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Every year, 34-year-old Cameron Meyer, his wife Bridget, and their four daughters drive to the Mac Tools Tool Fair from their home in Pierce, Neb. for their vacation. They like the family-friendly destinations the company chooses for these events, so everyone can have a good time and still do business.
“When we’re at these tool shows, Bridget just soaks everything in, and the girls learn a lot, too,” says Meyer.
Their eight-year-old, McKenna, gets to practice the sales pitches she learns from him when she hitches a ride on his route.
A multi-route franchisee, Meyer covers Northeast Nebraska with two trucks. He and his other driver service about 850 customers in the city of Norfolk and every town within a 70-mile radius. Meyer’s territory is mainly Norfolk, where he spends Mondays at Northeast Community College with students in the automotive, autobody, and diesel technician programs.
At the college, students flock to the truck, where he showcases new products, distributes flyers, and provides educational sessions and demonstrations for at least six hours.
“It’s a big thing for our Kansas-Nebraska Mac Tools district, and we’re always the No. 1 district for student technicians,” he reports, adding that these are also his future customers.
Meyer’s history and background were a perfect fit for this career choice. Before becoming a mobile tool dealer seven years ago, he sold parts in a variety of enterprises. He’s also been exposed to the auto industry since before he was born. His father has owned an automotive repair shop for 45 years.
“Having seen my dad running a successful business, I thought I would enjoy starting my own,” he says.
He was right, and his business has flourished.
“After three years, I had to get a second truck because I’d spread myself too thin and couldn’t give everyone in my territory the service they needed,” he explains.
Things improved greatly afterwards – until his multi-route driver quit. At that point, Bridget took a break from being a stay-at-home mom and jumped in. She trained on his truck for two days and hit the road the following week.
“She serviced the route for two months until I had the next driver hired and trained,” he says. “Bridget really understands the business, and now knows the route and the customers.”
Servicing the client family
Meyer is also a “dad” to his customers, who know he will take care of them and figure something out if they’re in a jam or need something quickly. He keeps a large selection of tools on his truck, including specialty items such as timing tools, so he’s often their first call. If he’s out of stock, he’ll find another Mac distributor and have them drop-ship the item.
Meyer’s bestsellers include Mac’s exclusive RBRT sets, cordless electrical tools, and air tools. Mac Tools updates him regularly on new developments, and he is constantly searching websites and magazines to see what’s out there.
“This helps me sell to technicians who have been around for a long time, and think they don’t need anything more, but when they see the benefits of a cool new tool, they’ll probably buy it," he says.
As for sales tools, Meyer believes that social media is one of the most important vehicles for distributors. He’s a huge Snapchat user, with about 500 business contacts. He reports that any time he takes something in on trade, he’ll post it on his account, and it will usually be gone before he gets to his next stop.
In looking to the future, Meyer can’t envision doing anything else.
“I truly love what I do, and it doesn’t feel like work to me.”
His family would agree.
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