Electric Heating Co., Inc

Eyeball-to-Eyeball

Thoughts from Eli following his trip to the U.K.:

I always feel compelled to name my GPS because she talks to me. In the U.K. I chose Æthelflæd, after the daughter of Alfred the Great and Queen of Mercia, circa 900 A.D. She continually brought me through winding country roads with barely enough space for two cars to pass, but had me to each call in less time than I previously alloted without benefit of GPS. The normal opacity of English hedgerows along the roads was compromised by the absence of leaves, affording better views of the rolling English countryside.

One situation that I wanted to share had to do with the value of calling directly on a customer. I asked my distributor about an account for which I had three-year-old notes. He told me that it was an R&D project that was cancelled and no further potential existed. On a whim, and with a bit of extra time, I walked cold into the account to find that my contact name had left 1-1/2 years ago. His former boss agreed to meet with me in Reception and thoroughly appreciated the benefits of the Watt-Flex® cartridge heater. Their applications included screen changers, melt pumps and pellitizer extrusion dies. He also gave me the name of the Purchasing Manager and asked me to coordinate with him so he would know where to get the heater when it was speced.

Dalton Electric makes an effort to connect with customers in person as much as possible. In an age where many distributors are cutting expenses and reducing travel, the value of eye-to-eye contact can be overlooked. And the second account was two city blocks from the previous call, making the travel much more economical as a "two-fer." In this case, eyeball-to-eyeball contact carried the day when a simple phone call proved insufficient.

U.K. Friday Funnies

Mother: Come on, Victor, you have to get out of bed or you'll be late for school.
Victor: Aw, Mum do I have to? All the teachers pick on me, and all the kids hate me too.
Mother: Yes you do.
Victor: Give me a good reason
Mother: You're 34 and you're the Head Master!

Dalton Electric Heating Co., Inc (978)356-9844
28 Hayward Street Ipswich, MA 01938 USA

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