Matt Sledge makes arrangements for the silent auction on July 30 in LaVergne, Tenn.

Now on his own: Catching up with independent distributor Matt Sledge

July 24, 2013
After being profiled for the September 2008 issue of Professional Distributor magazine, independent distributor Matt Sledge flies solo after his wife takes on her own career path, and talks about re-working his route.

Matt Sledge, an independent mobile tool distributor in Murfreesburo, Tenn., has been continuing to better his business since Professional Distributor last spoke with him in September 2008. Now in the business for 12 years, Sledge continues to consistently show up for his customers each week and prides himself on the customer service he provides. 

"(My business) keeps growing, and it's growing because I keep running through flag dealers. We've had a lot of flag dealers come and go, and I've been the independent, consistent one," says Sledge. "Which has made customers more loyal to me, I think, because they know I'm there every single week."

(Read Matt Sledge's Distributor Profile article, On His Own, But Not Alone, featured in Professional Distributor's September 2008 issue.)

On his own

The one key difference, Sledge says, about his business now is that his wife, Shannon, no longer helps with the route as she once did. Shannon went back to school and started her own hair salon business. 

"Now, this woman just can't quit. She works from 9 in the morning until 6 or 7 at night. The income is great," says Sledge. "But, as far as running my route when I go out of town? That hasn't happened since 2008."

Previously, Sledge's wife would run his route for him if he was unable to, or out of town. She handled more collections than selling, but helped Sledge keep his business going. 

Now, he takes a different approach to still cater to his customers. He initially tried to run a promotion prior to the days or week he'd be out, but said that didn't work to his liking.

"I used to run promos and specials to get people to keep their payments up the week I was gone on vacation. But, that always turns into a hassle and generally ends up not fair for some customers, because about 60 percent of them comply."

Now, he's tweaked his strategy on collections for days he won't be running his route. 

"I just tell my customers 'You can have off this week because I have off this week. I'll catch you next week,'" says Sledge. "They really give you some flak that if you don't come by with the truck; they don't want to pay."

He extends this option to his customers, too, if they're not in the shop the day he's stopping by. 

Re-working the route

Along with working his route on his own, Sledge took steps to streamline his business. At the beginning of 2013, he re-worked his stops to make his route more efficient.

"I laid out all my stops on a map and tried to cut out my drive time. My route had gotten to be so big ... I was criss-crossing my paths a whole lot."

He revamped his route in order to have his farthest stop on Monday morning; on Fridays he'll stop at shops closer to his home.

"It was hard doing that, because I missed some customers that I saw during different shifts. But, I did gain a lot of customers that I wasn't seeing."

(Read about what products Sledge stocks on his truck.)

About the Author

Erica Schueller | Media Relations Manager | Navistar

Erica Schueller is the Media Relations Manager for Navistar.

Before joining Navistar, Schueller served as Editorial Director of the Endeavor Commercial Vehicle Group. The commercial vehicle group includes the following brands: American Trucker, Bulk Transporter, Fleet Maintenance, FleetOwner, Refrigerated Transporter, and Trailer/Body Builders brands.

An award-winning journalist, Schueller has reported and written about the vehicle maintenance and repair industry her entire career. She has received accolades for her reporting and editing in the commercial and automotive vehicle fields by the Truck Writers of North America (TWNA), the International Automotive Media Competition (IAMC), the Folio: Eddie & Ozzie Awards and the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE) Azbee Awards.

Schueller has received recognition among her publishing industry peers as a recipient of the 2014 Folio Top Women in Media Rising Stars award, acknowledging her accomplishments of digital content management and assistance with improving the print and digital products in the Vehicle Repair Group. She was also named one Women in Trucking’s 2018 Top Women in Transportation to Watch.

She is an active member of a number of industry groups, including the American Trucking Associations' (ATA) Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC),  the Auto Care Association's Young Auto Care Networking Group, GenNext, and Women in Trucking.

In December 2018, Schueller graduated at the top of her class from the Waukesha County Technical College's 10-week professional truck driving program, earning her Class A commercial driver's license (CDL).  

She has worked in the vehicle repair and maintenance industry since 2008.

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