Sales Tip: Understand your customer's shop profile

In our May cover story, independent distributor Curtiss Ryan and industry experts from Coats, Bosch, and Ken-Tool, talk about the importance of understanding your customer's shop profile, specifically as it pertains to selling tire and wheel service tools. 

“It’s critical,” Kevin Keefe, director of marketing at Coats, says, “for a distributor to understand a customer’s shop profile. There is no worse feeling for a customer than to start using a new machine and realize it is not properly equipped for the work they need to do.”

That can mean asking better questions up front. Does the shop handle high-end or customized vehicles? Is its business centered on light trucks or medium duty work? Is it trying to increase tire volume, improve balancing speed, or reduce the risk of wheel damage? Those details can determine not only which equipment model is the best fit, but also which add-ons are essential.