Entrepreneur goes back to go forward

by Catherine Woods - Thursday, 17th April 2008 -

Resin Surfaces managing director Ivy Wroe admits she took her company back a few years when she changed the sales structure but says it’s been worth it.

The Stockport-based company is a specialist manufacturer of industrial flooring and resin floors. Last year, turnover lifted 30 per cent to £2.8m. But Wroe says two years ago, the story was very different.

“At one stage, we employed four area managers but the company didn’t grow,” she says. “So two years ago, we took the company back to how it was – everything being done internally. We don’t have an area manager on the outside.”

Wroe argues that while some contractors may like company representatives “popping in for a coffee”, that’s no use to her. “I want the orders,” she says. “It’s no good going for a coffee and not talking about the products. We can do that over the phone.”

Instead, she and her director go out when needs be. Wroe says: “We can constantly have contact with people over the phone and as long as you go and see them once a month or once every six weeks, that keeps people quite happy. We’ve taken the company back a few years but it’s working again.”

Picture source

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