I have seen many changes in my 23 year Stanley sales career. I started, selling Bostitch Nail Guns and Staple Guns & acc to lumber and roofing yards, tool houses and insulation supply. I remember the day, 1995, doing a demo at Depot. We, Bostitch, were getting traded from Stanley to B&D for Kwikset. How demoralizing if nothing else, now Kwikset is part of us. Us is SB&D. Us is Stanley, Bostitch, DeWalt, Delta, Porter-Cable and thats just our Construction-Do It Yourself channel. Stanley Black and Decker is now an 8.6 Billion company. The other 2 Channels, Security which includes, Stanley Hardware, National Hardware, Sonotrol Security, Stanley Best Access (grocery store automatic doors), Price Phister, Kwikset, Weiser. The Industrial Channel includes Bostitch, MacTools, Proto and a few more. Its quite daunting.

So,
after the "All-Company" Web-Ex Conference Call on "day 2" of our new company Stanley Black and Decker, I got on the phone to the owner of Apex Saw in Reno, Nv regarding the Contractor Show on the upcoming Friday and Saturday March 19 and 20th. I requested that he placed my Stanley booth next to the DeWalt/Porter Cable Team. I reminded him that NOW we were on the same team!

When the 3 DeWalt salesmen, Nate Knighten, BJ Peterson, and Juan Cisneros and I were setting up our tents and booths, we introduced ourselves and did not waste a minute in unifying our efforts as ONE team.

We cross-merchandised a few items and made it obvious that our 3 booths were as one. The visual presence we put out was of unity and power. The breadth of line we represented was unreal. DeWalt Power Tools, Bostitch Pneumatic Tools, Stanley Hand Tools, Stanley Storage, Bostitch Hand Tools, Porter-Cable Power Tools, and Stanley Mechanics Tools.
As a competitor, I pretty much either ignore or dislike any salespeople selling any product that is the slightest bit in competition with me. Hence, I had not met these 3 B&D reps until the first morning setup. I found we had a lot in common, they don’t like their competitors either!
They taught me a lot. I learned that I really detest the turquoise of Makita, the red of Milwaukee, and the blue of Bosch. And I now have a soft spot for that slightly different shade of yellow.
At the event, I sold products from, Storage, BHT, Bostitch, and Hand Tools including the new Sweetheart™ planes. I now know about “fixed frogs” and “adjustable throats”!
I noticed a New product DeWalt had displayed in their booth, the “Quadraport”. This is an air delivery manifold that includes 2 unregulated and 2 regulated outlets. The store did not stock it yet. On the second day, I asked Nate if I could display it in my booth next to my new CAP2045 compressor. Within 30 minutes I had sold my first DeWalt product, AND a new CAP2045.

The owner, Lane Andreson (correct spelling no relation) came to me towards the end of the show to tell me how appreciative he was of “our” display and the demonstrations of our products. He also remarked that he heard feedback from several customers regarding SB&D, all positive. He had overheard me respond to a customers question: “Who bought Who”?
I responded that Stanley purchased B&D, but instead of “taking them over” we were re-forming it into this new company, utilizing all the talent for both. This is a new account for me and the re-order ought to be great, and like the opening order, will include all lines. I think this show helped all of our brands that were represented.

I am excited about all the possibilities this new company offers me and my customers. To represent the finest name brands in the industry is a salesman’s’ dream come true. As the structure of the sales organization becomes more clear, I am confident that, working together, we can take our share and then some.
1 horse may pull 500 pounds but
2 horses, hitched together can pull over 2000 pounds.
The competition had better look for new work!

I submitted this story, a shorter version, and it is now on our SB&D webpage. The near future should be interesting.