On an almost weekly basis I have a variation on the following conversation. I get phone calls and emails from my dealers that fall along these lines:

“Yeah, hi Lee. I’ve got a problem with one of these [Brand X] of yours.”

“Oh, really?” I ask. “What’s the nature of the issue?”

“Well, they’re doing [this] and [this], but they’re not doing [that].”

“I’m sorry to hear that” I respond “There’s just one thing.”

“What’s that?” my dealer asks.

“That’s not one of my brands.”

“We don’t get these from you?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“Why did I think that we do?”

I know why.

Because I work really hard to maintain my brand image with my dealers.

Because I really try to maintain AAA-status with them: Making sure that I’m Available, Approachable, and Accessible.

Whenever possible, I pick up my dealers’ phone calls on the first ring.

If I can’t, I call them back ASAP.

Whenever possible I respond to their email queries right away.

If I don’t have an answer handy, I still respond right away and tell them “I don’t know, but I will find out!”

As a result, I feel a certain pride when I’m the first rep my dealers think to call, about anything.

Even if it’s not one of my brands.

That means I’m edging out competitors in the battle for the hearts and minds of my dealers.

So, how I usually handle the aforementioned discussions is to close out along these lines:

“Well, I don’t know what [Brand X]’s warranty procedure is, but with [Brand Y], which you DO buy from me, and [Brand Z], which you don’t buy, but you really ought to our process is simple: [quick elevator pitch of the program].

“So, clearly, your salespeople need to be selling more of [Brands Y and Z] and less of [Brand X].”

“Hah,” they laugh “you’re probably right.”