Cold Calling

DANNY WILLIAMS ‘COLD CALLING’

Each month our special correspondent Danny Williams* replies to a reader’s letter...

“We have a successful retail home improvement business that was started by my dad, and which I have been running since my mid twenties. I have worked in and managed every part of the company, know it inside out, but I was never trained for some of the pressures we are currently going through. It’s challenging to say the least and I know I am not alone in this. What’s your take?”

JT Notts

I have been in the industry now for 35 years and despite my apparent youth JT, I had a life before that. And whilst in most ways things have never been better for us at Pioneer Trading, in many others we are facing challenges that nothing in three decades has prepared us for. You and I had a brief chat JT and I know that you have a few years on me, your dad (who is still involved with the business though occupying a back seat these days) being just a few years older than I am. He will remember the market dips that took place when you were still in short trousers (nappies even?) and antics that make even todays cowboys look like smart businesspeople.

Nowadays, in addition to the day-to-day pressures that we all have to deal with, we have the added hurdles of Brexit and Covid, and unexpected issues that those two major game changers are now throwing at us. To my mind, being a seat-of-the-pants merchant gives us ‘entrepreneurs’ unique abilities to handle such things: I am actually formally qualified JT – as a diesel fitter - and whilst that allows me to remove and replace the engine and gearbox from anything in our yard, it has to be said that exact piece of paper hasn’t done a great deal to help me resolve the issues I have with my exports to the EU, for example. And you went to a posh school that furnished you with a couple of A levels JT, as you remarked when we chatted. The biggest issue that Brexit and Covid have jointly presented me with is staff shortages: My factory has resembled the Council Chamber at the UN on occasions JT, such has been the diversity of nationalities that have graced our factory over the years. And none of them rushed towards Dover when Brexit was done, being a bunch that, generally, presented themselves as decent people, hard working for the most part and easy to manage. When Covid kicked in of course, many of them did actually make a break for the pass, which left them unable to return to the UK, even after that initial lockdown. Slowly they are drifting back, but we needed them when the order pipeline threatened to burst from June last year. The materials and component shortages are a bloody nuisance but they can be managed: and bluntly JT, it should not be beyond your capabilities with the experience that you have under your belt. It is frustrating that we are continuing to enjoy buzzing sales from most of our installer customer-base, but then having to advise them that their delivery dates are extended, sometimes way beyond what used to be the norm. Not everything has gone to the dogs: our principal supplier Deceuninck is worth a puff here because their delivery of standard profiles has remained pretty normal throughout, with only specials taking a little longer. However, our backup window system, which shall remain nameless for the purpose of this response because I like the people there, pretty much imploded some months ago and we have all but given up on them. Components such as steel reinforcement remains pretty solid because we have used the same supplier for many years and they have returned the favour by looking after us. Again, hardware is not too much of an issue as long as we stick to relatively standard stock that the supplier has the confidence to order in large volumes, well in advance. Prices are, of course, another issue. But we have put in increases to cover those that we are being faced with on a weekly basis, and for the first time in my experience as a fabricator, not a peep was heard from any of our customers. Why? Because when news of increases across the board caused by a whole rack of problems caused by Brexit/Covid/ climate change and what have you, being reported on the telly every evening, the message is getting across. It is what it is. But never be afraid to pass on the increases that you face: your customers won’t get the products any faster from any of your competitors and if they are cheaper, let them take the hit and go bust because they can’t make a decent margin. The key to it all is communication JT: you must demand that your principal suppliers keep you informed and up to the minute with your orders so that in turn, you can keep your customers up to date. It is my experience that problems only really occur when people are treated like mushrooms. I don’t know if you run a CRM system in your firm JT, but if you don’t then you should seriously consider doing so. Those on the market currently will actually email or text your customers with updates every time you get information from your supplier on the status of their order, and even keep track of components and materials from your suppliers. BUT…this will continue for some time to come and I do believe that there is worse round the corner, as inflation is becoming a serious threat. A popular definition of inflation is when product prices rise faster or higher than their perceived value, and there is a point when homeowners might begin to review the vanity-driven purchases that they were considering. We don’t want to return to the days when purchases were only made when the old frames were falling out.

An additional problem is that as far as I can see, there are no ‘experts’ out there that know any better than you or me: you can hand your accounts and any legal problems over to trained professionals, but none of them are a scrap of help with the issues we now face daily as a result of Brexit/Covid. Hold steady JT: our industry was built on an extraordinary pioneering spirit and whenever it has faced a crisis, we have found answers and fought back. And that is how we will come out of this - ahead of the game, on top and fighting fit. But doing nothing just isn’t an option. And you are as wellequipped as any of us to deal with it all.

“The key to it all is communication JT: you must demand that your principal suppliers keep you informed and up to the minute with your orders so that in turn, you can keep your customers up to date.”