1840 Podcast - S1 Ep 2 - Branch Spotlight: Oldham

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1 2 3 4 Hi everyone welcome back to the Howarth Timber and Building Supplies 1840 podcast I'm Paul Bullivant and I'm pleased to be your host the Beating Heart of our business are our 37 branches and the teams of people that we have in them so on a regular basis we're going to pick one of our branches and highlight them in one of these episodes we'll be inviting the branch manager to come across with maybe one or two of his colleagues and talk about the ups and downs of the branch the history of

 

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the branch and how they go about trying to stand out from the crowd because we don't take it for granted that our customers have lots of choice within all the towns that we trade in so today I'm pleased to invite our first Branch to do this and that's our Oldham branch and I have great pleasure in welcoming Paul Fearns and Jang Yunis to come join us thank you Paul welcome gentlemen good afternoon Paul and we'll just start off by in turn just getting you to introduce yourselves to our vast

 

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audience just talk a little bit about yourselves your career history what you've done before you've come to Howarth what you do at Howarth now so should we start with you start with me yeah so I'm Jang Yunis  I've only been with the company for six months okay I've started as an external sales executive and I'm finding my feet in the branch and I'm yeah what did you do before you came and joined us so before I was at I was Travis Perkins so I did about seven

 

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years in Travis Perkins was that Travis Perkins Builders Merchants and Benchmarx Kitchens & Joinery so I started as a kitchen designer at that store yeah and I went my way up to be a branch manager and what got you into Travis and Benchmarx and kitchen designing my previous role was 14 years in B&Q okay so I really enjoyed my time at B&Q as well I started as a customer advisor yeah I had a bit of a funny story joining  B&Q so back in my early days I used to work at a bakery and going to

 

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work I was on a double decker bus and every single day was driving up and down and  one day I thought I want have gone work for B&Q I fancied working at B&Q like DIY young lad so I rang him up and I said have you got any vacancies and I remember Vanessa at the time and HR said yeah absolutely come down for an interview can you come this afternoon I was like yeah I'll finish work 3:00 and I'll come straight down had my interview and the same day they offered me the job

 

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amazing and I took my role in sales so I said look I'm really good at sales I can sell and they said would you work in the kitchen department and that was it weekend job at B&Q selling kitchens and weekday doing Quality Control checking bread  I did really well in B& Q and I ended up leaving  the factory to go work full-time at B&Q what did what's quality control in the bread factory yeah I was checking the temperatures of the bread making sure the wasn't eating oh no definitely not

 

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eating I put on about five stone if I had that eating it all literally so literally your move into the building industry was a was purely because the bus drove past B&Q yeah big orange sign right above the bushes B&Q I thought I'm having a bit of that and so I guess so that how long have you been in building then so I started in B&Q November 2003 I've still got my contract actually my first another contract a proper contract of working I've still got it so that's 21 so you've done 21

 

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years in Building 21 years because you drive past on a bus yeah and a we start off a weekend job and it start gradually got fulltime I did really well in B&Q become a trade point supervisor okay and then do you know the hardest part of my life was after 14 years in B&Q making a decision to to move to Perkins imagine and literally that's I think that's where my life changed because I was so comfortable in B&Q I just thought do you know what I want to change I want to challenge myself I went

 

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to Travis Perkins as a kitchen designer  in one of their shops Benchmarx yeah and from that I did pretty well you know got made a good trade base got some good relationships  and then I got offered an apprenticeship at Travis okay and for me again that was something that I really took on board and I was one of the first ones to get a distinction in the apprenticeship and then I became the poster boy so that was funny I still if you do type in Jang Yunis

 

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you become the face of TP face of TP apprenticeships yeah never had you down as a male model literally neither did I yeah and then I got hunted by Howarth Timber okay and then that took me some thought to move over but I thought you know what let's try something different I've never been an external sales rep yeah and the funniest thing is I've never ever sold building materials so I did it good 15 18 years ago in B&Q but not really heavyside it's quite a gamble for you then moving

 

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moving business moving product sectors I promise you I must have rang so many traders beforehand I said listen I'm going to move away from the soft side to come on to the heavy side what do you think and I had so many mixed reviews Jang that's not you or Jang you'll be brilliant or Jang this I was like right it's time to make my own choice and what made what helped you make that decision well doing kitchen for so many years I already knew I mastered that department yeah and I wanted to again

