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APRIL 2016 •
PPB
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Despite the occasional challenge, Williamson
thrives on the many business relationships and
friendships he’s built over his three decades in the
industry. “I have customers I’ve been calling on
since 1986,” he says proudly.
It’s that ability to forge lasting relationships
that caught the eye of nominator Michael
Dustman, vice president of sales at supplier
Meridian Metal Works. “Nobody in any sales posi-
tion is as relational to their customers as Rod is,”
he says. “He hasn’t allowed dependence on tech-
nology to stop him from continually making face-
to-face calls on his clients while attending all the
shows where he can best represent his supplier
lines.”
Williamson says he didn’t even realize this
strength until a friend pointed it out one day. But
he knows exactly what it takes to build those
alliances. “I meld into that person to make them
feel comfortable,” he explains. “I use humor. I am
honest. I underpromise and overperform. You’ve got
to do what you say you are going to do.”
Nominator Andy Arruda, MAS, national sales
manager at supplier Hub Pen Company, adds,
“Bryan and Rod are fantastic; they have a terrific
rapport with their clients and do a fantastic job of
representing us in front of both their largest and
smallest accounts—they are up almost 30 percent
this year over last.”
Williamson is proud of what he’s achieved for
himself, his partner and his business, but he’s still
looking to the future and that next opportunity.
“We bring long-term relationships to this industry;
relationships that can get us immediate results
because we’ve earned people’s trust.”
He’s been told that one day something will
click and he’ll say to himself, “This is enough …
time to move on,” but until that time he’ll keep
doing what makes him happy.
“I use humor. I am honest.
I underpromise and over-
perform.
You’ve got to do
what you say you are going
to do.”
The Changing Role Of MLRs:
“In my 30 years of being in this
industry and comparing to what it
was like back then, we are doing
more shows today and fewer
meetings. Good meetings have
become tougher to get, and then
getting a good turnout at the
meeting is difficult as well. As a
result, we are starting to do more
and more drop-bys where we
stop by, poke our head in the
salesperson’s door and see what
they are working on. We’ve also
become more show-oriented; I
used to make 12 sales calls a
week, now we are doing 30
shows a year.”
The Future Of MLRs:
“I hope it’s
a viable future. I don’t see it
changing negatively in the next
five to 10 years. We don’t know
what’s coming with new technology,
but Bryan and I are doing some
things to keep up with changes. I
like having a 40-year-old partner
whose wife is a graphic artist [she
also handles the company’s social
media]. We are marketing our fac-
tories in other ways than face-to-
face and tabletop shows. For
instance, we are marketing to
Millennials through Facebook and
Twitter, and I’m finding out that
younger people like jumping on
our website to find our flyers,
specials, links and such. That’s the
way we are attacking the younger
market.”
The Biggest Issue Affecting
MLRs Today:
“Everybody is try-
ing to figure out how to increase
their business. We have lines that
are focused. If a line decides to
diversify and add say, pens,
sometimes there’s an uh-oh and
we have to give up a line to avoid
having our products overlap.
Diversity is what’s going on out
there, conflict with lines.”
What He Wants Suppliers And
Distributors To Know:
“What
both sides need to understand is
that we are a direct conduit and
liaison between the factory and
customer. Either can come to us
with an issue—if they are looking
for great pricing or a great pro-
gram, for example, I can immedi-
ately put them with the right peo-
ple who do program business.
We are trying to be that common
point to bring customers and dis-
tributors together.”
Help Him Do A Better Job:
“I’d
like for distributors to honor our
meetings but I do understand
when they are cancelled. People
are so busy today. One thing the
factories do well is to support us
by supplying us with catalogs,
self-promos and giveaways, and
they help pay the exhibit fees at
the shows we attend. We take
care of our own travel but are
able to split the cost of the show
itself among the six factories.
That’s a big help. Trade shows
can get expensive.”
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Rod
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