All about attitude

At the first stop of the day, Cornwell Tools dealer Tim “The Tool Man” Bader helps his customer unload an Extreme Tools road chest toolbox from the liftgate of the tool truck.

At the second stop, a customer asks about the road chest and Bader feigns regret as he says the toolbox was already sold.

“And I just put it on the truck last night,” Bader says. “But you can go talk to Luke over at Gooseneck [Implement] down the road. I’m sure he’ll let you get a look at it,” Bader continues with a smile.

He goes on to tell the customer he has a second box waiting at home, and can deliver it if he’s interested.

After less than an hour on the road this morning and only two stops in, Bader has already collected nearly $2,100 and sold $2,300. While this is an above-average start to the day, it’s not atypical.

“Usually it’s about $1,000,” says Bader of these morning ag-stop stops. “The box set me over. $2,800 to $3,200 a day is pretty consistent.”

Even for a booming economy, which Minot, North Dakota and the surrounding area is not at present, this level of success may be seen as above average.

Bader has continued to successfully run his tool business, despite the recent changes in the local economy.

Changes to the local economy

In recent years, North Dakota has seen a rise in population and growth due to the migration of workers looking to cash in on the energy boom. Since 2010, North Dakota has been the fastest growing state in the U.S., according to the U.S Census Bureau.

Minot is one of three larger communities that make up a group of North Dakota cities surrounding the Bakken Formation, a geological shale rock formation that houses an estimated “technically recoverable” 3.65 billion barrels of crude oil and 6.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (see sidebar for more information).

To extract these fossil fuels, a method known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is employed. When oil barrel prices topped out near $200 per barrel, Minot and surrounding communities saw an influx of transient residents.

Minot alone had an increase from approximately 40,888 residents in April 2010 to 49,450 in July 2015 – nearly a 21 percent increase -- according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

In addition to servicing shops directly involved with the drilling or fracking process, Bader also saw an uptick in activity throughout the city at independent repair shops, dealerships, agriculture and heavy equipment shops.

But when the price of oil dropped, production slowed.

Bader says he took notice when the boom began to bust (or at least pause until further notice) in March 2015. In one quarter alone last year, Bader repossessed $50,000 in tools and ended up writing off nearly $35,000 from customers who up and left.

“For what’s left of the transplants, about 15 percent of the population is left,” Bader says. “At one time probably close to 40 (percent).”

Bader acknowledges the economy has had an effect on some of his customers, particularly heavy machinery operations that worked directly with oil and natural gas extraction. He saw a 25 percent decrease in weekly “delivered, completed business” compared to the height of the shale boom.

“It definitely cost a little bit, but not as bad as you would think,” he says. “I think part of that is that I’ve been in this community for so long, and know so many people, it’s the relationships I’ve built over the years. People are still driving, they’re still going to work, still going out to eat. They’re still working on the cars. But, other shops – Butler Machinery – they’re used to be 22 technicians in there – now there are 10.”

Self-motivation and staying positive

So how has Bader sustained, while the economy has taken a dive?

As a native to the area, customer make-up and long-standing local relationships have helped him, but Bader also says he keeps a positive attitude when he’s talking with customers.

“You’ve got to find that thing that makes you get up in the morning and go out and be the highlight of their day because the days are pretty boring for these guys,” Bader explains. “You don’t want to be the ‘Debbie Downer’ that shows up. You want to show up, have a good time with them, make it fun. They just like doing business with people like that.”

“Some days it’s hard to get to that point,” he says. “Some days I’m sure I miss the mark. But I really try to do that [remain positive].”

While Bader aims to be the highlight of his customers’ day, of late he has sometimes dealt with pushback or more negative attitudes.

“I’ve had days, at noon I went home, took a nap, readjusted, had something to eat and went back to work,” he says. “Just because I wasn’t going to do them, or me, any favors to continue to press on without getting my attitude right. I think that’s the biggest struggle.”

Bader has continued to reflect on his attitude, and will often think back to sales training he has learned through the years, particularly from author, salesman and motivational speaker Zig Ziglar, if he needs an attitude readjustment while on the route.

“‘If you help enough people get what they want. You’ll get what you want.’ or ‘The sales process is something you do for someone, not to them.’ Things like that, I think, are words to live by,” he says.

Bader’s motivation to stay positive for his customers also coincides with his favorite part of the business: “The only people I have to answer to [are] my customers.”

He says he has a moral obligation to do right by his shops, and maintains that one aspect of running a successful business is being fair and providing exceptional service to all of his customers. This, in turn, builds trust.

“To do a good job and to take care of them is the right thing to do,” he says. “Don’t sell them something they don’t need. It just makes it easier after that. They trust you.”

