Brentwood business owner, Alister Hall, is enjoying 2021; his business is thriving – at a time when many are floundering – and he is growing his team, and the divisions within his business. How has he pulled off this miracle?

Alister puts his success down to how he fosters close partnership-like relationships with customers, something that has been at the heart of what he has done throughout his professional life, and it is a philosophy that has brought him success for 25 years, whether as a telesales agent or running his own business.

Alister runs product supplier go2 Ltd, a new name in the industry, but one that has made significant progress over the past year, thanks in part to developing good relationships with customers, but also listening to these customers and what they need to grow their businesses.

Developing customer relationship is something Alister learned when he started out in the industry as an 18-year-old telesales agent for a dealer. “That was all via the ‘phone using the Spicers catalogue, a record card box and an ashtray on the desk,” he laughs. “I really enjoyed that. I have always enjoyed talking to people in a consultative, friendly way, rather than having that supplier-customer relationship, and seeing it as more of a partnership. I have always been into the partnership element.”

After success in that role, Alister moved up to managing a telesales team, along with his own roster of premier clients. This later developed into a field role, which again he took to easily. “It was natural for me to sit in front of people and talk to them.”

However, despite the dealer being successful, and developing significantly during Alister’s time there, by 2014, he felt he had plateaued. “I wanted the opportunity to work for myself rather than for others,” he says. “I was coming up to 40; I was a director, and in a good position, but I considered that in five, 10 or 15 years’ time there was no possibility they were going to give me a share of the company. I would just be expiring, and not having anything to show for the years I had put in.”

TAKING THE GAMBLE

So Alister decided to take the gamble and strike out on his own – and really did put his money where his mouth is. “The first thing I did was to make big personal lifestyle changes to significantly my reduce outgoings to take the pressure off myself financially. “That gave me the freedom of not having the pressure of having to replace my salary with immediate effect.

“I effectively gambled on my own ability to replace that salary. Within three years I had doubled it.”

In the beginning, Alister joined a couple of old schoolfriends who supplied cleaning and janitorial products. He set up his supply chain through an office dealer services provider and started selling under the name Nu Office.

Initially, he was successful but, before long, he became frustrated with the arrangement.

Alister felt that the provider was aligned more with smaller clients, while he had more experience managing a smaller number of large clients, where he could develop relationships and provide a more personalised experience.

“It also means I can effectively cash flow forecast because I know what I would get at the end of each month. The system means that I am no longer credit controlling for two weeks a month. I now spend just two days carrying out admin, while the rest of the month I get to do what I am really good at -helping clients get their business-critical supplies, whatever they may be, wherever they maybe and whenever they are needed”.

TAKING THE CHANCE

When the lockdown came Alister saw it as an opportunity. “We found a lot of our competitors were closing, and furloughing staff, which presented a huge opportunity for our business,” he says. “The first thing I did was speak to my clients. Fortunately, many were businesses that needed to continue to work throughout the pandemic. I asked what they needed us to do to become a supplier to help support them. I then set up supply chains with established suppliers of PPE, masks, signage – any supply they would need to keep their business running.

“Our turnover quadrupled within the first two months of the pandemic. Our clients switched their purchasing over to all these products they needed, and it was in huge volume.”

Another reason for go2’s success is that throughout the pandemic Alister continued to meet his clients and suppliers – socially distanced, of course. “Before the pandemic I would meet a finance director or head of procurement at their office, suited and booted. There’d be handshakes, and I’d give them some statistics, and set some objectives for the next month.

“But COVID-19 changed this arrangement; this summer meetings would be in a client’s garden, their husband/wife making me lunch, petting their dogs, meeting their children, and talking about planning their return to work and what they could do with their home working staff.

“It created some beautiful relationships that I would never have been able to achieve in a normal environment. It also meant the client knew that we were doing everything to support them through the pandemic, while a lot of suppliers had closed.”

MARKETING

Marketing is also responsible for the growth of the business. “The pandemic meant that we were adapting both our business and the supplies we offered and this needed to be communicated to existing and new clients. Home working assessments with qualified physiotherapists, PPE, branded face mask, home office kit-outs were just some of the ways we pivoted to provide for our clients, and we needed to let them know. I decided to invest in a marketing strategy that would inform clients of our services, and that would be visible on all the relevant social networks. Now the conversation is two way; not only are we communicating to our clients through email and social media, but they are also talking back. Social media and email marketing are helping us to develop more leads and grow relationships.”

The sales and marketing teams work closely together so that the right messages go out to clients regularly, and in a personalised manner – personalisation being key to everything that happens at go2.

WHAT WILL THE FUTURE BRING?

Looking to the future, Alister wants to build on this initial success and is looking to grow the go2 team – although he is seeking quality, rather than quantity. “We cherry pick who we work with. Anyone we bring on we ask, ‘Are you going to add value to the team? Are you going to work with us to get us where we need to go as a collective?’

We value teamwork, shared goals adaptability and forging great relationships; this is the secret to my success”.