Professional Distributor - 4

EDITOR'S NOTE
Published by Endeavor Business Media, LLC

Saying goodbye to summer
... and hello to the next season in tool sales.

A
BY SARA SCULLIN
EDITOR

920-568-8394
Sara@VehicleServicePros.com

Can't miss
products:
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com/2019/IANominees.

s I type this, it is still
August in the Midwest.
Like most places in the
country, we've had some staggeringly hot days these last
couple months. Weather that
can slow you down a little and
make every sweaty step in the
outdoors seem just a bit more
grueling than usual. These are
what they call the "dog days
of summer."
Side note: I've always wondered
what this phrase actually means, so I
consulted The Old Farmer's Almanac where I learned it's got nothing at
all to do with a shaggy dog panting
into its water bowl on a front porch,
but instead refers to a curiously
named star in the sky. But I digress.
Hopefully, the summer
months treated you kindly. Hopefully, the truck's A/C kept humming along and laboring customers weren't too short-tempered.
Depending on where you live, the
temperatures outside can impact
everything from morale to speed,
and even sales.
I'll never forget riding with
independent distributor Geoff
Beveridge in Dallas in August of
last year (September 2018 PD cover
story). It had been a productive
morning for sales; Beveridge was
running a GEARWRENCH deal
that day and customers were on
and off the truck. There was one
A/C unit in the back that had just
come in; it was barely in the door
when a technician purchased it on
the spot for his shop where the
A/C unit had gone kaput. That was
a mighty quick sale for Beveridge -
and a godsend for the technicians
in the repair bays.
It made me wonder: how many

mobile tool dealers make - and
even count on - seasonal/relief
sales? You've got your shop cooling products, vehicle A/C repair
tools and equipment, even bottles
of water near checkout.
If wildly swinging temperatures are the norm in your neck of
the woods, it means we are officially soft-shoeing out of summer
and heading into the next season
of sales. Where summer meant
evaporative coolers and fans, fall
and winter bring updated gear like
heated hoodies, not to mention the
winter-season vehicle repair tools
to cover the bases for heater systems, windshield washer and wiper
maintenance, and oil cooler lines.
Nutritionists will tell you it's
healthy to "eat with the seasons."
I suspect the same can be said for
sales. Not only does this natural
turn of events keep you and your
customers on your toes, but to
some extent, it ensures products
are rotated and changed out along
the shelves of your mobile store.
And we all know a little change
can be a good thing.
If seasonal sales that support
both shop environment and labor
inside the shop are a dependable
part of your mobile tool business,
there's no need to shed a tear when
the leaves turn or even when that
white stuff falls from the sky.
Does this type of sale have
a significant impact on the bottom line where you live? If so, let
us know what products you find
move with the temperatures. Or, if
you've heard a different explanation behind the phrase "dog days
of summer," I'd like to hear what
that is because I'm still not sold on
the star bit.

4 Professional Distributor I September 2019 I VehicleServicePros.com

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Printed in the U.S. Volume 27, Number 8; September 2019
VICE PRESIDENT/GROUP PUBLISHER - TRANSPORTATION

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EDITOR Sara Scullin

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