Back in 2021, we sat down with Cornwell Quality Tools distributor Gabe 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.”
