Sales Tip: A baseball mentality

Customers skipping payments can be one of the most frustrating realities for any tool dealer, but Cornwell Tools dealer John Patterson says he has learned to take them in stride and recognize they will happen from time to time.

“It’s a baseball mentality,” he says. “You are going to throw a pitch, a guy connects on for a home run every once in a while. You just got to get back in there and keep going. If you sit there and beat yourself up about this stuff on a day-to-day basis, you will not be successful. The only thing you can do is do what you normally do as far as trying to track down skips and then just move on with your day.”

However, when one of his customers makes a purchase from another tool dealer and Patterson notices, he cannot help but be a little affected by the decision.

“Every time I walk in and they’ve gotten that service from someone else, my first reaction is trying to figure out what I did do, what I didn’t do or what I can do better,” he says.