Professional Distributor - 8

DISTRIBUTOR PROFILE

A nudge to go it alone
The Bearded Outlaw - Joel Simmons - wanted
to make a business that works for him, and he
depends on support from some key places to
keep things moving forward.
Although Simmons started with a flag in 2013,
about three and a half years in the laid-back tool
dealer considered another approach.
"I didn't want to be pushed to sell only certain
items and I didn't want to deal with the financing
stuff. I didn't sell a lot of credit; I'd tell customers,
'Get a personal loan - it's less interest.'"
Add to this dealing with the aftermath of a totaled
tool truck, and Simmons was ready to exit the
business. That is, until his ISN rep at the time,
Kimberly Taylor, suggested he go independent.
"It was an unknown to me; no support structure;
I thought it sounded good, but it felt like a greater
risk," Simmons says.
"Taylor was one of the best reps I ever had," he
adds. "She got me on with the GEARWRENCH
team. She wouldn't push sales, but she would
let me know about new stuff. Every day she'd
keep me informed about deals going on. ISN is
the main warehouse distributor I buy from; but, I
actually started buying from them when I was still
with [the franchise]."
Simmons continually asks his reps to keep him
posted on new product coming down the line. He
says "People LOVE new stuff; when you are first
to have an item they will keep coming to you first.
That's why I like... to find out about new things."

don't always want to be interrupted."
At one of his regular stops, a large Mercedes dealership, Simmons will stop
for a couple hours to talk shop and see
what needs taking care of.

SELLING STRATEGIES
Early in his selling career Simmons was
fielding special requests from technicians looking for the right tool. When
he first started business working under
a flag, he covered an area that already
had plenty of established tool dealers,
and he found this to be a good way to
distinguish himself. Now Simmons
has the reputation as a trustworthy
resource, and he's earned the relationships to back it up.
"It was really hard getting started,"
Simmons says. "I was the guy who did
the labor that no one else wanted to do.
It paid off, but I spent a lot of time -
hours - trying to track down miscellaneous stuff for guys late at night. I
enjoy it... it's just a challenge. It makes
things a bit more exciting than strictly
selling the same thing over and over."

8 Professional Distributor I June 2019 I VehicleServicePros.com

Bearded Outlaw Tools owner Joel Simmons
drives a 2006 GMC Top Kick, which hasn't
always served him well. "It's a funky truck," he
says. "I bought it and I didn't know anything
about it; I know a lot now, unfortunately. Next
year I'm probably going to try something a
little different."

Finding specialty product is a way
Simmons carves his niche. Another is
by being the guy who knows "What's
new?" This is true even beyond stocking product. Simmons sees some of
the bigger trends happening in the
industry; he pays attention to these
trends and his customers' businesses.
He tries to stay informed so he can
be that educator or resource for his
diverse customer base.
"I'm across the board with everything," Simmons says. "I do a lot of work
with body shops because most tool guys
don't have the knowledge about body
tools. So, you learn about that; those
guys will spend some money if you have
something they don't have or it's interesting or new. [Body shop technicians]
always had to have more tools than the
average technician."
http://www.VehicleServicePros.com
Professional Distributor

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Professional Distributor
