A quick look at 2012 through a young pair of
68-year-old eyes
By John Martin
Hello, readers and friends. Welcome to my little corner of the PVF world! I realize some of my articles get rather long and drawn out at times, but for the most part I do that for the sake of the historical background of either the company itself or the market area(s) they work in. While I hope you enjoy stopping each month for enough time to read all that interesting “stuff” I’m referring to, this month I’m gonna soft-peddle a bit, and simply tell you how my young 68-year-old eyes see things as the year kicks off, okay?
Like many of you reading, our company, too, was blessed with a really good year in 2011 — much better than 2010, and well on the way to even prior 2008 performance at our foundries and our sourcing abilities; all aimed at a better market, better marketing, and better customer service. Let’s face it, the market for much of our type product is pretty mature without a lot of new ideas for their use, but when an active market (commercial, mechanical, and PVF industrial, fire protection, mining, and energy oil/gas) shows solid signs for a surge creating demand that is so very unusual for this day and time, we get excited and prepare for our share.
It gives you reason for working and plugging away in niche areas that can indeed serve up “huge” results and develop new aggressive ideas for new products to reach selective market segments as well.
I have many friends in the companies in our industry that are key suppliers to a lot of wholesalers, and the bulk of them have had similar experiences in the market as I have explained above. I’ve spoken to a lot of them over the past six months or so, and it is very interesting how many observations, opinions, and facts we all have that are so much alike — about issues that range from current market and future opportunities, the wholesale channel of distribution we choose, the contractor markets we serve, their projects, our own out ahead sales contacts, training, yes, and even entertaining!
POINT ONE
You can’t sell and service from an empty wagon, got it? It’s an old statement and used by many, but so true right this minute (both from the manufacturing side and the wholesalers local inventory position), as we all have been guilty of using cost-cutting inventory control methods to keep production and stocked inventory to current necessary needs in many cases.This touches the edge of causing harm to market service with any kind of up-tick in demand at all. I am not saying we (any of us) need to get back to levels that were just not needed — making “production runs of A & B items just to be running” type excess. Hey, I don’t know about you and your company, but in a nutshell, we don’t need to do this for practice, you follow me?
The point is to get production back to reality, get inventories back to market driven forecasts, and let it roll. The demand for 1/2" widgets to big commercial cooling towers, to commercial plumbing “potties & tubs” to designed piping systems — is coming back (at a slower pace than we were getting used to), but it is coming back. We must plan now and get ready to “pull the trigger” to cover the need, which in turn says to the competitive import products, “No thanks, not needed!”
POINT TWO
Get back to the basics of selling and earning the business. Work the market, okay? There is a great country song (you know I had to work this in some how, huh?) that is sung well by a young male singer and a female singer that is just as good, and the message in the song from the young man is that if she doesn’t hurry up and make up her mind about him, that she is gonna miss out! The key line that I love in the song and one that really brings the point home to me reference working in this anticipated come back of our USA economy, is this: “I think you’re gonna like me a lot, but you’re ‘bout to miss your shot...are you gonna kiss me or not?”
Okay, okay, my daughter Kayla asked me how in the world does a “country song” relate to pipe, valves, hangers, grooved product and fittings? Well, simply stated, the signs in the market to me say that the economy in several markets and market segments is building up steam and is gonna be active to very active going forward. If we all don’t acknowledge it in our own areas of market service, we could miss the “shot,” the opportunity to capture share.
So, while I’m not sure if working the market with “kisses” will be effective, I am sure that when the time comes for us to take those “shots” in an energized market place, not being ready to do so, will not have a positive effect on one’s marketing plan! I’m just saying!
POINT THREE
Train your people and spend those Geehard earned “T&E” dollars with care and thought in mind to actually get that best “BANG”, every time! I love learning or trying to learn something new as often as possible. Your people — no matter what level, being on the front line or in your shipping department or inside sales, or inventory control, or finance — need to know that “getting better at what they do” is important and key to the company’s success.
Don’t allow them to get stale and set in their ways of “this is how I always do it.” Rather, encourage them to stay up to speed with the latest interest of customers, products, etc., and from time to time offer them opportunities to lean something new. This is motivating and rewarding for them, and in the long run will reward you good solid people. You’ll see the difference, and be ready for that surge in business!
If you are on the front line and charged to use expense dollars to garner attention in the marketplace and preserve customer relations, then do so. But always keep in mind that the dollar you just spent was earned by a profitable product sale made by someone, then a sale that had to be serviced — cared for, shipped, installed or used, and then the receivable collected. All the functions of taking care of a customer are not really done when you as a salesman or saleswoman gets an order. Your job is not done until you know with interest that it is handled and that “T&E” dollar is there again for you when needed!
Well, that is enough from this pair of 68-year-old “young eyes” for this edition of the corner! Hope you enjoyed reading this with a bit of a chuckle at times, and the words and ideas that I have taken to heart from my years of “on the job training!”
Don’t forget to read up on “Martin’s Corner Wine Tip of The Month” also. I’ll talk with you again soon and I’ll see a lot of you readers at some of the many upcoming group conventions and association conventions. Who knows, there may even be some “shots” to be found and taken during these upcoming meeting. Better be ready; you could be ’bout to miss your shot!
Blessings to you all, and thanks again for stopping by.
— John
Starting in our industry in 1968 at Anvil International (formerly Grinnell Company), John Martin has been with them over this 43-year span through at least five different owners! Currently serving as vice president of national account sales for Anvil’s rather successful mechanical products division, he has worked in every phase of the company from warehouse to sales (inside and outside) to the ever popular branch manager’s job in the 1970s and 1980s. He served as regional vice president for their West Coast units, and since about 1990 in this national role with contacts and customers/vendors coast to coast. Martin also traveled all over Asia in the 1980s as their acquisition guy for steel pipe used in their west coast branch locations at the time! Currently also, he is responsible for Anvil as their lead person at ASA & MCAA, and is identified as Anvil in all the wholesale industry buying/marketing groups, In these capacities he has not only received numerous industry and association awards for his service, he has set on several boards/executive committees within these industry and associations as well. He was quoted currently as stating the following, “I’ve been blessed and had fun and been productive for my entire career, but I believe the most energizing time or times in my life have been (still is today) working with all the folks at Anvil and seeing the young ones in the field ‘get it’ on almost a daily basis — meaning learning our company and understanding how to meet the customers needs in today’s upside down world. Anvil is a great place for me to be right now.” He can be reached anytime at jmartin@anvilintl.com or his cell phone at 303-588-9806.