We constantly strive to keep the lines of communication with our distributor partners open to pave the way for accessibility. Frequent, open and honest communication forms the basis of the working synergy between channel partners and the pathway to success.

The better the communication, the stronger the partnership—and, ultimately, the greater the potential for mutual success.

Not only do we want open lines of communication with distributors, we also want our end users to be confident that they can contact us with questions or problems. We are not simply manufacturers; we are problem-solvers.

Once the lines of communication have been opened, people become more accessible on every level, from management to customer service to engineering. These vital relationships lead to numerous opportunities for successful selling scenarios.

However, relationships and communication mean very little if we as supplier partners are not accessible. If the manufacturer salesperson is consistently unavailable to provide assistance or expertise, there inevitably will be a breakdown in the bond that has formed between us as manufacturers and our distributors' salespersons, whether inside or outside sales.

If our lack of responsiveness as a manufacturer means the distributor can't provide an answer to an end user, that end user may settle for a different supplier; in the end, the distributor loses and so do we.

If an end user settles for another vendor because his usually reliable distributor could not provide the attentiveness or service he required, it's a lost opportunity. If we are inaccessible and unresponsive to the needs of our distributors when they seek answers, information and assistance, then our distributor partners will find another source to ensure the ultimate satisfaction of their customer.

Accessibility means that we can respond quickly to customer or distributor emergencies. For example, recently we received a call about a coupling breakdown at a steel mill at 1 a.m. From the time the mill's maintenance supervisor called the distributor's sales representative to the time we loaded the coupling on the truck for delivery, less than four hours had passed.

Sometimes you strive for accessibility, but events conspire against you. Just recently we had a brief malfunction of our after-hours phone system. As a result, we were not able to respond quickly to an issue and lost the opportunity to help the distributor and the end user.

Like many manufacturers, we've faced some challenging times over the past few years. Although resources were stretched thin in some cases, we resolved not to let the less-than-stellar economic climate affect our accessibility. We wanted our distributors to feel confident that they could rely on us for answers and assistance more than ever. We tried to guarantee immediate access to someone who was able to answer questions, address concerns and clarify issues.

Time is money and every dollar counts. Being able to easily access a manufacturer's knowledge is an invaluable resource for our distributor partners.