Time tested wisdom
I can envision our ancient ancestors, gathered around a primordial campfire, telling stories of the “before times” to sell a concept, idea or specific action. Selling is in fact storytelling, as firing up the imagination of a customer and framing a picture in their mind is the ultimate way to set up a successful conversation about purchasing. Even commodity items can be differentiated this way if the story has merit and defines a meaningful difference.
Back to my roots
It has been a pleasure recently to return to life on the road, visiting dealers throughout the Reflex Marketing territory. For a traveling salesperson like me, being on lockdown for months had me itching to get out and about. While sales have managed to be very good working from home, nothing beats the human connection made during personal sales calls, especially when introducing new brands or models. These past few weeks I have seen some outstanding e-commerce accounts in New York, and several bricks & mortar stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. Everywhere I went there were stories to be told, especially about one brand in particular – Breedlove Guitars, whom we are profoundly proud to represent.
A story that people want to hear today
Breedlove has a new line of guitars, the Organic Collection, which are made from sustainable woods, and break new ground in what to expect in an import model. The story starts with Tom Bedell, owner of the company, who personally travels the globe, visiting the forests and sourcing the wood. Tom is a true environmentalist, determined to do his part to respect our ecosystem and simultaneously bring joy to humanity through musical instruments. I have had the pleasure of getting to know Tom this past year, and he IS the heart of the story. When dealers realize Tom’s personal commitment and intense desire to do what’s right for our world, then actually play these incredible instruments, the next steps come easy.
A man and a brand that “gets it”
I want to thank the extended family at Breedlove, who have provided every possible tool to help dealers and rep firms like mine achieve success with the brand. Tom Bedell leads by example, “walking the walk” when it comes to his core beliefs. This is followed by the rest of the Bend, Oregon team, stimulating end-users with excellent marketing, while helping retailers with extended terms, awesome programs, top-notch service and support, and quite frankly providing the best guitars money can buy at a variety of price points. When I tell the “Breedlove Story” at a meeting with a prospective dealer, it will include all these elements, then playing the guitars is the swirl on the cake. What a great time I have had lately, loading up the Subaru and visiting music stores once again. If every vendor had it together like Breedlove, our industry would be miles ahead of where we are, and that is a story we would all like to tell.