When Mac Tools distributor Tim Lyons first started his Renton, Wash.-based route, he sometimes got frustrated because he wanted to sell tools. However, some customers weren’t interested in only purchasing tools.
“It’s what works, right? It doesn’t always have to be 100-percent tools,” says Lyons.
Once Lyons realized he could offer his customers items outside of tools, he took on the boot business.
“Guys hate shopping. When they walk on, their shoes usually have two holes, and they’re finally ripped on one side, and they’re mad. But they don’t want to go shopping,” says Lyons, about his customers’ usual foot apparel buying experiences.
Lyons carries slip-ons in half-sizes, and allows his customers to try on the boots while on the truck. Lyons says he’ll also special order boots when customers need them, but the most common boot for many customers is the slip-on. He allows the customers to use the truck’s front seat to sit and try on the boots.
Of his customers that come on the truck and end up trying on a pair of boots, Lyons says, “90 percent of them walk off with a set of shoes on.”