 

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take myself out of the comfort zone to go and try something really different and I thought right I'll get something else under my career yeah but wow there's so many building materials to learn you know from bricks blocks sand different measurements I'm you got you've made good grounds in six months you got a way to go I've got a long way to go I think great example of that transferable skill so he's had the sale skills he just needed to bring that to the

 

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building materials and his enthusiasm is infectious so everybody's catching it you know everybody wants to sell don't they yeah what's your favourite heavyside materials lintels at the moment 1800 mil 1200 mil  yeah so at the moment we’re selling a lot of roof tiles as well so that's kicked off really well well done welcome aboard good to have you thank you very much I thank God that bus drove past B&Q and got you started definitely pass over to you I was a bit of a late starter in the the building

 

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game really I was a civil servant for 22 years okay and I took a volunteer exit package in 2013 I knew I was going to take some time off because I'd never not worked I’d just come from  had about three jobs in my life but I'd gone over a week what kind of civil servant prison service in prison okay yeah so I'd left the Army and finished on the Friday yeah and I started on the Monday when you know the prison there's no there's no gaps in my career so when I left the

 

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service in 2013 and where were you so I worked me my first it was National recruitment when I joined so my first jail was Bedford okay got sent down there I did a year in Bedford and then had to crawl my way back up north so after a year I was allowed to pick five jails in the Northwest Manchester was closed at the time because of the riot so I picked Preston Hinley Rizley style and Leeds was a like the last Choice so like coming home is it today so I got I ended up at Armley for 3 years then Manchester came back

 

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online after the right about 94 95 by Manchester you being Strangeways yeah but it they renamed it when they reopened after the riot it wasn't called Strangeways anymore it was HMP Manchester so it was just it was a rebrand to forget yeah rebranding yeah and a new owner because it would been market tested as well so so just stop there a minute Dave you you've got a picture for us haven’t you oh yeah oh wow oh dear so that's Paul as a prison officer Strangeways one of the few pictures you you’ll find of me

 

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in uniform but I used to walk around with that clipboard I did 12 Years with that clipboard now nobody ever asked me what I was doing and that was the key to treat looking after prisoners just walk around with the clipboard fantastic you look about 18 there yeah I what was it 33 you were a young looking 33 I still look young now nearly 60 now does he yeah so 2013 left a prison service took a volunteer exit I knew I was going to take some time off and I sort of had in my head six months and in the

 

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March my son got diagnosed with diabetes type one diabetes in the December right so it was good that I was off work and taking a bit of time at home to get get him sort of settled into that and his routines and so on and so forth and then in the March 2014 my wife came home from work and said go get an haircut and get a job you know just been lying on the couch for six months looking a bit of a tramp so I mean I had all sorts of ideas when I was leaving the prison service I was going to start my own business and I was going

 

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to do this and I wanted a second hand shop I was really want to say because I was into amplifiers and speakers and guitars and I’d always been in bands and singing and my sons were in bands and so on and so forth so I thought about a ssecond-hand shop because I was so just just stop you there so you're singing's a big massive yeah massive yeah yeah well I obviously I did the stars in their eyes but I'd run karaoke and after the stars in their eyes I formed a band around Manchester so just

 

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so just we'll just start there again Dave I think you've got something else to show us looking you oh no so these pictures you just tell us the story quickly of stars in their eyes yeah so there'd been a guy on stars in their eyes who did Paul Weller  about five 10 years before that and I was like oh no it's not that's not right that's not right and my wife said well if you think it's not right go and do it yourself so I just had I had a recording that a mate of mine had done at his little

 

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studio and  I had the recording and I had the photographs and I had anyway I just sent it in and forgot about it and I was in Oldham at the time in the town centre and I got like the when was it 1999 2000 something like that I got a phone call a mobile phone you know nobody ever a phone or a mobile phone and it was this girl said you know it's such and such from stars in their eyes and I was like yeah yeah of course it is one of my mates winding me up you know  anyway when I

 

