Cornwell Tools dealer Tim Barker has been in the tool selling business for six years now. Over the course of those years, Barker has upgraded from a 2013 International TerraStar, to a 2015 Isuzu, to his current truck, a 2019 Peterbilt 337.
Barker bought his newest truck a little over a year ago in January 2019 from Summit Body Works. On his route, he cruises through Southern California making stops in Moreno Valley, Banning, Beaumont, Yucaipa, and Mentone. His customer base consists of body shops, dealerships, independent shops, and a small number of heavy duty shops.
“It came equipped with every creature comfort you could think of,” Barker says of the 2019 Peterbilt.
With a cherrywood interior, assisted liftgate, and an ultra-wide body – 102” wide, the widest box Summit makes – the truck’s got everything. Everything including dual exhaust stacks, which Barker says are just for show.
The only thing the Cornwell Tools dealer would change about his truck is the length.
“I wish I had gotten a 24’ box instead of a 22’… but this will probably be my last truck – that’s what my wife said,” Barker jokes. “But honestly, I will probably get a 24’ later. That extra two feet really does make a difference.”
Before becoming a tool dealer, Barker spent 18 years working at a body shop as the head painter. After working 16-hour days, seven days a week at times, and not having the time to spend with his wife or three children, Barker took a page from his previous tool dealer’s book. He saw the income and flexibility his tool dealer had and decided to stop working in the shop and start selling to the people who work in shops instead.
Though there is still a bit of a balancing act between work and family, Barker is happy to have a job that offers him a bit more freedom.
“I leave my house at 6:30 [AM] and there [are] some days I get home at 3:00 [PM], there [are] some days I get home at 6:00 [PM], but when I'm done, I'm done,” Barker says. “We can go to dinner. We can go away on the weekends. We [can] pretty much do whatever we want.”
Aside from the flexibility of the job, Barker enjoys interacting with his customers. His wife tells him he has the “gift to gab,” and his ability to talk with people is what makes him successful, but Barker disagrees.
“I talk to my customers like I would like to be talked to,” he says. “I don't try to candy-coat it. I'm not trying to sell something to everybody. I'm brutally honest with them.”
To Barker, honesty is what makes a successful tool distributor. Putting yourself in the shoes of the technicians you’re selling to in order to understand what they need, doing the research to find the right products, and helping the technicians get the best deals on their tools is how Barker runs his truck.
“When you're in sales, there [are] a lot of times that someone will just sell you something regardless [of] if you need it or not,” Barker notes. “I'm not that guy. I want to make sure that [the technicians are] getting exactly what they want.”
