The Makings of a Merger
Partnering with another distributorship appeared to be the solution; setting the process in motion, however, proved to be the challenge. So, DeWitt just started doing what sales professionals do best when pursuing a deal—he talked to people.
Seek and Ye Shall Find
“My approach was to first see if I could speak with someone locally who had already gone through [a merger]; not because I was necessarily looking to work with [that particular company], but [because] I wanted to find out what [the owners] went through, the issues they had to think about, the actual process, even the pitfalls,” reflected DeWitt. He initially investigated opportunities with a couple of the larger national distributorship networks. Although there was tremendous support from the corporate offices, DeWitt felt he wanted more face-to-face interaction with people on a daily basis for brainstorming and discussing new ideas.
- People:
- Susan Phillips DeWitt
- Places:
- Detroit