DIRECTOROFTHEMONTH
Home & Away
Stuga’ s Sales Director Steve Haines may work from a home office but remains connected to colleagues and customers via his favourite business tool; his smartphone.
NAME / JOB TITLE: Steve Haines. I am fifty percent shareholder but use the title Sales Director mostly.
WHEN DID YOU JOIN( OR START) THE COMPANY?
I first got together with Stuga in 1999.
DESCRIBE YOUR WORKING DAY:
I normally work from my purposebuilt office at home, where I spend a lot of time on the phone, email and Skype communicating with staff and customers. I do a lot of work on marketing Stuga and am well known for articles in the trade press but also networking events likes PIGS, The G Awards, Glass Times Race Day and so on. I often travel to customers or potential customers direct from home where I will be with them for anything from an hour to several hours talking about the Stuga range of sawing and machining centres. The aim is to offer the right machine for the fabricator and discuss the pros and cons of different models, costs, space, technology, etc. Once or twice a month I drive to the Stuga factory in Gt Yarmouth and spend some time with the staff personally and liaise with managers regarding progress and strategy. The drive is 150 miles each way during, which I take in the scenery in between phone calls, hands free, of course!
WHAT IS YOUR WORKSPACE LIKE?
My wife Jill helps keep the home office clean and tidy, and frequently helps with my work in a creative way. Jill is also employed by Stuga and usually seen with me at industry events
‘ Stuga is able to take a machine of any age and rebuild it to a very high standard then offer it back to the market’
and exhibitions. She also works on Stuga social media and assists customers when I am busy as she knows many of them very well.
FIRST THING YOU DO WHEN YOU GET TO YOUR DESK?
Look at my diary, read my emails and create a priority list for the day.
WHAT WEBSITES HELP YOU?
I mostly use Google for research, but I also like to look at my competitors’ sites occasionally, and industry magazines. I very frequently use Google Maps to identify where customers are as this always feels important to me. I also use the internet to send my planned journeys directly to my car. As previously mentioned I also use Skype as a business tool.
MOST USEFUL BUSINESS TOOL? Like most people, it is my smart phone. I use an iPhone and have done for many years. I use it for email, browsing, maps and all other aspects of work. At Stuga we use Microsoft Exchange, which synchronises email, contacts and calendar.
BEST BUSINESS DECISION IN YOUR CURRENT ROLE?
Creating a rebuild and refurbishment market for Stuga machines that customers want to trade-in when they buy something newer, faster or bigger. As a manufacturer, Stuga is able to take a machine of any age and rebuild it to a very high standard then offer it back to the market with exactly the same parts and labour warranty as a new machine. These rebuilds are normally of higher output and better quality than some new machines on the market.
FAVOURITE ROLE MODELS AND WHY?
Richard Branson for his insatiable appetite for publicity and marketing himself and his brand. Alan Sugar for his dogged determination to succeed in the toughest of markets using pure grit and hard work, whilst coping with many failures and setbacks along the way.
HOW DO YOU UNWIND?
I spend much of my spare time with my wife who has similar interests to me. We live in the country so we walk, run and cycle a fair bit as well as having a big garden to look after in the summer. We also like similar movies on the TV and at the cinema for cold winter conditions. Food is also a big part of both our lives. Jill makes amazing and healthy food and I eat it! Finally we have five grandchildren to keep us young.
28 » MAY 2018 » CLEARVIEW-UK. COM