The North East Commercial team are firmly on board with the collaboration efforts within CEMEX with commercial teams cross selling different divisions products across Asphalt, Aggregates and Readymix Concrete. Introductions to potential clients are happening on a daily basis. With this in mind, Stuart Johnson, Mark Oxnard, Jack Errington and Natalie Hodson agreed that informal introductions suited our client base far more than formal meetings.
Natalie explains: “The North East demographic of customers differs from those in other areas; they like to deal with people who speak their dialect. We all believe that dealing with approachable people in the North East is key to success. Trust is built between ourselves and our customers on a personal and professional level. We spend a lot of time at work and relationships with colleagues and stakeholders alike make our whole experience more enjoyable; and makes for a far more enjoyable experience for the customer.
With all of the above in mind we all collectively discussed how we could bring together those people who buy from CEMEX, in certain divisions, as a “thank you” for their loyalty and trade – this would also informally introduce them to our colleagues in other divisions to increase their trade with us. Stuart Johnson suggested an evening of entertainment at the dog racing in Newcastle. We all agreed that we would each invite two customers who traded with us a lot on one or two products, but not a lot in other aspects. Between the four of us we invited Chapel Park Groundworks, Anwen Construction, Absolute Civil Engineering, Jewsons, Ian Taylor and Sons, and Colin Watson Construction.
On Thursday 28th September we met at Brough Park Dogs Track in Byker. We introduced our colleagues to our customers, as well as our customers to each other. Overall, the evening was a huge success! CEMEX were a sponsor of Race 5 and Stuart presented the winning dog of that race with his trophy and prize; we all met customers we would not generally be able to reach due to the usual barriers of entry we encounter. It was an enjoyable setting for our customers with their colleagues, peers and local representatives where business cards were swapped, meetings were arranged and plans were made to move forward with existing accounts. We got some lovely comments from some of them:
“I will always use CEMEX whenever it is practical and feasible to do so. The Reps are so helpful and the products are second to none. Definitely my favourite supplier!” Lisa Cole, Buyer, Anwen Construction.
“CEMEX have always done right by me. Stuart is a diamond, the service is brilliant, and the Reps are good and understand my needs. Other suppliers come knocking on my door all of the time but I just say ‘no’. CEMEX are my number 1.” Mick Kenny, Managing Director, Chapel Park Groundworks.
“I did not know CEMEX had an Asphalt Plant at Divet Hill. I get a great service from the Quarry and will be happy to use CEMEX for the Asphalt work too.” Clive Letman, Sales Executive, Jewson. Stuart and Clive have since made contact an arranged a formal meeting to discuss Asphalt supply and rates moving forward.”