It can be hard to find your groove and build a rapport with customers as a new dealer, but what about when you’ve been in the business for a while and you’re picking up and starting over somewhere new?  

Cornwell Quality Tools dealer Gabe Felix had been in the automotive industry for around 20 years–starting as a body shop owner and transitioning into the world of mobile distribution in 2019–when he and his wife Amanda uprooted their lives in California and moved to Utah. With a completely different, somewhat downsized, route and new customers at every stop, it felt a little like “starting over,” Felix says. 

“It was kind of a weird feeling,” he explains. “I’m a seasoned dealer, but at the same time, my first time out I was like, this is brand new to me.”  

As daunting as it was, Felix has managed to fit well into his new route in Utah, a win he attributes to his reliability and the importance he places on building relationships with his technicians. 

Keeping it real

Back in 2021, we sat down with Felix to talk about his truck and he shared one of his secrets to navigating the industry: building relationships. Now, three years later, he continues to encourage others to do the same.  

One effective method to building those relationships comes from being reliable. If Felix says he’ll be somewhere, then he keeps that promise. He never misses a stop on his weekly route but is sure to communicate with his technicians if things come up.  

“You gotta keep it real with them,” Felix explains. “I don't like playing with smoke and mirrors. I keep it honest. If I make a sale, I make a sale. And if I don’t, I don’t. You’re still building a relationship, so it doesn’t matter.” 

Each interaction he has with a technician is a step towards a sale, even if not every interaction ends in a sale. Sometimes as distributors, you have to play the long game with your technicians. For Felix, this outlook shapes every encounter he has with his customers. When he sees the same technicians every week, he puts in the effort to get to know them–their shops, their interests and needs, as well as their personalities. 

“If you’re going to be in this business long, you end up making friends and relationships,” Felix says. “The tools become secondary in some cases.” 

A family affair

Aside from the relationship Felix maintains with his technicians, he takes pride in the partner he’s chosen to help him keep his truck running: his wife Amanda. When he’s helping a customer in the back, or demonstrating a product, she can run the computer or check customers out.  

The extra set of hands has allowed the pair to condense their work week to around three and a half days, giving them more time to spend together as a family. Additionally, it’s given Felix the chance to invest more one-on-one time with his technicians. 

“A lot of guys ask me, because they know we ride together, if it’s worth it, and the answer is yes,” Felix says. “You can effectively see more people, handle more people, and spend quality time with more people. We make a pretty good duo.” 

Reinvesting in the future

When approached by new dealers at rallies, the biggest piece of advice Felix gives them is to invest in their business. The best way to do this, Felix says, is by keeping a well-stocked truck. It can be daunting to spend money, especially when you’re starting and don’t have a consistent income, but without a product, you can’t make a sale. Felix is running his third truck on a new route, but through all the change he’s kept the same credo when it comes to inventory.  

“Don’t be scared to reinvest your money into the business. It’s going to take a minute for it to self-sustain,” Felix advises. “The reality of it is [that] if it’s not on your shelf, [technicians] aren’t going to buy it.” 

For Felix, reinvesting looks a little different than it did when he first started on his truck. The distributor plans on working on his YouTube channel to demonstrate tools on a live car in the garage he’s currently building out. The project has two goals: educating dealers who don’t know much about tools and showcasing tools that he might not otherwise have the time for.