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got home there's a message on the answer phone at home as well I got the phone call so I had to go and do the audition and everything and yeah went on Stars in their eyes well I think we should just show the viewers no I don't think we should we should show the viewers a bit of young Paul on stars in their eyes definitely here we go and did you win I came second can we just tell everybody who he came second to no come on this is embarrassing this I forgot I know because I was only watching he came second to

 

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David Cassidy, David Cassidy beat his Paul Weller can you believe that thanks Dave he was a mega star David Cassidy yeah it was not poor so we've ruined the story now you've done stars in your eyes yeah we've done that sorry your wife said get off and find a job yeah so I had big ideas about what I was going to do no idea what I was going to do  so she said just go to an agency and do a bit of driving so I went to an agency in Oldham and just took me driving license on the Thursday night I think it was and

 

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she said can you be at the woman there can you be at Howarth Timber at Ashton  tomorrow morning at 7:00 so I said yeah no problem so I turned up at 7:00 and there was nobody there didn't open till half 7 at the time I stood around for a while and I ended up driving the van the pickup van for a couple of weeks absolutely loved it first I didn't know the time van trackers on so my first job when I left Ashton was I drove to me Mrs’ work so she could see me in my new pickup I know I got with my

 

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deliveries but I absolutely loves that job I  only did it for two weeks and then that that I kind of that fell about and then Rob Bailey he was branch manager at Ashton at the time he's a regional manager now but he was branch manager at the time and he said to me you know you want a full-time job so I was like I'm thinking I drive this van all day long superb and  he said it's not in the van it's in the yard so I was yeah yeah you know I need I needed something to do I was at

 

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that stage where I needed something to do so I worked in the yard I did I worked in there for 10 months and what I found myself doing in the yard for 10 months was asking questions I was the king of asking stupid questions because my Dad was a joiner and I knew what sheet of plywood I knew what a bit of 3x2 was but there's so much more  to the building game and to what Howarth Timber sell and so you know products 20,000 different products at least and I didn't is Jang following you

 

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as king of the stupid question now yeah yeah he is the more you ask the more you know it is I say that with laughing but that is how you learn if you don't know ask you've got to ask them questions and he is asking you know what's this and we encourage that because if you don't ask them questions you're never going to know it are you yeah  so I did a bit of time in the yard at Ashton got me stripes then the assistant manager job came up at Manchester branch and I applied for that got that moved to

 

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Manchester I did two years there  then the sales exec job came up at Oldham I applied for that  didn't get it initially but then three months later the guy they employed wasn't really cutting it yeah and I was given a shot at the sales exec at Oldham  I did that for two years and the branch manager job came up and in 2019 Ian Williams gave me the branch manager job nice so you've had a really good move through the business then from Howarth Timber are brilliant for that though

 

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for moving people through the business I mean I got I've had some really good transitions and some promotions but I've also seen a lot of other staff moving through the ranks and getting promoted so you know the company likes to promote from within I think we see that don't we across the board I think if you've learned your trade in the yard it's easier to sell them because you've been lifting them you know into backs of  vans and like okay so you took over as branch

 

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manager in 2019 what was the branch like when you took over wow it was Oldham branch is a it's a heavy side Builders Merchants it's quite rough and ready is probably the best way to describe it  it probably needs some investment now and maybe a new kitchen showroom or something like that  it was like the wild west was yeah it was like the wild west yeah there was a very strange culture in the branch you know some customers

 

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thought they could just take things without paying for them  and that was okay so stock losses had to get on top of  and just my main focus was to reduce stock losses they were high and to sort of increase the margin on sales which was what was needed at the time okay  and that you know that kind of worked then we had Covid didn't we  so how did you make those changes in those early days up to because they're quite they're both big things aren't they if you got a

 

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theft problem getting to the bottom of it and solving it is not a two minute job the stock losses was about challenging people okay we give you a tally ticket so if you served somebody you give them a tally ticket so it was about yard staff checking that that customer had bought those materials  and then checking that more presence more presence for myself in the yard and also on the CCTV cameras and watching what was going on and it gradually reduced as the more you challenge

 

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people the more the kind of think well you're not going to get away with it so that that that was that's how the stock losses came down and then keeping on top of that you know to keep the stock losses down  that kind of just that just worked that just happened building the margin was more difficult and until we sort of it got Covid where everything went through the roof yeah went crazy didn't it what what was your experience of Covid at TP something similar we were furloughed for

