Abrasive answers

Abrasive suppliers share the behaviors of successful distributor salespeople

by Paul Markgraff

Distributors can easily help end-user customers make dramatic improvements on the plant floor by taking a close look at the abrasive products their customers use.

Looking at the amount of material a particular abrasive product removes or the length of time the product lasts, distributors can help end-users eliminate costs and improve process efficiency by suggesting a product better suited to the end-user’s application.

But abrasive suppliers want distributors to focus on other dimensions of selling as well, such as helping suppliers get onto the plant floor, participating in supplier training and convincing purchasing to look past lowest price.

“We can help distributors groom those skills,” says Les Branch, owner, president and CEO of Chicago-based Marvel Abrasives Inc. “We can spend time with them, get them good literature on our products. If they take the time to learn new things about abrasives, and have a little passion for what they do, selling more comes pretty easy.”

The battle for attention
A number of factors make distributor/supplier relationships work well, but the primary one is providing suppliers with access to end-users, says Chris Weiler, vice president of sales and marketing for Cresco, Pa.-based Weiler Corp.

“Clearly, as a distributor salesperson, you are not and never will be an expert on every single product line you carry,” he says. “And I, as an abrasive supplier, have to prove that it is worth investing your time in my product line. Help me get to potentially high-value accounts in your territory and allow me to work with you to convert those sales.”

Good suppliers talk with end-users about opportunities, not about the features and benefits of their products. Weiler says he would prefer to help distributors spend less time selling features and benefits and more time solving end-user problems.

For Jerry Hilf, vice president and general manager of Cleveland-based Abrasive Solutions Group (ASG), the distributor only needs to make introductions. After introducing them to customers, ASG reps will work on behalf of the distributor to conduct product testing and specify a better abrasive solution, whether in terms of product life or removal rate.

“The best thing a distributor can do is identify that the business is there, so you know you are making a qualified call,” says Hilf. “If you know the customer is using a competitive product, how much they are using and what they are using it for, that really works. More times than not, manufacturers waste their time with distributors on calls where the business really isn’t there.”

Hilf says distributors don’t even need to be trained in the technical aspects of the products. They just need to know how the product will be applied, and the supplier can handle the technical end.

Getting the right training
To learn how to apply products on the plant floor, distributors can get product training from most suppliers. Some, such as Standard Abrasives of Simi Valley, Calif., offer extensive training in its products in English and Spanish.

The company conducts on-site training for distributors and end-users in an effort to give them hands-on experience using its products.

“We talk about our products, go through our Web site and look at those products, but then we take attendees into our grinding room and let them try the products,” says David Liffers, vice president of marketing for Standard Abrasives. “Everybody tries competitive products too. Instead of us telling potential customers what they are seeing, we let them experience it for themselves.”

Liffers says Standard isn’t teaching selling techniques to distributor salespeople, per se. Rather, the company shows salespeople how to get past the issue of price by conducting practical grinding tests.

In one test, participants remove material (welds) using different abrasive products over a given amount of time. Afterward, they can observe the amount of the weld removed and the finish. Faster stock removal or a longer lasting abrasive disc will equate to hard-dollar savings.

“You have to be able to demonstrate the advantages of a product to distributor salespeople or they won’t have the confidence in your product to go out and demonstrate it to end-users,” he says.

The purchasing problem
Even after all of the preliminary work, a purchasing agent is the one person who can stymie any deal. Often, the purchaser’s job description requires him to find the lowest price available. So, how can distributors and suppliers get past the purchasing agent’s objections?

It depends on the type of relationship you have with the customer, says Branch. He says distributors could use a more aggressive approach, suggesting that if the buyer doesn’t recognize the implications of documented cost savings, he may eventually miss out on the productivity enhancements a new product might provide.

“Distributor salespeople have to understand that if they don’t introduce the better solution, someone else is going to,” he says. “Even if you introduce a better system and the end-user doesn’t want to buy it, they can’t accuse you of not trying.”

Sometimes, scare tactics won’t work and distributor salespeople need to rely on patience and persistence to get their message across.

For example, ASG abrasive products are currently specified on a national contract for a large rail car manufacturer. Recently, ASG brought a new abrasive product to one of the customer’s locations that uses a 6 by 3 flap wheel. Using the current product, workers are finishing about one car per wheel, whereas the new product finishes five cars per wheel.

The price of the new wheel is about 25 percent higher than the current wheel, and the plant floor workers have approved the new wheel because they’ve seen it used and want the benefits it would provide. But, ASG cannot get the contract changed because the purchasing agent on the national contract says he’s never witnessed such a dramatic change.

Because any change in the contract would affect multiple locations across the country, the buyer won’t budge. Hilf believes hard work and determination eventually will get him past this temporary obstacle.

“We’ll work diligently with the purchasing agent to make him understand,” says Hilf. “It may take three or four months, but it will end up happening. That’s why it’s important to have good-better-best scenarios when selling abrasives, so distributor salespeople can cover all of the different avenues. If they want it for a price, here it is. If they want it for performance, here is a different solution.”

Selling value instead of price is not new for distributors. It’s well established that distributors who improve the end-user’s processes forge tighter customer relationships. By working closely with suppliers, distributors can provide even more value to the customer and build long-lasting and profitable relationships.

This article originally appeared in the January/February 2007 issue of Progressive Distributor. Copyright 2007.

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