Capitol Drilling & Sawing, the distributor profiled in this issue of THE CONSTRUCTION SPECIALIST, credits its success by doing a little bit of everything for its customers.

Originally begun as a concrete cutting and drilling contractor in 1964, Capitol Drilling & Sawing has evolved into an excellent distributor as well as a contractor.

Its Indianapolis showroom has a variety of cutting tool and replacement parts for its specialized tools, and 17 years ago the company had the foresight to establish repair and rental divisions, both of which have done very well.

What Capitol Drilling has done over the years clearly demonstrates the value of construction distributors selling more than tools at a jobsite. Today, many construction distributors have showrooms, for example, but haven't updated them in years. We visited a construction distributor a few years ago who had invested substantial funds in renovating and modernizing his showroom. Taking a page from the retail industry and getting assistance from an industry consultant, the distributor rearranged shelves, improved the aisles for better walk-through flow for customers, put in better lighting and new flooring. Sales jumped. In addition, the company had improved its point-of-purchase area near the front counter.

Every salesperson knew the importance of "selling up" to their customers. If a customer bought a corded drill, the salesperson always asked if an extension cord or bits were needed. Each day, the sales manager read through the invoices for the day to review their selling-up attempts. He would scrawl messages across some of the invoices, reminding the salesperson to always be thinking of selling additional products. It's a process that worked.

A special note: All of us at THE CONSTRUCTION SPECIALIST offer our condolences to the employees at Capitol Drilling & Sawing on the death of Bill Westbrook, the president and owner of the company. Bill was well known in the industry and had earned the respect of his employees as well as his vendors and competitors. Bill, 45, was married and the father of two children. He died Feb. 16 after a battle with cancer.

jkeough@reedbusiness.com