutes. What it cannot do is understand where a customer's roadmap is heading two years out, or know which application risk will surface before it shows up in testing. The rep who sees around corners is still the one who wins the business. The question is how you build that edge when the tools keep changing. In this bonus episode of the Leadership in Manufacturing Podcast, host Sannah Vinding continues her conversation with Hunter Starr, CPMR, President at Performance Technical Sales, to explore what separates the reps who stay relevant from the ones who won't as AI reshapes the technical sales workflow. This five-minute follow-up to episode 138 captures one focused exchange. Hunter shares how his team at Performance Technical Sales is actually using AI today: identifying cross-reference parts, building quick email templates, and gathering customer intelligence. Then he pivots to a framework he shared at a recent sales conference, drawn from Jensen Huang's take on who will be the smartest professionals in the next decade. The answer is not the coders. Hunter and Sannah land in the same place. AI handles the front end. Judgment still closes the deal. The rep who combines two or three strong skills with AI fluency builds an edge that compounds over time. Hunter makes the case that the rep's role as a guide, seeing around corners for customers and anticipating pitfalls AI cannot see, is more important now than ever. This bonus episode is for manufacturers reps, rep firm owners, field salespeople, FAEs, product marketers, and sales leaders in electronics and component distribution who want to understand where to invest their time as AI compresses the workflow. In this episode, you will learn: How Hunter's team is using AI for cross-referencing, email templates, and customer intelligenceWhat Jensen Huang said about who will be the smartest professionals in the next decadeWhy combining two or three strong skills with AI fluency creates a compounding advantageWhat AI cannot replace in technical sales: roadmap foresight, application risk, and human judgmentWhy the definition of "smart" in technical sales is being redefined in real timeWhere to shift your practice time now that research and first-draft work are no longer the bottleneckAbout the guest: Hunter Starr, CPMR, is President of Performance Technical Sales, a manufacturers rep firm serving OEM engineers across the Carolinas. He supports customers across industrial, defense, medical, and agricultural markets, and was recognized as a Rising Star by the Electronic Representatives Association. Hosted by: Sannah Vinding is an engineer, B2B marketing strategist, leadership educator, and host of the Leadership in Manufacturing Podcast. She helps leaders across electronics, manufacturing, and supply chain lead technical teams with clarity, trust, and confidence as complexity and AI reshape how work gets done. Listen to more episodes, sign up for the weekly leadership newsletter, and explore insights at: https://leadershipinmanufacturing.com/hello/ Stay curious. Keep learning.