As a full-line industrial distributor that carries both MRO and metalworking products, Long Island-based MSC Industrial Supply, Inc. knows that its customers are hungry for information about technological advancements being made in tooling packages and components.

But up until this year, the distributor lacked a full-time specialist to handle the requests, and relied on the knowledge of its sales force to solve customer problems. In March, the company took the plunge and hired a full-time cutting tool specialist who now handles the requests with ease.

But MSC didn't pick just any knowledgeable salesperson off the street. Instead, the company found someone with an extensive background in metalworking and tooling, trade school experience in metallurgy, and hours of manufacturer training under his belt. One of MSC's vendors recommended the specialist, and he was hired as a full-time employee.

Today, that specialist spends about 99 percent of his time in the field, working with engineers on the plant floor at customer locations and making recommendations on productivity advancements. He's also driving sales numbers up, particularly on the metalworking and carbide side of MSC's business.

"His expertise is at the customer's place of business," says Jim Munyon, MSC's market manager. "He's out there in the field, making recommendations to the customer based on what he feels is the best solution to the problems."

Making that specialist even more valuable, adds Munyon, is the fact that the distributor relies on a good, better, best offering, and not just one or two lines. The variety allows the specialist to make recommendations based on customer needs and their value perceptions. MSC's cutting tool specialist also stays on the cutting edge of technology, keeps current on new products and offerings, and has hands-on experience in finding the best solutions for each application.

Barely six months after being hired, that specialist is also helping the distributor's bottom line. "He's paying great dividends for us and opening doors that we weren't able to get into previously because we weren't perceived as being that technical," says Munyon. "Hiring a specialist gave us that technical ability literally overnight."

In today's competitive business environment, distributors are seeking out ways to differentiate themselves from the pack. Some, like MSC, are doing it by hiring technical specialists whose job it is to solve customer problems. Others look for salespeople who are already technically savvy about cutting tools, and who can fill dual roles. Regardless of the approach, the goal is the same: get on the shop floor and help customers save time, money and aggravation.

Sometimes, a simple suggestion from a cutting tool specialist can result in significant gains on the customer's part. Take a recent Kenneth Crosby Co. customer in the automotive industry. The Rochester, N.Y.-based distributor of cutting tools and fasteners has 11 cutting tool specialists, one of whom helped that customer eliminate an entire shift from the customer's schedule.

"He went in and changed a tap, and cut eight hours of production time a day for the customer," says Dave DeGraff, COO. "They literally put out a red carpet for him now when he pulls up in his car."

DeGraff says Kenneth Crosby Co. has used cutting tool specialists since 1946, but adds that finding good ones is no easy task since the ultimate specialist would have both an engineering mind and a sales personality — a combination that's hard to find in a single person.

"Typically the engineering mind is analytical and to the point, while a salesperson's approach is 'how can I help you today?'" DeGraff explains. "We've put the emphasis on the technical side, so most of our specialists would be in trouble if they were left just to sell product."

Two years ago, cutting tool and abrasives distributor Updike Supply Co., in Dayton, Ohio gave up on trying to find both traits in one person, and created a "Technical Service Area," and then staffed it with its two best cutting tool specialists. Today, the pair doesn't service any specific accounts, but instead concentrates on helping other sales reps work on specific customer projects.

Steve Short, Updike Supply's president, says the move was a good one, though the expected results haven't shown themselves yet, mainly because the economy soured around the same time the change was made. "It's been helpful for retaining and attracting customers, but it's hard to quantify how much of it was actually a result of our technical specialists," says Short. "However, I do think we'd be worse off in the current economic conditions had we not done this."

Most importantly, says Short, is the fact that allocating the company's two best specialists to solving customer problems has freed up the company's sales force, and allowed it to focus on selling instead of solving technical problems. Now, when the distributor signs a single-source agreement on a particular account, it can send in a team that includes a cutting tool specialist who reviews manufacturing processes, creates a value-added analysis and makes recommendations.

"It might take an individual salesperson an extended period of time to accomplish the same thing," says Short. "With the specialist handling that end of it, our salespeople are now freed up to sell."

It's no easy task, but the folks at H&C Tool Supply Co., in Rochester, N.Y., have managed to find outside salespeople who also have the technical knowledge to solve cutting tool problems for customers. According to Patrick Aldrich, vice president of sales, all six of the company's outside salespeople have engineering and spindle knowledge — a balancing act the firm has strived to maintain since it was founded in 1955.

That balance is key, says Aldrich, because "getting in" at customer locations takes the sales ability to get past the lobby and interact with purchasing and management personnel, and the technical knowledge to put a tool on a machine and operate it correctly.

"This is a very delicate balance for us because we need spindle experience combined with cutting tool sales," says Aldrich, adding that the company doesn't always hit a "home run" when it comes to hiring those individuals. "There have been times when we hired someone who was spindle-oriented, but who couldn't get by the lobby. Conversely, we've hired people with a strong sales background, but who have difficulty on the technical end."

To find the right individuals, Aldrich says industry referrals are the best starting point. Once found, he says the specialists who have the right balance of sales and technical knowledge always pull their own weight, and go a long way in helping H&C differentiate itself in a competitive marketplace.

"The industry continues to shrink and consolidate, and we feel that this is our best chance to be different and add value," says Aldrich. "Our specialists not only help get new customers, but they also help out in all phases of business — especially those smaller accounts that rely heavily on outside assistance to select the right tools for the job."