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Name of author Rick Baker, P.Eng.

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Family Business Success Story – Pioneer Craftsmen

by Rick Baker
On Feb 24, 2011
Two separate paths came together.
 
One path started at a farm near the Pioneer Tower, by our Grand River.
 
The other path started in England…then crossed the ocean to end up at our Cambridge.
 
The two paths came together in 1970 when the country fellow, Gary, met the city girl, Marie.
 
That is a very quick summary of how the second generation of the Pioneer Craftsmen family business came about. Gary Adam’s father, Ken Adam, started the company in 1953 when he transitioned from farming to building and home renovations.
 
In 1972 Marie and Gary married and they had two sons, Jamie and Jeff. Jamie chose to work at the family business. Jeff is a teacher in Kitchener.
 
Since the 1970’s Gary and Marie have worked together, building the family business. Their grounding forces were hard work, care for clients, and an ability to read the market.
 
That’s the solid ground Pioneer Craftsmen has been built on for over 30 years.
 
Marie summed it up this way, “If you don’t treat your clients well and give them more than they expect then you are not going to be successful in business”.
 
That way of thinking existed from the start, when Ken Adam created the business. Ken is fondly remembered as a man who was “light on talk and heavy on walk”. Ken was a family-business role model for Gary and Marie and also their son Jamie who became President of the family business in 2009.
 
Marie and Gary are a close couple: they credit one another for providing long-term support…good sounding boards for one another…and helping one another see the big picture. And, it’s also important to have fun…that’s key to survival.
 
That’s strong fabric for a family business!
 
 
Gary and Marie Adam
 
Sharing fond memories…
 
When asked about fond memories, Marie smiled and told the story of her teenage son, Jamie, making his way to and from job sites on his bicycle during the summer. This started in 1988 when Jamie was 14 years old. “It was expected he find his way. He never asked for a ride”.
 
Then, another broad smile as Mom admitted – “I did drive him once in a while when it was pouring rain”.
 
Jamie, the 3rd generation Pioneer Craftsmen Adam, studied and worked through the roles of labourer, office, sales, and General Manager before earning the role of President.
 
A long-time employee, Paul Meier, also worked his way up from on site roles to Sales Manager. Paul is now part owner of the company.
 
Paul and Jamie will be the guiding forces as Pioneer Craftsmen steps toward its exciting future.
 
 
Jamie Adam & Paul Meier
“Poised to take Pioneer Craftsmen to the next level!”
 
Marie’s story continued…
 
“Our son…watching the progression from bicycles and summer jobs to earning the job of company President…that’s our proudest family-business memory”.
 
***
 
Pioneer Craftsmen works out of its new home at 1510 Victoria Street North, Kitchener.
 
 
The Pioneer Craftsmen team, at their new Kitchener work place.
 
Pioneer Craftsmen is proud of the strong client relationships it has built.
 
Here is a sample to explain what that means: in the early 1980`s Pioneer Craftsmen did a project for a client in Guelph. During a recent visit this client mentioned to Gary that Pioneer Craftsmen became part of the family during that renovation. That’s why they have chosen Pioneer Craftsmen to do all renovation work over a period of almost 30 years and 22 projects.
 
When clients consider you part of their family…that’s business excellence!
 
And that is one of the stories Jamie, Paul, Gary, and Marie use to help their team understand their company’s client relationship goals.
 
A couple of samples of the impressive work Pioneer Craftsmen is doing at our community:
 
Before Pioneer Craftsmen magic After Pioneer Craftsmen magic
 
Before Pioneer Craftsmen magic After Pioneer Craftsmen magic
 
Awesome work!
 
 
Family: that’s the starting point for a family business.
 
And, it is the ending point for this Family Business Success Story.
 
Marie and Gary Adam enjoy 4 grandchildren: Marcus, Johnathan, Maddy, and Kaylee.
 
Here’s a picture of Marie & Gary, their sons Jamie & Jeff and their sons` families…having fun!
 
 
Congratulations to a fine local family and a fine local family business!

Tags:

Family Business and CFFB | Succession

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Sales Tweet #159

by Rick Baker
On Feb 24, 2011
Sales Tweet #159 The Boss thinks Ernest Seller knows how to do one thing well - repeat mistakes.
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
And, would you believe it…the Boss put that into one of Ernest’s performance reviews. When the Human Resource Department saw it they shook their heads.

Tags:

Thought Tweets | Ernest Seller

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Am I a salesperson?

by Rick Baker
On Feb 23, 2011
(The Am I a Sales Person? quiz)
 
Some folks are horrified by the thought they will be placed in a sales role. Some folks are horrified to have the word sales on their business card. Some folks are horrified to have the word sales at the top or in the body of their role description. “What! I have to show people I am a salesperson – what a stigma…what an embarrassment!”
 
The energy sector got around the problem by calling its commercial folks ‘originators’. [That sure cleared things up.]
 
Other folks argue everyone does sales. “You wanna talk your kids into doing this or that – well, that’s sales.” Or, “You and your spouse disagree about your next vacation spot – well, that’s gonna require some sales too!”
 
Gitomer says something like, “People hate to be sold, but people love to buy”. And, he has written many sales-help books, including a Sales Bible.
 
