Professional Distributor - 10

COVER STORY

the self-employed route. These days,
he drives his 2008 Freightliner MT55
in the Washington state capital, from
Tumwater to south Centralia, Chehalis,
and Napavine. He runs a route that's
about 50 percent heavy duty and 50
percent automotive - with a bit of autobody thrown into the mix.
Much of Douglas' route is in lumber territory, with a great many logging companies and sawmills dotting
the landscape. He says workers in this
industry use a lot of the same tools as
his heavy duty customers.

Show them what
they're missing

This veteran tool dealer isn't shaken by
changes taking place in the aftermarket or online tool sales. His approach is
simple: show customers the tools they
could benefit from, and be consistent
and effective enough that they'll buy
from you time and time again.
"Online [sales] are not much of a
factor," he says. "Customers buy for
the service. If you provide a service,
they're going to come buy from you.
Buying online very seldom comes up,
and I have enough customers and do
enough business where if [some customers] want to buy online, they can
do that, but [then] they know they can't
come to me to get stuff warrantied and

taken care of unless they're a customer."
What are Douglas' secrets for
better sales?
"No secrets, really," he says. "You
just tote and promote stuff; bring new
tools or different tools around and just
show guys what's available. Most of the
time you show them stuff and it's like
they never knew a tool for that existed."
Douglas says he does a lot of tote
and promote, which has worked well
for him over the years. That's one strategy; the other is simply treating his
customers right.
"They're buying from me, not the
tool company," he says. "Treat [your customers] right and they just come back."
Apart from taking care of customers, Douglas says it's essential that new
and seasoned tool dealers alike pay
themselves first and put money aside
for the future.
"Invest in your retirement," Douglas
says. "I expect my customers to pay me
at least $40 per week. It should be easy
for a dealer to put $40 or more per week
into some kind of retirement fund. [You
should] Start investing while you are
young, but it is never too late to start."

Tools and training

With a route deep in the heart of the
lumber industry, Douglas keeps more
heavy duty product on his truck than

10 Professional Distributor I September 2019 I VehicleServicePros.com

West Coast tool dealer Abe Douglas also
gave up his flag to become his own boss.
The owner of Abe's Toolbox, Douglas' route
is based in Rochester, Washington, about 70
miles from the Pacific Ocean.

most, like a good variety of largersized tools and "a ton of Milwaukee
stuff." He may get into diagnostic
products a bit, but most of his heavy
duty stops use factory tools. While he
keeps a heavy duty scan tool on the
truck, Douglas says it's still a challenge
to find products with the appropriate
amount of coverage for his heavyduty customers.
Because Douglas' customer base is
so specific, he says it can be a challenge
to work with suppliers to get product
(and the right product) ordered and
shipped in a timely fashion.
"I'm looking for specific items, and
a lot of times, not your normal items,"
he says. "It can be difficult to get the
oddball, oversized stuff. Probably the
biggest problem is ordering pieces of
things, like parts for tools."
Douglas says business is consistent, and he does "whatever it takes"
to do the job and do it well, staying
busy even if that means putting in 14
hours a day, five days a week. He looks
forward to celebrating retirement in
the next five years and seeing where
the next adventure takes him.

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