Best Benj Cohen Podcasts (2025)

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Scaling an inside sales team from 0 to 90 reps | Ali Hasham 22:25

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22d ago22:25

22:25

In this episode, Benj talks with Ali Hasham, CEO and Founder of Revenue Optics, about what it takes to build high-performing inside sales teams in distribution. With nearly 25 years in the industry, Ali shares how he built inside sales organizations from scratch three separate times, scaling teams from a single person to as many as 90 reps. Ali bre…

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Creating a winning growth culture | Gary Corless 32:32

1M ago32:32

32:32

In this episode of In the Mind of a Distributor, Benj sits down with Gary Corless, former CEO of PSS World Medical (now McKesson Medical-Surgical), to unpack how the company scaled from a $15M startup pulling orders in shopping carts to a $2B industry leader. The key to that growth was a rich company-wide culture where everyone (not just sales) own…

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Merchandising massive product catalogs | Brian Walker 21:41

2M ago21:41

21:41

In this episode, Benj sits down with Brian Walker, Chief Product Officer at Grainger, to unpack how one of the largest distributors in the world approaches merchandising at scale. With over 2 million SKUs in their core business and an endless assortment model through Zoro, Grainger’s merchandising strategy is anything but simple. Brian explains how…

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Navigating private equity partnerships | Larry Stoddard 34:07

3M ago34:07

34:07

In this episode, Benj talks with Larry Stoddard, a distribution industry veteran who's led companies through massive growth phases at Ferguson, Bradco, and RelaDyne. Larry pulls back the curtain on what private equity partnerships actually look like in distribution: from why PE firms are drawn to distributors, to the real operational challenges of …

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Building a value‑added services strategy that works | Matt Cohen 23:49

4M ago23:49

23:49

In this episode, Benj talks with Matt Cohen, President of Replenex, about joining his family business and leading a shift towards a model built around offerings that truly matter to customers and the business. In the first half, Matt shares what it took to align the team around value-added services. The second half gets tactical, covering: what mos…

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Building a growth engine through M&A | Jeff McLendon 29:29

6M ago29:29

29:29

In this episode, Benj talks with Jeff McLendon, CEO and President of Specialty Building Products, about how he scaled the company from $500 million to $4 billion by pairing intentional acquisitions with disciplined organic growth. He unpacks how the two strategies fuel each other and why the operations and people side of acquisitions are just as cr…

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Selling to enterprise customers | Joyce Lansdale 33:31

7M ago33:31

33:31

In this episode, Joyce Lansdale—Vallen's VP of Enterprise Business Development and Chairman of the Industrial Supply Association Board—shares her deep insights on selling to enterprise customers. With over 30 years in distribution, she explains exactly what these big clients are looking for, which internal and customer teams have to collaborate in …

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Building a billion dollar distribution business | Chuck Cohen 28:50

7M ago28:50

28:50

In this episode, Benj talks with Chuck Cohen, Managing Director of Benco Dental, about what it really takes to build and sustain a growing distribution business over the long haul. Chuck shares the story of growing Benco from $85 million to over $1 billion in revenue. Along the way, he reflects on the decisions that made that growth possible: from …