 

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About nine months yeah  but when people started coming back to get their bits it was hectic was it Benchmarx yeah okay just doing kitchens just doing kitchens so we was as bad as the TP down the road they had queues down the road to get the main bits the plaster the multi finish the sand the cement  but we was classed as an essential company service  but yeah it was  it wasn't a good time to be but we got through it yeah  TP were absolutely brilliant with

 

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supporting their staff likewise I think Howarth was something similar but yeah very very similar oh nice so then so what were any specific big challenges that you had to face when you were trying to establish yourself as a first time branch manager I had a lot of management skills from the prison service because that's managing people all day long yeah  and some particularly challenging people as well so  I kind of I got that role I  was fine with that

 

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it was more still the do I know enough yeah there there's so much you don't know  until you learn it and it's only when you get a phone call to say you've not done this or you've not done that or you know what's this what's I have no idea nobody ever told me that so it was picking them sort of how did that make you feel when you kind of realized there's a lot of stuff I don't know did that knock your confidence at all or I've always been super confident

 

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Paul yeah I've got I'm probably a bit too confident sometimes but no I just you try to soak it all up don't you and just you know don't make the same mistake twice but it's okay to make a mistake the first time I mean I asked the question because and I think and I think imposter syndrome you ask about it and it kind of applies to us all doesn't it you can't none of us know everything about what we're doing but you can kind of get to a position and I think it comes a bit with

 

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age and experience where you're comfortable not knowing and when something comes up that you don't know you don't panic you know how to solve it because you've solved it you know time and time again in the past yeah definitely yeah was there any anything stand out really negative and bad in that first phase when you're trying to establish yourself as branch manager with a lack of with a lack of Builders Merchants knowledge I remember I think the first

 

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the first three days I couldn't sit in the manager's desk because I had a separate desk as a sales exec and at first I was really uncomfortable with moving across to the manager's desk and not because I didn't think I was capable of the job or I just I was kind of thinking move the office around put the desk somewhere else I didn't want to be that person I didn't want to be there I wanted to move it I wanted to change something  was that

 

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imposter syndrome do you think looking back at it now yeah potentially it could have been yeah  I don't remember thinking I'm not capable of doing the job I  was more like I didn't want to sit in that seat  I needed it different I needed something different you know I didn't like what I'd seen before okay  so I needed something different and I didn't want the staff to see the same thing because they're all the same staff yeah  they're not they're not all the

 

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same staff now but I can I think there's only I've only got one member of staff from when I took over how many staff do you have 19 so that's quite a big change then in yeah natural wastage some you know some people move on leave Jang’s been to a different Builders Merchant so did you get the support from the staff moving from an exec to the to a manager obviously that's a bit of a transition from the yeah   I'd done well as a sales

 

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Exec so the staff knew that I was going to work you know they knew not going to work asin going to work but I was going  to put a shift in yeah  because as a sales exec I’d always I'd always been in the branch at 7:00 in the morning and I'd never left till sort of gone four because my I had this maybe that was imposter I had this  if they as long as they see me doing it then you know it's because as a sales exec you can  work from home you can come and

 

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go as you please like you do Jang is that joking absolutely brilliant  sales exec I'm going to talk I'm ask you about this in in in a minute I reckon the sales exec role is the toughest role in a builder's Merchants really when I had to go with it when I was 20 I absolutely bombed yeah I just I couldn't handle the constant rejection for yeah I was made I was may be young but for me going through my career it's been a really that was a really invaluable lesson about how tough

 

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it is because it it just everybody looks at a sales exec oh it's easy they come as you were just laughing about oh they come and go you know do what you want it's a tough old job so you know I do go come back to on that one and ask you ask your thoughts on how you're seeing it after you know after six months so you've struggled with imposter syndrome that's a common theme in these episodes by the way  we've

 

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talked about it with Gavin and Steve we we've got an episode coming up with Rob Bailey and Cameron Reid who were just moved from branch managers to regional managers and they've talked to me about how the imposter syndrome of moving I think it's quite you know natural for us to do all that  gone into covid that's been carnage but that was just a matter of hanging on once it open if you can get the doors open and you got some stock on the shelf

