“You don’t need a lot of technical knowledge to sell lubricants,” says Robert McGovern, vice president of distributor sales for Crown North American Professional Products. “The distributor salespeople that enjoy the best relationship at the end-user level are usually the people best qualified to get the information we need.”

McGovern says salespeople achieve the greatest results by asking customers a few basic questions before consulting with their supplier to make the proper product recommendation.

Questions to ask include:

What type of material are you working with? This will alert the experts to any potential compatibility problems. For example, aluminum is sensitive to some chlorinated solvents and may tend to corrode if the wrong solvent is used.

Are there specific environmental requirements that prevent the use of certain products? For instance, some plants prohibit the use of 1,1,1 trichloroethane-based fluids.

Where will the lubricant be used? On gears? Wire rope and chain? Bearings? What’s the temperature range? What are the surface pressures? The type of mating surface and the amount of pressure exerted on the load- bearing surface would determine if the lubricant should contain a high-pressure additive such as graphite or lithium.

Is the lubricated material in a dirty environment? Dirt causes contamination, which can induce friction, so you want to recommend a dry film lubricant, such as dry graphite or molybdenum disulfide, commonly called dry Moly.

Not all lubricants are alike. That’s why it’s critical to ask questions before making a recommendation.

“Get as much information as you can from the end-user,” McGovern says. “If at all possible, get your supplier in front of the end-user, if not in person, then by phone or fax. That maximizes the supplier’s opportunity to do a good job for the end-user.”

Check MSDS
“We teach salespeople to keep it simple, yet still be a value-added resource to their customer by taking a diagnostic sales approach,” says Wayne McElreath, a regional manager and sales trainer for STS division of Tech Spray Inc.

One of the easiest diagnostic approaches is to ask to see the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) pertaining to the product your customer currently uses. The MSDS reveal ingredients that, if misapplied, could cause harm.

“Two big issues with lubricants are flashpoint and propellant,” says McElreath.

Suppose you noticed a maintenance man shut down a machine and immediately sprayed on an aerosol lubricant. If the MSDS shows the flashpoint of the lubricant is 110 degrees, he may be playing with fire. Recommend a non-flammable product or a product with a higher flashpoint.

The wrong type of propellent may cause similar danger. That’s because aerosols are made up of two main components: the liquid product itself and a propellant that forces the lubricant out of the aerosol container.

Some lubricants use an isobutane propellant, which is a flammable, colorless, liquefied gas. It, too, may cause a flammability problem.

“Walk through the MSDS with the customer and show him the propellant and the flashpoint, then recommend a product for his particular application,” says McElreath.