Feeling chilly? Take extra steps to warm up sales

March 3, 2014
Distributors that "tote and promote" did better overall than those who did not.

This year’s exceptionally cold winter has delivered a wake-up call to mobile distributors who have not bothered to create a contingency plan for temperature extremes. Most distributors adjust their product offerings for the different seasons, but this year’s extreme winter weather interrupted normal activity in many regions and forced distributors to reschedule routes.

When winter arrives, distributors typically stock up on and promote battery chargers, battery maintenance kits, electrical system analyzers and testers, clothing, boots and energy drinks. Recognizing that the post-Christmas period leaves customers strapped for cash, many distributors also think up creative promotions to entice them to spend money.

But this particular winter has gone beyond the norm, temperature wise, forcing many distributors to work harder to sustain sales.

Work demand varies

Distributors, like their repair shop customers, offered mixed reports on how the record cold has affected the demand for repair work. Some shops are seeing more work due to an increase in electrical failures and traffic accidents. Others claim the cold weather forces car owners to postpone repairs.

For Ross Gerken, a Mac Tools distributor in Clifton Park, N.Y., it’s not starter and battery issues that shops are getting slammed with as much as body damage. This is because the icy roads have sent more vehicles to body shops than normal. Hence, he found it made sense to focus on hand tools, soldering kits, sanders, die grinders, buffers, air drills and air hammers.

One thing most distributors agree on is that it takes more strength, mentally and physically, to be out on the roads in such weather. Mobile distributors must drive more slowly to avoid accidents. Many say it has taken them twice as long to get from one stop to the next.

Whether the arctic chill has had a negative or positive effect on repair shop activity, there are things distributors can do to improve sales.

For starters (no pun intended), distributors need to make sure their own vehicles are capable of withstanding subzero temperatures. One distributor I know in Ohio got sidelined for a couple of days because his fuel filter froze, burning out his fuel pump. The tow and the repair cost him around $800, not to mention the lost sales.

Secondly, be sure to “tote and promote” if it’s not part of your routine. Most distributors know that customers are less likely to come out to the truck in the freezing cold, but this winter, the problem was especially severe. Based on the people I’ve spoken to, the distributors who tote and promote were more successful than those who do not.

Tips from a cold weather veteran

Take it from Kraig Thoreson, a cold weather expert in the land of frozen lakes. “You can sell just about anything out of the tote tray,” notes Thoreson, a Matco Tools distributor in Owatonna, MN. “Not all guys (customers) can make it out to the truck.” Being in the Twin Cities, Thoreson is an old hand at subzero temperature, so the arctic chill hasn’t fazed him or his customers.

Repair shops in the Twin Cities always get slammed with battery and starter issues in the winter, says Thoreson, a 27-year veteran distributor. And he wouldn’t have it any other way. “I love the cold weather,” he says. This season, he has done well with battery booster packs and electrical chargers. He has found great interest this year in a new handheld starter that is well made and competitively priced.

Thoreson has actually refined the art of “toting and promoting” in the cold weather months by adding a promotion shelf near the entrance of his truck. On this shelf, customers see the tools that he carries into the shop along with other items he wants to draw special attention to. He carries the interest he ignites in the shop into his truck. .

Another cold weather veteran, Chad Roskopf, a Cornwell Tools dealer in West Bend, WI, agrees promotions are more critical during temperature extremes. He holds raffles to drum up interest in coming out to the truck. The prizes don’t have to be super expensive; a toy car will get customers interested in coming out to the truck. So will the allure of jerky and other munchies, as cold weather usually makes people hungry.

A creative solution

One of the more creative solutions to this year’s snow storms came from Scotty Smith, a Mac Tools distributor in Middletown, Del. Smith plows snow in the winter, and he claims it works out great since he can keep busy plowing snow on days when many of his repair shops are slow if not closed.

Not many distributors agree that this as a viable option since snow plowing would interfere with route schedules. Smith’s case is unique because he was plowing snow before he became a mobile distributor and he established his tool sale business in conjunction with snow plowing.

The cold temperatures remind mobile distributors that they need to be prepared for the unexpected. They need to be ready to spend the extra time needed on the route and give customers more reasons to come out to the truck.

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