A Partnership Between
Factory-Direct
and Local Dealers
Charles Wicker, speaking to national dealer convention, telling them of the selling
power of “all this mail”.
At first, the dealers hated the factory,
seeing it as a competitor that swiped their sales. But soon they
became rabid enthusiasts, once they learned that so many more prospects
came through their doors already pre-sold by the factory. The key
for the company was to balance the two channels for maximum profit. |
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Need A Spokesman? Charles
Wicker, president of Sherwood Marketing, has presented
hundreds of motivational, sales, and training sessions
across the country. Whether live or on video, he can
fire up your troops and attract many new customers.
And if you already are your own spokesman, Charles can
help you enhance your presentation skills and effectiveness. |
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 Stalled
Company Revamps Strategy, Doubles In Size!
Dealers: a good idea... or a or bad idea?
In the late-1970’s, Garden Way had been
growing like a skyrocket! Its popular Troy-Bilt Roto Tiller had
been sold almost exclusively via mail
order, so as to maximize
profits and avoid the margins and hassles of using local dealers.
Working
with their talented staff, we had helped them refine and expand
this mail-order miracle, but now competitors (who sold ONLY through
local dealers, usually with up to 2,000-5,000 dealers each) were
starting
to take market share. Question: how to protect and expand market
share without giving up margins and playing the game by the other
guys’ rules?
What We Did
We looked at every possible sales and distribution channel, from
dealers to traveling reps to retail stores and beyond. We analyzed
and brainstormed the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities,
and Threats) until we came up with a unique plan. We set up just
a few hundred dealers, so as to catch prospects who might have otherwise
bought from the competition. Then we trained the dealers and showed
them how they could make money, even in the face of substantial
consumer-direct discounts. They were pleased, the consumers were
happy, and the company achieved its goals.
How The Client Benefited
Marketing had always been one of the company’s strengths,
primarily due to it’s unique mail-order direct
marketing method of selling big, expensive garden
tillers. With the new, equally
unique
method
of combining mail-order with a limited dealer network, the company
was able to expand its sales to $100 million per year. What’s
more, this experience and financial success put the company
in a
position to double its sales a few years later by acquiring a major
competitor.
Back to more Portfolio
Case Histories!
(Or go forward to Next Page for Aircraft
Power.)
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Competitive Distribution
Complicated
channels gave away nearly all the control and profits
to others.
Our Unique Solution
Simple
channels kept prices low for consumers and profits
high for company and dealers. |
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