MDM Podcast: Ted Cowie Reflects on 40 Years in Industrial & Safety Sales - Modern Distribution Management

MDM Podcast: Ted Cowie Reflects on 40 Years in Industrial & Safety Sales

Having retired at the end of May, Ted Cowie joins to reflect on evolving sales strategies during his four decades in the industry, particularly in his 10+ years at Motion.
Work safety protection equipment on grey background with copy space. Horizontal banner.

Ted Cowie has seen it all during his 40 years leading industrial and safety sales teams, including significant transition and strategic shifts in how distributors and manufacturers go to market.

He is the guest in the latest MDM Podcast, recorded during the same week that he retired at the end of May. He spent the last 10+ years of his career at Motion, following long stretches at Safety Today and Barnes Distribution. Cowie has long been a member of MDM’s Editorial Advisory Board.

In a discussion with MDM’s Tom Gale, Cowie shared insights from his four decades in the industry, touching on transitioning sales models and market adaptations, the safety industry’s evolution, future challenges the industry faces and his proudest achievements.

Much of the conversation centers around Cowie’s past decade with Motion, which is predominantly known as an MRO, bearings & power transmission and fluid power distributor, but it also has a formidable safety presence — enough to chart in the top 10 of MDM’s 2024 Top Safety Distributors List.

And Motion’s safety sales didn’t get to that point just by incremental volume gains. It’s been an intentional focus, as Cowie tells Gale on the podcast:

“We’ve done a very good job of getting the broader group of our sales team — which is in the neighborhood of 2,000 people today — more comfortable selling safety, and we’ve basically taught them how to fish instead of just doing the fishing for them. And they are not detailed safety experts, but they know how to uncover the opportunities, they know how to look for the opportunities and then get the right resources within Motion and our supplier teams engaged so that we can pursue those opportunities.”

Motion appears on numerous lists on MDM’s 2024 Top Distributors feature, which launches on June 13. Its corresponding webcast is that same day.

The conversation also highlights the value of the relationships and connections Cowie built during his decades in the industry, which he cites as crucial to his career’s success.

Check out the full episode via the audio player above, and you can find our entire episode library at mdm.com/podcasts.

Related Posts

Share this article

About the Author
Recommended Reading
Leave a Reply

Leave a Comment

Sign Up for the MDM Update Newsletter

The MDM update newsletter is your best source for news and trends in the wholesale distribution industry.

2

articles left

Want more Premium content from MDM?

Subscribe today and get:

  • New issues twice each month
  • Unlimited access to mdm.com, including 10+ years of archived data
  • Current trends analysis, market data and economic updates
  • Discounts on select store products and events

Subscribe to continue reading

MDM Premium Subscribers get:

  • Unlimited access to MDM.com
  • 1 year digital subscription, with new issues twice a month
  • Trends analysis, market data and quarterly economic updates
  • Deals on select store products and events

1

article
left

You have one free article remaining

Subscribe to MDM Premium to get unlimited access. Your subscription includes:

  • Two new issues a month
  • Access to 10+ years of archived data on mdm.com
  • Quarterly economic updates, trends analysis and market data
  • Store and event discounts

To continue reading, you must be an MDM Premium subscriber.

Join other distribution executives who use MDM Premium to optimize their business. Our insights and analysis help you enter the right new markets, turbocharge your sales and marketing efforts, identify business partners that help you scale, and stay ahead of your competitors.

Register for full access

By providing your email, you agree to receive announcements from us and our partners for our newsletter, events, surveys, and partner resources per MDM Terms & Conditions. You can withdraw consent at any time.

Learn More about Custom Reports

Request a Market Prospector Demo

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Get the MDM Update Newsletter

Wholesale distribution news and trends delivered right to your inbox.

Sign-up for our free newsletter and get:

  • Up-to-date news in a quick-to-read format
  • Free access to webcasts, podcasts and live events
  • Exclusive whitepapers, research and reports
  • And more!