THE SCALDED DOG FEARS COLD WATER.

Meyer our no testing on animals mascot is not afraid of the water!

 

In one week we start our First Annual Screen Distributor and Educator Meeting here in Tampa. We have over 40 people attending and I can actually feel the momentum rolling up behind me like a big wave. I have my surfboard and I am ready to shred the ocean! I am visualizing myself wearing this very cool neoprene bikini.

I have talked to over 60 distributors, chains and micro-distributors since Las Vegas Cosmoprof last year. Some of them are brilliant, some are funny, but all of them remain true to themselves. I love that you can actually be yourself and still be accepted in this industry. This is the GREATNESS of the Professional Beauty Industry.

Their talents go beyond their individuality. They are all disgusted by the business ethics of the big boy manufactures. I spend very little time selling my brand because the products sell themselves, everyone I have talked to loves their samples, and loves the product lines. I spend the majority of my time selling my integrity and business ethics to my potential partners.

I understand their suspicions; they have all been burnt before and they don’t know me from Adam. But, I am surprised at how pervasive the fear of manufacturers is to distributors. I have heard a lot of horror stories where a sales person, or distributor builds a brand in an area and the products get pulled from them. This happens because the brand sold to one of the big boyz or because they consolidated with one of the big distributors. The end result is always the same, these hard-working people get their primary product line—the brand they built from scratch—pulled out from under them. The product gets diverted, and the sales person’s credibility is eroded.

These situations make me think of an old Italian proverb- THE SCALDED DOG FEARS COLD WATER.  They have all been scalded by a manufacturer and Screen is the cold water.

Screen USA is a master distributor for North America.  We can’t sell our distribution rights and the mother ship in Italy is family owned. I mean as family-owned as it gets. The owner, Maria Parinzinni, has her two very savvy sons managing the business. I can’t imagine a scenario where they would ever sell to the big boyz.

The Parinzinni family gives us the freedom to manage Screen USA for the long run. We don’t need to pump up our numbers through diversion; it would only work against us.

I won’t claim to know the secret to getting over the scalding from other manufacturers but I will say unequivocally that we have absolutely no intention of screwing anyone over, especially the people who believe in us and who help us build our brand.

I like to think that I made up this quote, and I use it way to frequently but here it goes…

“There is a thin line between fear and excitements, when you feel fear, just push it over the line.”

Move your fear over the line and join the excitement of a true independent brand- Screen Hair Care!

Andrea