Ann Zimmerman

We just bought a wonderful great CD by professional singer/songwriter Ann Zimmerman, a lawyer by training who also happens to be the daughter of John and Patsy Zimmerman of Salina Supply in Salina, Kans.

One of the tunes on the disc is "The Plumber Is The Man," with lyrics by radio personality Garrison Keillor ("The Prairie Home Companion") and accompaniment by the wholesaler himself, John Zimmerman. (there's not much plumbing trade music out there, so you can purchase the CD via tel. 785/825-7135 or e-mail azmusic@tri.net.)

"Plumber" is a fun song whose serious message prompts us to again challenge you to identify your best customers and concentrate on serving them.

It's easy in these prosperous times to forget those who brought you to the dance and who will take you home. (And, judging from your comments, you've faithfully escorted some manufacturers to the soirée only to have them flutter their eyelashes at other channel dancers.)

Never, ever forget that it's the hardworking, rough-edged (and, as sung by Ann Zimmerman, perhaps not sweet-smelling) contractor who continues to be your most dependable beau for a long-term relationship. You may have heard some supposed experts expound on how your marketplace has degenerated into a series of one-night stands, where every price is negotiated and there's no respect the next day.

We disagree. We know plenty of wholesalers who are serious about a long-term marriage with their contractor customers, and the feeling is mutual among plenty of contractors out there.

Nevertheless, if you own a wholesale business and you answer yes to either of the following questions, consider it a warning sign: Has your success made you uncomfortable with your trade customers? Is customer bonding something you hire others to do?

Yes there are wholesalers who buy into the ivory tower carpetbaggers' advice to forsake your traditional contractor customers for a new breed. Those naysayers would have you believe that you've outgrown your traditional trade customers who don't speak the new jargon, who aren't e-biz whizzes, who don't want to keystroke their "conversations" with their local supply houses, who don't understand that tomorrow or the next day is the same as just-in-time, who can't gain admittance to your country club, whose wives ask you embarrassing questions such as, "Are retailers more important to you than we are?"

Dogmatic statement: If you've become bored with your traditional customers, or with your market as a whole, you're in the chute (like the steer in a slaughterhouse). That is, you're out of business as you know it.

You simply can't serve customers you don't respect. And if you don't respect them, your people will sense it and behave similarly. If you've lost interest in running your business, get out so you don't mess it up for those who love it.

In your quest for excitement in this business, don't fall head over heels for the internet. While you may find the prospect of setting up a killer-and budget-killing-website for your business more stimulating than helping out in a pinch at the will-call counter, your website most likely won't be on your best customers' radar screens for some time.

Still, if you insist on offering online sales access, make it user-friendly enough for your trade customers to buy their everyday bread & butter items; once they get the hang of it, they'll rely on it.

How do you make online access user-friendly? By listening to what your broad base of customers and prospects say, not just the handful of buyers who agree with your ideas.

We have a client, a plumbing wholesaler, who's enthusiastic about the business he's in. He says he gets up every morning turned-on at the thought of selling fixtures. He likes spending time with his trade customers, listening to them and treating them with respect. He says he focuses himself on ways to be a better supplier to them, trying to sell them what they need, albeit at a good profit.

Friends, that isn't all there is to life, but it is the opening bell. Sure, you must sell the big, sophisticated volume buyers. But look where much of your margins are generated. Most likely they're in the salt-of-the-earth, middle accounts-customers who appreciate your service, pay as agreed-to, and respond to your passion with loyalty.