Every two years, STAFDA polls associate members on business trends, conditions, sales policies and technology
2022 sales increased 9.8 percent over 2021 sales. In 2022, prices increased 11.2 percent over 2021. Fifty percent of respondents expect their 2023 sales to be 4+ percent over 2022, 25 percent expect up to a 3 percent increase and 25 percent anticipate a decrease of 3+ percent. Eight percent reported their 2022 fill rate was worse when compared to 2021, 25 percent said it was the same and 67 percent said it was better. STAFDA-type houses represented 51 percent of their overall sales, while 26 percent were from other types of distributors and 7 percent were from DIY home centers.
The salesforce size remains unchanged for 67 percent of associates but is larger for 8 percent. Seventy-four percent of associates compensate their sales team with salary, 25 percent with commission, 20 percent with bonus and 5 percent use a mixed approach. Seventy-four percent reported their direct salesforce is salaried and 50 percent said they are on commission. Fifty-six percent of respondents use a direct salesforce as compared to their total salesforce. The median compensation for a direct salesperson is $80,000.