 

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that was it that was all you had to do and then of course the last couple of years we we've seen the downturn and everything that's  come with that what are what are your biggest challenges now the competitive market yep  the economy  the government's budgets keep going up and down they  I think customers are more aware of pricing things now so more price aware  and they shop around a lot more so whereas you used to get your loyal customers that will just shop with you

 

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regardless the few and far between now how do you keep the being motivated and positive because there's such a lot of bad news going on cost of living crisis fuel Bills going on interest rates going on how do you how do you pull the team together I think if you ask any  branch manager or regional manager when regional managers have said it when they come into the branch if I'm down the whole branch is down that that just spreads like wildfire yeah so I've got to stay positive and keep

 

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and drive the team  and be happy and smiling  I think we've got a good team in Oldham though really good team yeah that I think that comes from such a good mix of Staff because we've got probably seven or eight female staff okay which is quite that's a high percentage very high percentage for most in what kind of roles so transport manager shop manager administrator yard operative stock controller oh so it's a real it's a real mix it's not kind of in the classic female roles in the builders and

 

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they're all brilliant I'm not just I'm not just saying that because they probably get to hear it but yeah they do it they all do a fantastic job all of them really good I mean since I've come I think we' quite we've gel so well like a good team like a bit of a family to be fair like sometimes I'll come in a bit down but you'll get H will say something or Lee Robinson the assistant manager we're just a good team we just we have a little banter between ourselves which keeps us going for the

 

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day but we have a the girls have their own night out that we're not allowed on so they have a girls night out like once a month where they were the chaps aren’t allowed that's good that's good though that there's a network of people that all bring energy and whatever you because we all it's just normal for all of us as human beings is it to have a flat spot and ups and the down so to always have a mix of people who can help lift is really

 

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important because to be resilient in difficult times is that's tough isn't it is particularly for you leading the team when you when you're kind of taking in the messages from central around budgets and what have you and you're trying to protect as much as you can your team while it's driving them to deliver on what they need to yeah one of the one of the regional director we've just is just retiring Ian Williams I think he was I think he was excellent at that yeah filtering out

 

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stuff that branch managers didn't need necessarily need to know because that information overload can drag you down as well and he and they block that out like they don't need to know that and we know they did that  they need so much information they don't you know they don't drag them down with that let them get on let get on my sell in let him get on running a branch yeah okay  so tell so just picking up on that about the Oldham team now what's kind of the DNA

 

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of the branch what's your what's your big USP why would a customer pick Howarth Timber at Oldham them rather than the raft of other Merchants that that that there are in the town because like in every town there's loads of choice now for people why do you stand out what's the can I answer that coming from just six months into the business one thing I've learned from these guys is they've got really good product knowledge from about three four of them in the branch people come in even by doing

 

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building  for the last 15 to 20 years come to ask these guys about the new stuff up-to-dated stuff these guys have got really good knowledge and that's what I'm bouncing on picking up yeah off these guys I think  USP is the team I think  people about people don't we all sell 3x2 don't the merchants up the road sell 3x2 4x2 sand cement but they haven't got they haven't got a Janette on the counter they haven't got a doing the deliveries haven’t got a Lee checking their order yeah

 

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sales exec Jang and doesn't know anything that's a real good USP that sets you apart no I mean Jang has been six months he's been with us now and he's been fantastic  thank you absolutely brilliant brought you know so many new customers in  fitted in fantastic with a team just another piece of the jigsaw that's gone you know into place but it's the people in the branch  the yard staff I've got Natalie in the yard  customers forever

 

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commenting on how polite Natalie is and pleasant Steve in the yard customers always complaining about Steve's attitude that why I brought Natalie in so that she can balance it out yeah  it's the people in the branch that that so that that would be your definitely USP so say hypothetically we set up another branch and we move you to another Branch would that would that be your main outside of all the basics would that be your key thing build the

 

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right team with the right attitude 100% if you get that wrong then you no chance and how do you make when you recruit how do you make sure you get the right attitude Personality yeah well I've failed on the last two  it's really difficult becoming more and more difficult  whether people don't want to work or whether they're better off on benefits or I don't know what the answer is but actually recruiting really good quality staff who want to turn up on I'm a bit of a

