Nitty gritty

When selling coated abrasives, success requires more than just knowing the proper grits and grains.

by Richard Vurva

When production is down, the last person a production manager in a grinding or finishing operation wants to see is a salesperson whose only interest is pushing his latest and greatest abrasive product. That makes it especially important for salespeople to focus on cost reduction and productivity improvements when they’re in front of customers and prospects.

Coated abrasive manufacturers say salespeople who keep abreast of the latest product enhancements and understand where to look for specific applications can position themselves as a valuable resource for busy customers who are hungry for cost-cutting and time-saving alternatives.

Most manufacturers offer training schools to teach salespeople the basics about how abrasive products are made and how they work. But distributor salespeople don’t need to be experts in abrasive technology to be successful, according to abrasive manufacturers.

“Salespeople just need to know what the product is capable of doing and typical applications that could use it,” says Jerry Hilf of Garryson Inc., a St. Louis-based specialty abrasive manufacturer.

“The biggest obstacle for distributor salespeople is the fear that they don’t know all the abrasive materials,” says Robbie Johnson, director of sales for Arc Abrasives in Troy, Ohio. “You don’t have to know them all. Just identify what they’re using and go back to the manufacturer for help.”

Johnson says salespeople armed with even a basic knowledge of abrasive technology can achieve big results. He says one distributor with a background in electrical products went from selling about $2,000 in abrasive products a year to more than $300,000 annually simply by focusing on the right account types.

“The most important thing isn’t the nomenclature, it’s planning where to sell coated abrasives,” he says.

When working with distributors, Johnson typically generates a database of all the SIC codes that have coated abrasive opportunities.

“Let’s say we want to target metal fabrication. We sit down with a distributor and print out a list so salespeople can pick a particular account from that list,” he says. “Once you’ve gone into one to see what they’re using, you can go to the next one and they’ll be using pretty much the same thing. You can get a lot of education from the end-user that way. Also, you can benefit from your past success.”

Dave Dobson, abrasive product line manager for Weiler Corporation in Cresco, Pa., advises salespeople to gain as much information as they can about the processes within a customer’s facility and where the bottlenecks occur. Ask questions and listen effectively. An engineer might not actually be looking for a replacement product, but if he expresses a need and you can identify it, you might have a product that works better.

“A lot of times the end-user is going to clue you in to what they’re looking for even though they might not know exactly the product. If you listen effectively you can pick up information you need,” says Dobson.

Show ’n tell
Many distributor salespeople are too anxious to quote prices, says Johnson. He believes salespeople need to be more patient, be willing to provide samples for testing, and prepare written documentation that clearly explains the productivity improvements generated by using one product vs. another.

“It takes patience to close an abrasives sale. But the rewards can be great because it’s a consumable product so it means repeat business. If you put effort into the call, it will pay dividends,” he says.

Product demonstrations are especially important when you’re showing the benefits of new technologies.

“We recently came out with a quick-change disc alternative called a Flexidisc that allows users to do things they couldn’t do before, like corner grind,” says Hilf. “They previously had to use a carbide burr or a mounted point or a cartridge roll to grind corners. Now, you can grind the surface in the corner because this material lays over the edge and you can put it right into a right-angle corner and corner grind.”

Look for upgrade opportunities
Regularly introduce your customers to new technologies. If you don’t, someone else will.

Offer customers alternatives. They might not buy the higher-priced product this time, but at least you’ve told them about your newest product before a competitor has a chance to tout his latest and greatest alternative.

“I always carry two test products with me. I’ll carry aluminum oxide but I’ll also carry the next step up,” says Johnson. “It’s priced higher but it may have a faster cut rate or last longer. You may not get a chance to go back. If you fail on this trip, the guy’s not going to let you keep coming back trying new products.”

Many grinding and finishing operations continue to follow the traditional procedure of using a grinding wheel to “hog off” as much material as possible, then switching to a resin fiber disc to achieve a finer finish. Often, by switching to a flap disc, they could achieve both operations with one product.

“As much as we think that the word is out that flap discs are the way to go, it’s still something that a lot of people haven’t tried yet. I think it’s just a matter of communication. No one has taken the time to show them a flap disc and have them try it,” says Dobson.

Fill the niches
Look for opportunities to position yourself as a specialist within a given industry or working with specific materials. If possible, work within one industry for a month or two or longer. You’ll soon learn their processes and be perceived as an expert. In some cases, you might be able to bundle groups of products used in a particular industry.

“I’ve got one distributor that went in to a fiberglass boat manufacturer and bundled a whole series of products they use, including tongue depressers to mix fiberglass and fiberglass rollers. He bundled a boating industry package so he doesn’t have to resell himself every time. Abrasives can lead you to many other product sales, especially in a production application,” Johnson says.

By calling on accounts that work in specific materials, such as stainless steel or aluminum, you’ll learn the unique problems those industries face and be able to pass on advice to other customers who use the same materials.

For example, if a customer uses zirconium flap discs to work on stainless steel, they might be experiencing staining and discoloration caused by heat buildup.

“That tells me he’s probably using the wrong product,” says Dobson. “We have a stainless steel flap disc that is made specifically for grinding stainless steel. Those are the kinds of things salespeople should look for.”

This article appeared in the November/December 2002 issue of Progressive Distributor. Copyright 2002.

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