Professional Distributor - 7

DISTRIBUTOR PROFILE
Where in the world is this
professional distributor?

View from
THE TOP

California's capital and sixth largest city by
population, Sacramento sits about 100 miles
inland from San Francisco in the northern half
of the state. The city is located at the confluence
of the Sacramento and American rivers in the
Sacramento Valley. "We're an hour and forty
minutes from skiing in the mountains and we're
an hour and twenty minutes away from the
ocean; we're close to anything you'd want to do,"
says Mac Tools distributor Chris Nelson.

When Chris Nelson of Sacramento, California,
became a Mac Tools distributor six years ago, he
wasted no time becoming the best in the West.
by David Brierley, Managing Editor

I

t's early autumn in Sacramento, California, so the morning is cool as
we start off on Mac Tools distributor Chris Nelson's route. We're on the
city's industrial north side, hopping from shop to shop on one street, then
another. Most of Nelson's route is heavy duty equipment with some auto
repair, autobody, and even a stop at an airport mixed in.

"I do a lot of big truck shops," Nelson says. "One of the biggest shops is
Caterpillar - it's their earth moving
division, so they [work on] tractors that
are bigger than a building. I do Kenworth and I have Freightliner - those
are the dealerships, and then I have
some small independent shops who
either repair their own fleet or [other
fleets'] trucks."
Nelson also stops at shops that
work on lesser-used vehicles such as
uniform trucks, shredder trucks, septic
trucks, and tool trucks.
Before I joined him at 9 AM, Nelson had already sold upwards of $3,000
of product, and it's easy to see why. At
some shops, customers are lined up
outside the door before the tool truck
even comes to a stop. At others, it can
take a little longer, but there is always
plenty of business. Once the initial rush
dies down, Nelson will sometimes hop
off the truck and take a walk inside the
shop to see who is around that hasn't
visited the truck today.
At one stop, Nelson walks into the
shop and starts chatting with a technician who is working on a bulldozer with

a broken axle. The technician doesn't
seem to be having much luck with the
repair, and after a few minutes of back
and forth Nelson figures out exactly
what tool could be used to help. The
two walk directly back to the tool truck,
and a sale is made.
"I was watching him use the tool,
and it was broken," Nelson explains.
"Sometimes you get guys to tell you
what they want by just [asking], 'Oh, do
you need something? What are you trying to do there?' You can play dumb and
not know everything, and let them teach
you something that turns into a sale."
It's difficult not to get along with
Nelson; his jovial, friendly attitude goes
a long way in the mobile tool industry.
As Nelson's customers greet him like
an old friend, it's easy to see how he
became so successful so quickly.
"My niche, essentially, is that people
tend to like me and gravitate towards
me, I think," he says.

Chris Nelson

Sacramento, Calif.
Population: 501,000

Nelson's

TOP 5
TOOLS
1

Mac Tools BL-Spec 1/2"
Brushless Impact Wrench

2

Mac Tools Pro Eye
Rechargeable Area Light

3

Mac Tools Cobalt Drill Bit Set

LEARNING FROM THE BEST

4

Mac Tools 3/8" Drive 12V MAX
Ratchet Kit

There is more to Nelson's success than
being a friendly guy, however. Before
becoming a distributor, Nelson

5

Mac Tools Digital Multimeter

Professional Distributor I December 2019 I VehicleServicePros.com 7
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Professional Distributor

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