 

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stickler for timings right I want to turn up on time for me just if you start work at 7 get out of bed and get to work for 7 it's just dead simple  but actually recruiting quality staff at the minute is really difficult just going really yeah and I suppose whether anybody fits is it's a little bit luck of the draw until somebody starts you don't know whether they quite everybody can say the right thing at interview can’t they or the CV can say the right thing you know for 20 40 minute interview you can say

 

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the right thing yeah and then actually getting into the role and doing the job is a different thing yeah okay so coming back to you and this the sales exec role yeah what on Earth possessed you to want to get sales repping after 20 years do you know what I'm really good at is I'm a people's person so what I thought was why deal with stuff that don't want to come to work when I can deal with people who want to buy and you know and want to come to me for a reason like I said

 

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people do buy from people I'm a really firm believer of that so I don't take rejection as a bad thing I take rejection as a positive thing when someone rejects that they don't want to buy it from me that's my challenge then to say right okay this time yeah I'll come and get and I think I've won because I'm not from Oldham but I've where are you from I'm from Ashton right and I've worked in Ashton all my life and then Manchester Central so coming to Oldham is a tough

 

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market and I've learned that in the six months I've been there the customer that Oldham  have got like I said there's so many competitors that don't mind me saying they're penny pinching you don't think they do anywhere else well not as much as Oldham care what you say people listening literally not as much as which is a good thing because people everybody wants to save money and I a firm believer if I'm a customer which I am yeah I

 

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want the best deal and that's what it all comes down to  looking after your customers  giving them the best prices beating the our competitors for them customers to come to us so I'm passionate about it's not about I'm passionate about getting new customers on board but like really looking after them and when someone says to me no I'm not coming to you I then want to know why so I go the extra mile say right okay listen don't come and buy from me let me have a

 

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meeting with you and let me understand why you don't want to come and so you stalk them a little bit yeah you know I go on the sites you know I'll meet them with a coffee a coffee and a biscuit yeah donut it does work yeah why go from and I mean this the right way a nice inside job where people are people are generally coming to you rather than you to go out there and knock on doors in all you know in all weathers trying to get a conversation with

 

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somebody who doesn’t  want to talk to what possesses you to want to make that change so when at Benchmarx no matter what you did you had to go out and go get your food in other words like you've got a Howdens on every corner yeah and I believe I believe if I don't go and grab him someone else will yeah and what I mean grab him I mean like obviously put the arm around them M them to come to come and buy from me you know you've got the right products the right price

 

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the right service there's no reason why someone shouldn't shop with you they're my three main massive things I like I'm proud of  you could you could easily have the best price you could easily have the product on the shelf but if you get bad service they ain't coming back and so why  it was easy for me to manage an exec and say go get it and then nine times out of 10 they probably won't bring anything back I spend all day and I'm thinking it's not hard opportunity that's my

 

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biggest thing find an opportunity and go and grab it I would literally sit outside a competitor and stalk and stalk you know and not in a bad way but I'll just make that phone call I've just gone past your van and  you know is there anything that I could Supply you from Howarth Timer how do you stop people rejecting you knocking you back there there's tactics to everything and I think my tactic way what works for me is what you watch see what they're buying see what they're working on see

 

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what they're  building yeah and just go in with a good price on that I can get you for that price he might say I've never seen you in in my life who are you like all right well I'm from Howarth Timber and this is what we can do I can get you that cheaper I can get you this better  and then I don't know it's just it just flows for me I just I just don't I don't want to sound big headed but I don't take rejection as a bad thing I take it as a good thing I take it as another opportunity to go back

 

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and get him I like it so I don't know it's I can't imagine we would be bringing many people to sit in this chair while we're recording these and asking them how do you how do you handle rejection and you going I just love it give me more I genuinely do that it's crazy Paul you see me in action it's like you know what is he's so hungry yeah he's got that real hunger to sell and you get you get excited by that have you have you always been hungry for success and full of

 

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energy and so this is how hungry I've been I was when I started at B&Q I said to him I used to work at British Gas  and sell on the phones and that's why I'm a good salesperson and then from that I was a lead taker just a normal lead taker taking a name and address and I thought I don't want that I want to be a kitchen designer because the designers with the shoes and ties and I thought I made my way to that from there I did really well in sales yeah and then obviously I got