He adds if customers do purchase a product they’re unhappy with, Bader will exchange it for another item.

Bader’s experience also shows based on the inventory on the truck. Because he has been in the industry for a number of years, and is attentive to his customer’s needs, he says he understands what products to keep stocked.

“You develop a pattern after you figure out what stops you have and what their needs are,” he explains. “Generally, if I sell it four or five times per year, it’s worth stocking. [Or] if you find something different or unusual or [hasn’t been] seen before.”

While Bader will typically reorder an item once it’s sold off the truck, he says that if the product has sat on the truck for a number of months, he isn’t necessarily quick to get it back on the shelf.

“But that’s funny too, because trends change,” he adds. “What you stock is always changing. You may have had something that was selling like hotcakes and now you can’t give one away. And the time you don’t reorder, is when you need it.”

Different sales tactics

Bader keeps tabs on average sales throughout the day, and knows where he should be by mid-day.

“I usually check it at lunch time, because I know where I should be by then,” he says. “Some guys won’t do that, but I want to know.”

As part of Bader’s approach, he opts to finance many of his customers himself, versus offering the flag-associated financing, Tech Credit.

“I have about $250,000 on the streets,” he says. Bader explains this balance is split between about $85,000 in timed-payment, or TP, accounts with the remaining amount classified as XCR accounts. With the XCR accounts, Bader says “I charge 1.5 percent APR, with a turn of about 30 weeks. That’s good business. I collect about $25K in interest.”

“There’s a finite amount of money,” he explains, of available business. “These guys only have so much, so you have to retain as much profit out of that sale as you can. They can only pay so much, they only have so much money.”

Bader adds that customers don’t require a steeply discounted product, so long as the dealer keeps coming back every week to service the shop.

“They don’t mind dealing with successful people,” he says, of his customers.

Bader’s sales approach is confident, focused and deliberate. He has the experience to know what to stock and how to find what his customers need, and he’s not afraid to ask for the sale. He’s comfortable with his customers and will crack jokes from time to time, but always keeps the conversation on target about tools.

Bader refers to all of his customers by name when he approaches them in the shop. While he reviews the customer list on his computer while checking special orders, prior to entering the shop, Bader says he is also good with faces so he’s able to quickly recall names.

When he sees customers in the shop, he readily reuses the phrase “Want to go shopping?” and “See you out on the truck.” Once customers enter the truck, he greets them with “What can I show you today?”

“If someone’s looking for a tool, I’m going to find it for them,” says Bader. “If they ask me for it – they could have already gone out on the internet and found it themselves – they want me to take care of them. Don’t say ‘No.’”

While Bader works hard at his business, he makes sure to have a work-life balance. He’ll typically put in 10- to 12-hour days, totaling about 45 to 50 hours per week, but will also dedicate time – particularly in the summer months – for boating and riding his motorcycle.

“Our summers are so short, and I enjoy boating so much, that I take liberty to do that as much as I can,” says Bader.

Being your own boss

Self-motivated by nature, Bader says he’s quick to check things off his list, but in the way he wants.

“I’ve always been a doer,” he says. “Give me a task, and I’ll go get it done.”

Unlike some dealers, not even his family or friends assist with the business.

“I run this tool business all on my own,” he says.

Bader says being a Cornwell Tools dealer has allowed him to be his own boss, and that’s one of the things he likes most about being a mobile tool distributor.

Bader started his first tool truck route in 1987. He quickly moved up to district manager, and found the position wasn’t for him. After leaving the tool business in the mid-90s, Bader worked for a heavy duty trucking company for 15 years as a service manager.

“When I started to investigate the tool business again, I decided that [being a tool dealer] was going to be my retirement job,” Bader says.

In June 2014 when Bader first got back into the business, he ranked as the No. 12 Cornwell dealer in the U.S. within six months of starting his route. While the economy certainly assisted with this ranking, Bader says he still sets similar goals for himself to remain successful in the business.

“Definitely have goals,” he says. “The goal this year is to get into the Top-10 before the end of the year. I had quite a bit of time off this year, so it’ll be quite a bit of a push.”

There are a number of uncertainties that Bader, as well as many residents and businesses in western and central North Dakota, face. As a “wait-and-see approach” Bader has tossed around the idea of opening a storefront. He’s considered purchasing or leasing a new truck, and expanding his route to other area towns. But these changes are all dependent on which direction the economy turns.

Bader is 54 years old, and he plans to run his route another eight to 10 years. His goal is to achieve and sustain as a Top-10 dealer nationally with Cornwell.

“I want to do well in this business,” he says. “It’s a numbers game. I like being higher up in the standings with Cornwell. That’s important to me. That helps drive me.”