In this industry, it's easy for your customers to start to feel like friends, or even family, you just happen to sell tools to, but what happens when you need to separate work from play and establish professional boundaries? Five distributors weigh in. 

1. Recognize your lane and keep to it

"I invite my customers to come to my house if they need me. There are plenty of times I've gotten off my school bus job, and somebody called and asked if they could come over and pick up a tool, and I'm more than happy to do that. Don't call me at 10 o'clock at night; let's stay friends, and both do the things that we're supposed to do, and that's my professional boundary."

-Steve Johnson, Independent

2. Keeping boundaries when collecting payment

"I really set boundaries when it comes to payment. That's a conversation when you're selling the tool to the customer, 'Hey, being that it's this amount per month, I'm going to need a certain amount a week for you to be able to take this off the truck.' And then there's some negotiations and stuff that happens, but that's the biggest boundary."

-Josh Stottlemire, Mac Tools

3. Make sure you and your customers are on the same page

"Right off the bat, I established that having timely payments is a big thing for me. I can still be friendly, and we can be buddies, but they know that I expect their payment to be ready for the weekly or bi-weekly payment we agreed upon. And most guys respect that, and they understand that it's my business. All the tools on the truck have come from me, and I purchase them out of my own business funds. Some guys, believe it or not, really don't know. They think these tools are just from this big corporate conglomeration and are just given to me to sell, but I have to explain, 'No, I had to pay for all this.' So, our agreed-upon payment comes first and foremost; that has to be respected." 

-Nate Zeglen, Matco Tools 

4. Beware of how you set your boundaries

"I try to stay focused on the tools and the business, but to build relationships, you have to be able to get into the family, sports, etc. You have to be able to take a little bit of time for those kinds of things to build that trusting relationship. Because if you don't, you become the 'Oh, no, he's here again,' guy. Instead of getting, 'Hey, how are you today?' Or 'Hey, let me tell you what happened this week. My granddaughter was in this thing and yada, yada, yada.' So, you have to have a genuine interest in it ... to create a trusting relationship."

-Duayne Sharpe, Cornwell Quality Tools 

5. Set expectations early 

"My customers know I'll take care of them, but they also understand that not every call, text, or request will get an immediate response. Setting expectations early helps me give my customers great service without letting the business take over my personal time."

-Douglas Simms, Matco Tools