The Mansell family has been established in Centre County, Pa. for years.
At 53 years old, John Mansell has run his tool route since 1997. While he has no definitive exit plans for the business, he would like to continue his route until he’s 65 years old, if his health allows.
Mansell held a number of industry-related jobs before selling tools, first by starting out on the repair side with heavy duty truck repair. He has also driven trucks and dispatched trucks for a road construction company and worked as a recruiter.
Working in the tool selling business for nearly 20 years, Mansell says he likes working with Mac Tools and has established that brand with customers. He also finds that he enjoys the relationships he’s built with customers, and likes that they can confide in him for business and, sometimes, personal matters.
“You just have to be a people person,” he says. “It’s about relationships.”
In his spare time, Mansell also refs local basketball games during the winter months – both high school and youth teams.
“It makes me stay very, very focused during the day. I might miss a stop or so a week,” Mansell says, laughing. He adds that his 15 years of refereeing experience have allowed him to apply some of those skills to the tool route. In particular, how to handle tense situations.
“In basketball, if you get a close game tensions can get high,” Mansell says. “Slow yourself down.”
“Number-one, if it’s tense, we’re going to the truck,” Mansell adds. “The truck is my turf. I’m a very firm believer in that. If we’re going to get into it, we’re going to get into it on my turf. I’m more comfortable here.” John is quick to point out that he rarely needs to diffuse situations any longer, and he chalks that up to maintaining good relationships with his customers and businesses on his route.
