Remember, though, that Dibble Equipment had no prior history selling screen media. That factor, however, did not matter to Major because Dibble Equipment possessed the intangibles it ultimately sought.
“More important to Bernard and I was: Do we align with the group of individuals that we want to work with?” Edwards says. “It is not about what they did or didn’t do before. If we believe in what we do and we believe in our team to be there, we can be boots on the ground to provide training and support.”
Major’s model worked for Dibble Equipment, which currently represents 10 other equipment manufacturers across 10 Northeast states.
“Sometimes, even when you’re not looking for things in business, when an opportunity presents itself to you, you say: ‘You know what? This is a great chance to do it,’” Matt says. “It especially helps when you trust the people and really like the people that you’re going to take this step with.”
According to Matt, the most successful manufacturer-dealer partnerships sometimes come down to the basics.
“Like, how fast do you turn quotes around?” Matt says. “It sounds simple, but if a customer calls and wants a quote on something, you can’t wait days. Maria [Villa] in [Major’s] office turns around quotes in an hour. [When] you send an email, you get a quote back. That makes our life easier, and it also makes getting business easier when you get a quote sent back within the same day or a couple of hours.”
Shorter lead times make a world of difference, too.
“As a dealer, the first thing you do when you get a quote is you look at the lead time,” Matt says. “Then, you look at the price. But the lead times [at Major] are amazing, which makes our life easier as a dealer.”
Going the extra mile
As Major formalized its partnership with Dibble Equipment, the company took a couple of key steps to position its dealer partner for success.
To familiarize Dibble Equipment with its screen media, Major sent product specialist Serge Raymond to New York to train the dealer’s employees. Major also hired a territory manager to support Dibble Equipment with “boots on the ground” in New Jersey and New York.
Another variable that set the companies up for success was establishing a plan at the start.
“Matt and I set expectations at the beginning of the year when we started the relationship, as to what we both wanted out of Year 1,” Edwards says. “When you do that and you agree upon those goals, there’s less room for disappointment.”
Additionally, Major takes a unique approach if a dealer isn’t having success with its product.
“We say we’re failing,” says Edwards, adding that Major now has about 35 dealers in its network across North America. “[In those cases], we have not given the dealer the tools or the support to make them successful in the area they’re in. That’s not them, that’s us.
“If anything, we would give them more support and dive in more to try and figure out how we make them successful,” he adds.
Circle of trust
Because Dibble Equipment approaches its partners from a long-term vantage point, the company does not regularly seek out new vendors. Still, manufacturers will periodically pitch the idea of partnering with Dibble Equipment.
“We do get approached by people probably a couple times a year for different things,” Matt says. “Most of the time, you say right away that’s either not a fit or I don’t think we would really jell with those guys.”
For Major, trade shows are a forum where dealers sometimes approach the company with a proposition. But partnerships don’t always come to fruition.
“On occasion, we receive inquiries from dealers seeking partnerships in states where we are actively seeking new collaborations,” Edwards says. “Given the tight-knit nature of our network, we typically conduct thorough checks by reaching out to several of our current partners to gather insights on the prospective dealer. While sometimes the feedback is positive, other times we receive warnings such as ‘don’t get involved’ along with accounts of past incidents or experiences shared by our existing partners.
“As much as this is a very large world, this industry is still very small,” Edwards adds. “You tend to stay within that confinement of the trust bubble you have.”
Matt agrees.
“My dad always says it’s like a marriage,” Dibble says. “It’s not like you find a company and you represent them for a year or two years. Everything’s long-term business. Part of that relationship is working together, working back and forth.”
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