Professional Distributor - 10

COVER STORY

SCAN TOOL SELLING SUCCESS
For Cornwell tool dealer John Patterson
Jr., selling scan tools has become second
nature. For the past 13 years, Patterson
has been selling tools with his route
located in Baltimore, Maryland. His
stops mainly consist of independent and
specialty shops, with some body shops
and dealerships mixed in.
Patterson worked as a technician for
20 years, the last ten years of which he
specialized in diagnostics. However, Patterson contributes his sales success as to
taking the time to learn each scan tool
and familiarize himself with the menu.
That way, when it comes time to demo
the unit to a customer, he can do it in
about 10 minutes.
This tactic has worked well for him
over the years, starting with Autel's
MaxiDas DS708. With the help of shop
owners talking amongst themselves, Patterson said he soon found himself providing numerous demonstrations, which
lead to "an avalanche of sales."
Today, the biggest thing for Patterson is "staying informed by keeping
up-to-date in the industry and having

healthy connections - not just with your
flag but also your suppliers."
For Patterson, when it comes to
keeping up with new and upcoming
scan tool technology, he turns to his
customers. Many will ask him if he saw
this technology or that, or if he sees a
customer with a scan tool that he doesn't
recognize, he'll ask them about it.
He also stays connected with manufacturers' technical service workers. For
example, he became good friends with
one of Autel's technical service workers
and will email him once a day, if not
more, for customer assistance, to learn
about a product, or to get his thoughts
on a new product.
When selling scan tools, Patterson
would advise fellow mobile tool dealers
to talk to the customer to find out what
is going to work best for him or her.
"Listen to the questions that your
customers ask and use that as key
points to focus on," he says. "You can
start anywhere from selling a $50 to $60
code reader and work your way up to a
$6,000 or $7,000 scan tool just based
on what the customer's needs are."

10 Professional Distributor I September 2020 I VehicleServicePros.com

Cornwell tool dealer, John Patterson Jr., has
been selling tools for over 13 years with a route
in Baltimore, Maryland. According to Patterson,
selling scan tools has become second nature.

Demonstrating a scan tool, as well as
loaning one out to a shop or technician,
can prove very beneficial, especially to
make the sale. Technicians are eager to
get their hands on a new tool and to see
the capabilities it has to offer.
"I'm a big believer in doing all my
demos in the shop," Patterson notes.
"For one, it's an environment they are
familiar with and it's a real-world demo.
Some scan tools have demonstration
modes that you can pull stuff up on the
screen and do it on the truck. I prefer to
hook it up to a car and put the tool in
the customer's hand and then navigate
through it with them."
In many instances, the customer
may teach him a thing or two, he adds.
"You can always learn something else
and your customer base is your best
source for information."
"There's a reason why God gave
you two ears and one mouth," Patterson laughs.

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