As integrators have battled product-availability issues over the past few years, many channel members have been reminded of the value that distributors bring to commercial AV businesses. But if you ask Bill Reimer, vice president of sales at Starin, a Midwich company, he’ll tell you that Starin’s successful formula is more like that of a rep firm than that of a box mover. Rep firms, after all, are the subject-matter experts in their territory on their product lines. What’s more, they work to develop far closer relationships than most vendors themselves would be likely to forge with integrators. In short, then, rep firms are subject-matter experts and central relationship holders, tethered to a particular geographical territory. According to Reimer, “Starin has taken that philosophy on a national level. We don’t just know California or the northeast; we know the entire North American marketplace very, very well.”
What a Distributor Could and Should Be
Reimer reports that this reimagining of what a distributor could and should be traces back to when Midwich Group acquired Starin back in 2020. “We’re not just a phone number to call to ask, ‘Do you have five of these in stock?’” he says with a smile. “When a customer calls us for one of our manufacturers, we know what type of work they do, what vertical they’re in, what their specialty is and what they value from a manufacturer.”
Building up that kind of knowledge base takes strategic investment. And, thankfully, Bobby Swartz, CTS, CEO of Starin, is committed to making those investments. Indeed, the company has doubled its sales department in the last two years, and it plans to double the department again over the next two years. This is all part of the distributor’s vision to have an in-the-trenches presence — boots on the ground — across the continent. As Reimer puts it, “We’re laying that really solid groundwork to be strong in North America for a long, long time.” And the core of that strength, he adds, is consultative selling, regardless of whether the customer is a huge organization or a small, mom-and-pop integrator. “We’re there as a consultant to them to make sure that everybody is happy,” Reimer declares. “That’s our philosophy.”
Starin Strikes the Ideal Balance
Starin strikes the ideal balance in terms of product range — not so many lines that it waters down the company’s expansive knowledge of each, but enough lines so that Starin can provide an end-to-end solution. “If you’re doing a conference room and you need two 75-inch displays, a PTZ camera, a soundbar, an amplifier and a control panel, we’re your one-stop shop for that,” Reimer enthuses. “Because we have all of it.” And the distributor has a true integrator’s mindset in terms of thinking about systems, not SKUs. Starin’s in-house design services attest to that. As Reimer explains, Starin can provide a full bill of materials and tell the customer exactly what they need. He adds, “When we give you a BOM for one of our designs, that bill of materials can ship that day.”
One reason that Starin can offer so much knowledge to its customers — and deliver such robust design services — is its tight relationships with vendor partners. Speaking of Starin’s manufacturers, Reimer explains, “We understand how they manufacture their products. We understand what they put into that recipe. We know what makes their product so special.” What’s more, Starin has fully embraced the platform-centric approach that rules in contemporary AV design, nurturing a close relationship with both Zoom and Microsoft. “We know what the platforms like,” he declares, a fact that further underscores why customers return to Starin again and again. Indeed, Reimer makes the case that the difference between strong and weak relationships lies in their longevity, and he emphasizes that Starin has an extremely low percentage of “one and done” customers. “Our customers become very loyal,” he states, his pride in that fact evident.
‘Care More, Be Better’
When Bobby Swartz created Starin’s motto — “Care More, Be Better” — a few years ago, Swartz’s team and he ran with it, breathing that ethos into the entire organization. Even as the company expanded in recent years, including acquiring Toolfarm and 76 Media Systems, its decision-making has always been not only economics-driven but also culture-driven. “A lot of it has to do with that same philosophy of relationships,” Reimer remarks. Reflecting on his 31-year career, Reimer candidly says that he hasn’t seen any organization bring this philosophy to life quite the way that Starin and Midwich have. And with the company in growth mode, Reimer says the team continues to survey the landscape thoughtfully and consider possible acquisition targets. “We’ll continue to look, explore options and grow,” he promises.
A simple truth that underpins the “Care More, Be Better” motto is that people want to do business with people — specifically, with people they like, who care and who are invested. And that description fits Starin to a T.
“If you’re a resource to whom you’re calling, they’re going to call you, and they’re going to want to do business with you,” Reimer concludes. And channel members across the continent are increasingly recognizing that Starin is an invaluable resource to help their business grow.
