We consider ourselves to be good salesmen. That mark is a little fraught, as it will inevitably conjure up an image of an overweight guy with a bad comb-over and white belt and shoes, chomping a cigar while patrolling the used car lot. We don't mean that. What we mean is that when someone contacts us, we will put forth a genuine effort to match that person's stated needs and goals with a product. We have the luxury of always getting to recommend what we earnestly believe to be the best match, without needing to offload aging inventory to beat a payable date or whatever else might shade our advice. The risk we run is that we're too genuine.
Genuine Risk, the horseSure enough, we're enthusiastic about bikes and riding and wheels and what we do. But we are who we are. We don't own a sock game, I can't recall a time that either of us could accurately have been called "on fleek," the only doping we do at this point is with Geritol, we're not rad (good lord, are we ever not rad), and our bikes are not steeds, rigs, wagons, or whips - they're just bikes. And that's the way it is for us. I know that I cost us two sales last week simply because I kept having to ask "can you please tell me what you mean by that?" in response to clearly hip lingo of which I was categorically ignorant.
Genuine Risk, the boatFor some of you, how we are is a plus. For many many many other people, it's a big minus. I'm not going to tell you that all the stuff about trendy language and words and rad colors and on point this and sock-doping-wheel-doping-kit-doping necessarily detracts from the job at hand of building wheels as well as possible, I can just tell you that our 8-track doesn't play those songs (see what I did there?). It's all well and good if that's what sweetens your coffee, it's just that for us to engage in that kind of talk would be genuine pandering.
We've always been about finding the audience that's matched to who we are and how we do what we do. As salesmen and business owners, we're not in an rush to alienate market segements that our products could serve rather well, but we do need to run the risk of staying genuine.
And now pardon us while we go yell at some clouds. And please - get offa my lawn.
4 comments
I for one absolutely admire your commitment to integrity over profit, and still love the Nimbus Ti wheels I bought, especially since you talked me out of spending twice as much for wheels I really didn't need!! Loyal customer here!!!!
I thank you for your honesty and being who you are and not pretending to who you are not. I love my build that I received Pacenti wheels with White Industry Black Hubs. I also thank you for you input that was the deciding factor after some of my own research into a set of wheels. Have a great week and keep on sailing.
Your honest observations are the main reason I took a chance on purchasing months ago. The Rails I have ridden for 1k + miles are the best upgrade I have made in years. Keep up the posts and the product!
I was just talking about this topic this past weekend. Obviously, I'm a fan with 4 sets of your wheels (Rails, Range, and two Pacenti builds). A large part of what initially caught my attention was your blog and attitude towards providing honest opinions above marketing hype. Now that I've been riding your wheels for a few years, your products definitely stand up on their own, but that is only part of what creates a great brand in my opinion. Keep doing what you are doing because it has been awesome.