Do your homework before 
selling industrial metalworking fluids

In today’s competitive environment, salespeople must do more than sell products. You must solve a problem or provide a measurable business result by lowering costs, improving productivity, reducing scrap or tool costs or improving sump life.

Professional metalworking fluid salespeople begin with pre-call planning. Pre-call planning helps you develop your strategy for reaching the desired sales results and gives you the confidence you’ll need to ask questions and gather information about the customer during the sales call process.

Gather as much data as you can about the customer’s business and manufacturing process. This knowledge puts you in a position to ask intelligent questions to develop your sales strategy. Use any tool, person or resource you can to gather your data, including the Internet, referrals, sales records, local newspapers and annual reports. This in-depth preparation will help you develop ideas to improve their business results.

Look for answers to the following questions:
•Who are the gatekeepers and decision-makers?
•What budgeting process do they follow? 
•Does the customer buy based on performance, price, quality, or service? 
•Who measures product trials and how are they conducted? 
•Is there someone inside the account who will support you?
•Who is the current metalworking fluids supplier and why do they have the business? 
•What products, call frequency and service level (delivery, inventory management, sampling and so on) does the current supplier provide?
•And most importantly, if you can provide a better product and service package, is the customer willing to make a change?

Proper pre-call preparation enables you to better identify and then satisfy your customer’s needs.

Analyze and pre-plan your sales approach 
Are your sales calls product oriented or customer oriented?  How many times have you visited a prospect and said, “I can save you money!” before you knew if you could?

Don’t provide product information until after you understand and analyze your customer’s needs. You must understand the problems your customer encounters in order to make sure your recommendations provide the desired results.

Never tell the customer you can save them money until you know for sure it’s true. Do this by finding out what is happening in their shop. This may require several shop visits to learn what is happening.

Get the customer to agree on the problem areas before you sell a solution. Also, get your customer to agree what constitutes a successful trial. Do not start a trial without such agreement, or you may never agree when the trial is successful or complete. The easiest way to do this is to point out the problem areas you can cure, get a trial order, and then run a trial to demonstrate how your product can solve the problem.

Some of the most common metalworking fluid problems include rancidity (foul odors), rust/corrosion, poor tool life, high use cost (sump life/concentration), disposal issues and foam. Proper fluid management can solve these problems.

Rancidity – A precise mix of biocides in metalworking fluid formulas helps control odor problems. These materials perform at their optimum efficiency at the recommended mix ratio for a given product. Poor concentration control can lead to a buildup of bacteria and mold, cause rotten egg or garbage odors. Avoid this problem by periodically dumping, cleaning and recharging machine tool sumps to remove chips or swarf, tramp oil, sludge and any other debris that accumulates. In general, clean machine tool sumps at regular intervals. Use your fluid supplier’s recommended cleanout procedure and cleaner for this process.

Rust/corrosion – Metalworking fluids contain a mix of ingredients to control rust and corrosion. If concentration levels are not monitored, rust and corrosion can occur. Low fluid concentration (or inability to properly check concentration because of high dirt levels) may cause rust to develop. Poor water quality in fluid mixes, especially water with high levels of chlorides and sulfates, can also contribute to rust problems.

Poor tool life – When the fluid concentration becomes too lean for the job being performed, it may sacrifice tool life. Properly controlling concentration can extend tool life. Mixes that are too rich result in higher metalworking fluid costs. Make sure the appropriate fluid, at the recommended concentration, is in use. Dirt and residue can build up if filtration is poor or non-existent, affecting tool life and part finish.

Dermatitis – Water-based metalworking fluids that become too rich may contribute to dermatitis. Good concentration control ensures optimum employee satisfaction.

Foam – Most cutting fluids contain soap-like materials for cleanliness and lubricity. Strong concentration or very soft water can lead to foamy cutting fluid.

High use cost – Use cost is affected by concentration control and sump life. Too rich a concentration causes use cost to go up. Too lean a concentration can lead to poor tool life, rust or rancidity, which also affect use cost. Short sump life means more dumps and recharges and higher disposal costs. Costs escalate quickly in a dirty shop with little or no fluid controls. Many shops get so caught up in production they never realize how cleaning and managing their fluids can improve their profits and increase production.

Disposal Issues – When metalworking fluids are dumped prematurely because of rancidity or poor cleanliness, it’s like throwing money down the drain with the fluid. Poor fluid management increases disposal costs.

Finally, service and follow-up after the sale continues the selling process. It also gives you a reason to be in an account, analyzing your customer’s needs from the inside out, instead of from the lobby in. Document what you are doing for your customer by developing service reports. They eliminate hearsay when the competition starts applying pressure on your account.

Knowing your products and how to apply and manage them makes you a valuable resource to customers, not just another salesperson. Helping customers establish good metalworking fluid management practices can help eliminate most metalworking fluid-related problems.

Ron Holbrook is the director of global corporate accounts for Cimcool Global Industrial Fluids, a division of Milacron. He can be reached at (513) 458-8113 or ron_holbrook@milacron.com. 

This article appeared in the November/December 2004 issue of Progressive Distributor. Copyright 2004.

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