DEMO VAN DIARY BY STEPHEN NEWBOULD, FROM eel
DEMO VAN DIARY BY STEPHEN NEWBOULD, FROM EEL
DAY ONE
First day and the first call was to an existing Eldon customer, who also uses Rittal. He thought the demo van looked great and was very eye catching. He also took a closer look at a few of the products that he currently buys elsewhere, so hopefully I will see some additional business soon.
Next stop was to someone I didn’t know much about, and from the state of the outside of their building I wasn’t sure that I really wanted to go inside! I decided that I would persevere and I am glad that I did, because I have never seen a busier panel shop in my life! There were enclosures everywhere you looked and most were from the competition, so lots of potential to go for! I received an enquiry for £1,600 worth of Greenlee hole punching equipment, which I am pretty sure I will get the order for (this was after doing a live demonstration with the Greenlee LS60 Electro-Hydraulic punch). He loved the demo van and said our stainless steel floor stander reminded him of his refrigerator at home. I think he thought it might have some beer inside!
The day seemed to be going well, but nothing could have prepared me for my visit to Protech Electrical Services. They currently use Rittal, but cannot accept the colour change to RAL7035. They manufacture equipment for the aggregate industry and think Rittal’s new colour is inappropriate for the environment the equipment is used in and will show dirt too easily.
Obviously not wishing to get too excited, I was happy to show Protech the complete Multi-Mount and Multi-Flex range. The customer said he would seriously consider switching his specification to Eldon, as a direct result of our visit.
The next call was again a bit of a surprise, as the guy seemed to be working from a converted garage next to his house! However, once inside I was confronted with a suite of seven Rittal floor standers and some more great potential for Multi-Flex.
He was very excited about the demo van, and I received a firm commitment for him to change to Eldon as soon as we release the door interlock system for Multi-Flex.
DAY TWO
It’s a little bit colder today, but I am looking forward to the day ahead as I know it’s going to be busy.
The first call is to a relatively new Eldon distributor, but they are very keen to start promoting our products. The Branch Manager asked if I could bring the demo van along, and do some product training for his internal and external sales people. We decided that it would be sensible to carry out the training two at a time, although it would mean I am going to have to say the same thing four times! Being able to park the van right outside the branch and have the full range of Eldon products (including accessories) on board, meant giving the training was very easy. Previously I would either have to fill my car up with samples, or get them all down to the factory (which isn’t always possible these days). They definitely see the advantage of the demo van and both external sales engineers want to arrange days out next month.
Although I was running a bit late now, I have just phoned AF Switchgear and he said it was still OK to come. They are a reasonable size panel builder whose standard is Rittal, but were curious to see what the demo van was like. I wasn’t quite prepared for the stampede from the workshop as 10 people climbed aboard, but I wondered if it was because of the refreshments I had laid out. As it turned out they were more interested in the products than the food, but they still managed to clear the lot! The only person not to make it on board was the Operations Manager, but I have arranged to go back and see him in a couple of weeks time.
DAY THREE
My first appointment could only see me at 08:30, which unfortunately meant I had to leave home at 06:00 but I knew the potential was to convert a £30K Rittal account, so the early start was worthwhile.
Although I got to the client on time, he didn’t actually come out until 9. I was little bit annoyed, but put on a brave face and decided that £30K was still £30K! However, this guy had not only kept me waiting 30 minutes but was also in a bad mood. I really love this job, but sometimes customers can really make you wonder why you bother!
I decided that I would start the presentation and hoped at least he would listen to what I had to say; after all I had set my alarm at 05:00 so I could get here this morning, so this had better be worthwhile.
As it happens the reason he was late was that he was on the phone to Rittal explaining that them sending one floor standing enclosure in RAL7032 and one in RAL7035 was very inconvenient. The bad mood was caused because the girl on the end of the phone didn’t understand or seem to care. She probably receives dozen of calls like this one!
Needless to say, he loved our range and immediately gave me an enquiry for a couple of Multi-Flex enclosures.
Although I felt like parking up in a lay-by and getting a few hours sleep, I still had three more appointments today to get through.
They are all Rittal users, and two were very interested in the AFS range. Although they both said they had seen AFS in the catalogue, it was great to be able to see the product on the demo van. I received another enquiry to quote for various sizes of AFS, and request to go back from the other.
A long day, but certainly an interesting one!
I had an amazing few days with the Eldon demo bus, and the distributor who accompanied me on Tuesday has already booked the van and me for a week in April.
Regards,
Stephen Newbould
stephen.newbould@eldon.com
P.S. I got the order for the two floor standers from the guy who kept me waiting, and one from Protech Electrical Services!
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