Want to know a time-tested business secret? Commitment to the long game always pays off. Vic Wilson is a virtuoso practitioner of that adage. Decades before immigrating to the US and taking over as head of sales at voestalpine Böhler Welding, the Canadian-born Wilson was busy forging relationships across the country. Jason caught up with Vic to discuss what it means to build a successful 35-year career one connection at a time. The pair also explore the welding industry’s challenges due to new US tariffs, the benefits of co-op membership, and the satisfaction of giving back.
“What they say in the welding distribution industry is, once you’re sucked in, there’s no getting out,” Vic laughs. This maxim holds across the distribution landscape thanks to the people who populate each vertical. Vic heartily agrees. “I’ve got a ton of friends in this industry from being out there, talking with people, helping people when they needed help, and then asking for help for myself when I needed it.”
Vic credits his steady career momentum on incremental interactions. “Anybody can sell a price. Anybody can sell on availability. But, if you can sell on caring about somebody’s business,” he stresses, “the long-term play is, I’m eventually gonna get all of your business, and I’m gonna prove to you why you wanna do business with my company.”
Even the best relationships might experience some strain in the current tariff climate. “From our perspective, it’s been not as bad,” says Vic. His company was hit with tariffs back in 2018. While they’re prepared to roll with the latest punches, tariffs don’t make business any easier. “The industry right now is waiting for the dust to settle before somebody makes a decision.”
Vic intends to weather the tariff storm by helping others do the same. “What’s that saying? A rising tide raises all ships? This is a relationship industry. Working for IWDC––the cooperative for independent welding distributors––is just another form of giving back,” says Vic. “It’s also how we can get together as a group and come up with best practices and then implement them.”
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Independent Welding Distributors Cooperative
QUOTES
“Our guarantee was simple. If you ordered at two o’clock, you’d get it by two o’clock the next day, or we would tell you where you could go get it.
“In a cooperative, you all have a share, and you all get to share in the positives and the negatives.”
“Once you meet one independent distributor, you’ve met one independent distributor.”
“If we continue to act like a partner, then everything will go well.”
“I always say, make a friend, make a sale. A friend will never leave you.”
“Ultimately, at the end of the day, we need to make lots of friends here and support the people that are gonna help us move to the next level.”
“My philosophy is you need to be able to have relationships with every level inside of a distributor, which is why, again, you go back to the word ‘partner.’”
“There’s no such thing as a crazy idea, right? Listen to everybody. The next generation knows way more than we do about their generation and what’s important to their customers.”
CONNECT WITH JASON
CONNECT WITH VIC
***
Distribution Talk is produced by The Distribution Team, a consulting services firm dedicated to helping wholesale distribution clients remove barriers to profitability, generate wealth, and achieve personal goals.
This episode was edited by The Creative Impostor Studios
Special thanks to our sponsors for this episode: Profit2, helping distributors charge the right price; and INxSQL Distribution Software, an integrated distribution ERP software designed for the wholesale and distribution industry.
***
Distribution Talk is produced by The Distribution Team, a consulting services firm dedicated to helping wholesale distribution clients remove barriers to profitability, generate wealth, and achieve personal goals.
This episode was edited & mixed by The Creative Impostor Studios.
