During a recent industry convention seminar, a question came up as to when is the right time to add to a product line. The speaker asked the distributors present to compare the products they are selling today to the products they were selling five years ago. One attendee said the mix/change in his company was remarkable. He was also selling to a completely different group of customers than five years ago.

Sky Tool & Fastener in Miami, the subject of our cover story this month, shows the success that can be achieved by listening to customers and making sure you have the products they need in stock. The company, located near an airport, was in the aviation supply business. But 13 years ago, Hurricane Andrew ripped through Florida and Sky Tool was thrust into making product changes.

"We were dragged kicking and screaming into fasteners," says Gene Drody, president of Sky Tool.

Drody started stocking fasteners because customers had begun asking him to supply them. If fasteners were what customers wanted, fasteners were going to be stocked. Today, fasteners make up half of Sky Tool's sales and helped the company to grow into another of its major markets: aluminum and shutter manufacturing and installation and window manufacturing and installation. The company carries a number of other construction tools and products, but no longer stocks aviation products.

Sky Tool is an example of how a distributor needs to change as market conditions dictate. So what exactly is your market today? As a construction distributor, you are, of course, selling to contractors, remodelers, subcontractors, etc. But many construction distributors, according to a recent survey, also are selling heavily into the industrial market. Are there other markets you could be selling into?

Frankly, in many cases, the lines are blurring as to specific types of distributors. The distributors who are successful are the ones that know more about their customers, and yes, even their customer's customers.

In five years, you probably won't be selling the same products you are today, nor will you be selling to the same customers. How you adapt your company to a changing market will ultimately determine the financial success of your company.

jkeough@reedbusiness.com