 

00:37:08

head hunted to go to TP  bless Richard H and then I did really well so wherever I go I always believe in just doing your best so where does where does that that hunger and resilience and drive come from is it it's in my belly I don't know why is it your mom and dad or must be it must be one of them from their DNA honestly but it's got to come from it's always got to come from somewhere I know I like so where would so it's a weird one Paul because like whenever I find whenever I'm listening

 

00:37:38

in the office and I'm always listening to the counter I'm always listening to the phone and whenever someone's like talking about sales and I'm thinking value then is it high value I want to go meet them if someone's on the counter and they're like they're ordering from it what they're buying next what me and Paul are trying to do now is like so I said to Paul I don't understand one thing you go what I said I'm going to sell them bricks blocks

 

00:38:00

sand cement we're doing the  we're doing the foundation why are we not doing the interior light the kitchens and bathrooms  and so far we've sold about three kitchens just by not having a showroom this is our home so I’m guessing he'll be putting in for a showroom then at next budget I think he's trying to so I think you better take him to rather than do Nick's got no  but again it's an opportunity and that's what if we all look for an

 

00:38:29

opportunity  you don't know what comes out of it that's what I believe where do you think you'll be in 5 years time in your seat I watch me back I was thinking you were going to say his seat I was going to say watch your back but I'll watch mine do you know what it's the people again so when I walked into the branch and I sat down with Paul Paul's I'm not just saying it because he's an amazing guy if anyone wants to support Paul Paul really gives it if we were bringing in

 

00:38:57

another sales exec back in with you never sells exact before I'll teach them well yeah know I'm going to say give your secrets what's your three secret tips Tell them if you're going to tell somebody three things that you must do if you're going to be a sales exec one is definitely firstly you've got to remain positive  and you've got to be really upbeat at all times yeah and I mean and I mean genuinely like upbeat because positivity sells in my opinion yeah great  and then and then

 

00:39:24

do not promise if you can't deliver do not ever and I was to the guys look if we can get it out I'll promise him if not I won't I won't  and then thirdly is  I'd like to say  is my job is just service and that's what it is it is service with a smile and go out and  just have a good time and as long as you're having a good time you'll do really well yeah you'll win I like you and then same question to you but in your role as branch manager if you guys

 

00:39:56

taking over never Branch managed before your three big tips never lie to anybody you always get caught positivity and delivery so that's not just job taking somebody's order that's delivering the sale so advising people helping people out  getting the goods to the right place at the right time in the right condition cool I've got four more questions for you both it's quick fire so it's short and sharp just a nice way to finish things off it's all about you

 

00:40:33

so if you can't answer these  you've got a problem favourite part of your job customer service definitely customer service I love it I like it Paul  you know what I just love I don't I never wake up in the morning and think I've got to go to work I just love going to work I love being at work love all my staff love most of the customers some but I love  yeah I know I just really enjoy the job I'm going have to ask you this because you'll say there isn't one the most

 

00:41:06

difficult part of your job got thinking  managing staff's problems the personal problems that complicate Yeah well yeah okay that's a that's a good challenging thing it because there's more everybody has more and more issues in their lives right now taking all the money I'm sure you'll give it a good go  the most crucial trait somebody would need to do your job thick skin yeah you need thick skin positivity

 

00:41:49

definitely and the best piece of advice you've ever been given best piece of advice would be  just be positive just keep going I just keep answer just be positive just keep going radiate energy and Good Vibes  kind of two that are rolled into one when I was at school the motto was always consideration for others so as long as you're considering other people then you're going to be okay and then recent more recently  a regional manager was he always said always leave

 

00:42:31

somebody in a better place than you find them if you can so always leave someone in a better place nice that's if possible well listen thank you both for your time it's been excellent talking to you to you both thanks for having us thanks for inviting us it's good and  you set the bar very high for future branches that come in and  do one of these sessions with us so thank you for that so just to close I just like to say thank you to everybody who's joined us

 

00:43:01

to listen and hear from us  we're looking to do one of these episodes every couple of weeks so look out for the next one you can follow us on all our social medias  and we look forward to seeing you next time thank you very much 1 2 3 4