Anyhow, the debate - to sell or not to sell - rages on.
 
Regardless of all the stress and strain around being called a salesperson or the logic around selling versus enabling people to buy, the root question remains – Am I a salesperson?
 
If that is your question then you will want to answer it!
 
You will want to know whether or not you are a salesperson.
 
But, how will you know for sure?
 
Here’s a way to start: you can take ‘The Am I a Sales Person? quiz’:
 
It goes like this…
 
The Am I a Sales Person? quiz
 
The perfect scores are 0 and 100…ie, extreme scores, one at each end of the spectrum. 100 means you really are a salesperson. 0 means you really are not a salesperson. [So, if you score below 0 you must round up to 0. If you score over 100 you must round down to 100.]
  1. Start by giving yourself 50 points. That proves you have an open mind on the topic. No matter what outcome, you will have the comfort of knowing the quiz started at even keel.
  2. If you are still reading this Thought Post then add 20 points.
  3. If that last line was the final straw and you have now quit reading then subtract 40 points.
  4. Check your calendar – from today forward, how many hours are booked as sales calls? If there are less than 6 hours then you could be a salesperson. On the other hand, you could be a troubled sales manager. Use your judgment on this one: either add or subtract 15 points.
  5. Do you have a goal to generate Profit for your organization? If you answer ‘absolutely, and I know those numbers’ add 50 points. If you answer ‘I think my boss mentioned something like that once’ subtract 25 points. If you aren’t sure then stop taking this test and either find such a goal or agree to a score of 0.
  6. Do you wish you had closed a sale last week? If your answer is ‘sort of’ then add 10 points and buy a motivational CD. If your answer is ‘no’ then add 25 points and take a day off next week. If your answer is ‘yes – very much so’ then subtract 25 points and buy a how-to-sell CD.
  7. Check your calendar again – if you have less than 6 sales meetings booked and you have tremendously skilled support folks who do that sort of detail work to keep you on track then add 35 points.
  8. When you see those front-door signs that say something like ‘No Solicitation’ do you wish you had a new job…if your answer is even close to ‘yes’ then subtract 75 points.
  9. If you have decided to ignore the limitation of a maximum score of 100 for this quiz and insist you scored more than 100 then give yourself another 25 bonus points.
  10. Do you read and retweet @WFCRickBaker ‘Daily Sales Tweets’ to business friends? Score as many points as you want…I appreciate having you as a follower on Twitter.

Tags:

Attitude: Creating Positive Attitude | Leaders' Thoughts | Questions?: The Art of Asking Good Questions | Sales

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Sales Tweet #158

by Rick Baker
On Feb 23, 2011
Sales Tweet #158 Ancient advice: better to have broad mind than long face.
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
Body language is a powerful source of communication. While none of us wants to be robotic or unnatural, there are times when we should refrain from wearing our feelings on our faces.

Tags:

Humour | Thought Tweets | Wisdom: Surviving the Test of Time

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A CEO does only three things

by Rick Baker
On Feb 22, 2011
That’s what I read on a ‘scroll’ in my friend’s office last week.
 
My long-time friend, Rob Kirkby, founder of Energy Advantage, has a plaque standing a few feet from his desk and chair. The scroll on that plaque caught my attention. I asked if I could take a picture and write a Thought Post about it.
 
Rob agreed…
 
Here is the picture…taken with my BlackBerry
 
A CEO does only three things:
 
Obviously, I was in a bit of a rush…the picture is a bit fuzzy.
 
Here’s what the scroll says:
 
“A CEO does only three things
 
Sets the overall vision and strategy of the company and communicates it to all stakeholders.
 
Recruits, hires, and retains the very best talent for the company.
 
Makes sure there is always enough cash in the bank.”
 
Business Leaders spend much time thinking about best practices. I know Rob is a very thoughtful fellow…there is no question he has spent much time thinking about best practices, including the best practices of his role - the CEO.
 
When I saw ‘Rob’s scroll’ my first two thoughts were about key success factors and vital signs for business performance. Key Success Factors are the very-most-important things we must get right in order to succeed in business. Vital Signs are our way of describing specific business tasks we must monitor if we are to achieve our Goals in order to succeed in business.
 
When I saw ‘Rob’s scroll’ it was clear Rob had decided key success factors and the daily vital activities for his CEO role. I say daily vital activities because Rob can not avoid seeing his scroll every day, every time he sits at his desk. So, his scroll stands as a constant reminder…Rob’s benchmark for action.
 
For me: ‘Rob’s scroll’ provided an excellent reminder about many things required for excellent Business Leadership… recognize what’s most important…keep it simple…monitor daily vitals…remind yourself…breed good habits…and lead by example.
 
Thanks for this great illustration of leadership, Rob!
 
A link to Energy Advantage’s website: www.energyadvantage.com

Tags:

Entrepreneur Thinking

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Sales Tweet #157

by Rick Baker
On Feb 22, 2011
Sales Tweet #157 Ernest Seller has a lot of big ideas...that's why his head often becomes swelled.
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
Here's an example of Ernest's thinking: the difference between antiques and junk depends on who is selling what to whom.

Tags:

Thought Tweets | Ernest Seller

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