Millennials are now the largest generation of available workers in the U.S. and they are entering the workforce with more education than past generations, Specialty Tools & Fasteners Distributors Association president Terry Earle said in his State of Distribution address.

Speaking at STAFDA’s 40th annual convention, Earle noted current unemployment numbers are low. “This will go up and down as it always has,” Earle added.

“Gen Y and Millennials have been immersed in technology since birth,” Earle said. “What baby boomers have seen in change over time is like comparing a turtle’s pace to warp speed in what the latest generations have experienced.”

“When the topic is brought up about the younger generation’s work ethic, many STAFDA members grumble under their breath,” Earle observed. “Quite frankly, my generation has forgotten how our leaders and mentors felt about us as we entered the workforce in this industry. Thirty years ago, times were much different along with the views on how to approach work, but this does not necessarily mean today’s generation has it all wrong.”

“We can’t force our younger workers to conform to the way we learned the business, but we can take the opportunity to leverage skills they bring to the table to champion growth with the Gen-Y and Millennial customers we do business with.”

This requires melding the two communication styles in order to build new relationships and grow current ones, the Fort Worth Bolt & Tool Co. executive said.

General work ethic cannot be forced upon the younger generation when they were raised in a time where everything that happens in the world is exposed on the Internet and social media, Earle said.

“Pushing rules at them triggers built in suspicion they have been taught to challenge. They tend to learn better through observation rather than being told this is just the way we have always done things. They have no less desire to learn product knowledge, sales techniques, and job skills than we did.”

“I have always felt a team approach to teaching and training employees offers the greatest chance for success,” Earle said. “With this in mind, I have recently modified my thinking on how to cultivate the next generation. Like many STAFDA distributors, our company is top heavy with long-term employees who are advancing towards retirement.”

Fort Worth Bolt must “struggle to retain the relationships we have with our loyal customers as these people move on to the next phase of their lives.”

Earlier this year, Earle was approached by past employees interested in “coming home.” He rehired them to mentor younger workers.

“When these two generations join together with a common goal, everyone wins!” Web: stafda.org

 

STAFDA 40 Years Ago

Earle noted that the first STAFDA Convention was in Miami in 1977 when he “was a college freshman in an industrial arts program with no clue as to what career path I would choose.”

“To give you some perspective on how long ago it was, the same month Georgia’s own, President Jimmy Carter, raised the minimum wage from $2.30 to $3.35 an hour,” Earle reflected.

Earle started in the industry in 1985 on the day Coca-Cola introduced “New Coke.”  At that time Earle answered a newspaper ad for a counter sales position at Bluebonnet Tool Co. in Dallas, when he had 10 years experience in furniture sales.

“My first memorable lesson in sales management came one year later to the day after I started, when founder W.C. Perry sat me down with a yellow pad in hand and recited back to me all the things I told him I would do once on board with the company, but had not done. The talk was so intense he asked me to go home and talk with my wife to decide whether I wanted to come back the next day with a new plan on how to motivate the team or find a new career.

Earle returned early the next day, pulled my sales team together, and told them it was a new day.

“I was determined to build a stronger relationship with them, along with becoming a better teacher and mentor. With their help, we could create superior customer service, and foster solid long-term customer relationships.”

Earle was subsequently promoted from inside sales manager, to sales manager and vice president of sales.

In the 1990’s, Jim Russell of Fort Worth Bolt & Tool encouraged Bluebonnet Tool to join the Evergreen Marketing Group.

In 1999, Ram Tool & Supply acquired Bluebonnet Tool and asked Earle to focus on retaining the customer base. A year later Earle joined Builders Gypsum Supply and three years later he “joined a friend in the concrete materials” as sales manager.

In 2006, Earle partnered up with that same friend to sell concrete supply products to residential concrete contractors. In three years, Wood Components Supply reached $8 million in sales.

The Great Recession, which started in 2008, “resulted in new home construction dwindling to a quarter percent of the homes built in prior years,” Earle recalled. “We hunkered down, reduced as much cost as possible and stayed afloat by holding on to our eight best customers.”

In 2009, his 27-year-old daughter died unexpectedly from a blood clot.  The loss “made me reassess my life and oddly enough set me on the path to this stage today.”

He had advised his daughter to seek a career she was passionate about “and I realized I needed to heed my own advice. My passion was being part of a company in the STAFDA channel.”

In 2010 the partners sold Wood Components to a buyer “who rescued us from owing the bank our lives” and he was contacted by Russell Slide of Fort Worth Bolt.

“Being surprised by his phone call, and before I thought through what I would say, I blurted out that I felt I could manage his whole business. There was a painstaking silence and what seemed like forever, he remarked, ‘that’s a pretty bold statement, but you pique my interest.’”

Slide had terminal health problems and had asked son-in-law Stuart Hendry to take over. Not being able to reach Hendry, Earle drove to Fort Worth Bolt and asked to speak with Mr. Hendry.

“I had no appointment. He said he was late to a meeting with the sales team and I told him I respected his time, but needed just five minutes to talk with him.  Those five minutes turned into 20 as I briefed him on my background and my goals for the future.”

Earle had competed with Fort Worth Bolt for 15 years – which was founded in 1949 as a local distributor of fasteners, power tools and accessories. It had been acquired in 1976 by Russell, who added branches Commercial Tool & Fastener in Dallas and Denton Tool & Fastener.

“Today, I see demands on STAFDA distributors increasing, as expectations from customers have changed from ‘just in time’ to ‘need it now’,” Earle said. “An ongoing development in technology provides distributors with vast opportunities for advancing their business services to customers in ways not possible in years past.”

 

Technology vs. Face-to-Face

Despite the growth of technology, Earle believes “there is a need for balance between the technology and customer service sides of our business. Moving too far away from face-to-face relationships with customers could result in a company losing the customer who still wants the personal interaction when needing technical help or guidance.”

Distributors who struggle with these advancements need to focus on training and mentoring relationship skills to remain competitive.  “Manufacturers in this industry rely heavily on distributors to promote, sell, and demonstrate their products to end users,” Earle said. “Many times this requires the salesperson to present technical solutions for the customer making certain they are buying the correct product.”

Quite often during these conversations, the customer provides pertinent clues about product applications only a well-trained sales professional will catch, Earle noted. “Nonverbal transactions make it difficult to read those clues and can lead to wrong technical advice being given.”

STAFDA distributors over the years acquired the latest computers, phone systems and fax machines to increase efficiency, “but it was growth in sales staff, quality product lines, and healthy customer relationships that advanced them to where they are today,” Earle said.

“Distributors need to examine how, when, and by what means they deliver product to the customer, he suggested. “Increasing the ability for customers to have direct communications at any time will also increase your customer service level. A well-trained sales professional becomes an asset to the customer by providing feedback on what products will boost efficiency, are the smartest economical solutions, and have sustainable lasting value.”

“Every generation has something to offer,” Earle said. “As business leaders it is up to us to create an environment where collaboration, mutual respect and shared goals are more important than your date of birth.”