Alchatek Blog

Have you ever been in a room with a group of people talking around an issue, but no one is directly addressing the problem? Or you are working with a group of people on an acknowledged problem, but there's no agreement on how to tackle the issue? These are signs of bad communication! According to some research I have found, companies practicing good communication have a 20% higher employee retention rate on average. 

Alchemy-Spetec holds weekly company meetings to facilitate ongoing communication between employees. Something as simple as a regularly scheduled company meeting can keep the lines of communication open at your organization as well. Contracting firms, engineering firms, municipalities and property management companies can all benefit from the practice of honest and direct interchange between key decision makers and departments.

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Frosted Flakes could be more relevant to your project management than you may think. 

In the USA Today on April 26^th, Paul Davidson writes, “If you see prices creeping higher for everything from cereal to socks in the next few months, you can probably blame this stark reality: There aren’t enough truck drivers delivering the goods to stores.”

The same article reports a driver shortage of almost 60,000 in 2018, with that number almost doubling by 2022.  The causes of this phenomenon are attributed to several factors.  Tighter regulation and electronic tracking of fleets regarding their road time and breaks, Baby Boomers comfortable with cross-country treks and weeks away from family retiring, and Millennials uninterested in this career path are some of the theories.  In addition to this, many fleets are considering automated driver technologies that further decrease the demand and resulting training programs, budgets, and overall relevance. 

Adding to the dilemma is that large mainstream retailers such as Amazon and Wal-Mart are able to absorb a portion of these costs for commoditized goods through economies of scale. What this means for other resellers is incremental increases in prices that could soon leave them uncompetitive at the register. 

In the building products industry, these effects could be much more pronounced.  Order and deliveries often involve specialty production and delivery considerations.  We certainly don’t represent the Frosted Flakes of the world.  In the world Alchemy-Spetec operates, we would be more analogous to an artisan baker producing specialty products to serve a specific need.  Shipping and handling does play a role in this price point. 

The importance of distribution could once again rise to the forefront in the coming years.  While there is an industry trend to stock less, and drop-ship more, the shipping industry could play a much larger role in the building products vertical. So, next time you are walking through the isles at your local market, pay close attention to the price of those Oreos, and consider what that very trend could mean on your job site.  Your children may have a very valid argument that it’s a good idea to stock up. 

For information on Alchemy-Spetec’s Stocking Distributor program, please contact your Regional Manager available at the contact map linked here.

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Support. I’ve been in the chemical grouting industry for 12 years now. I have been in countless engineer presentations, distributor sales meetings, and contractor training programs during which the concept of support is thrown around rather loosely.

Alchemy-Spetec supports our industry. We have a team of Regional Managers, Independent Sales Representatives, and Field Technicians that cover the United States daily. Alchemy-Spetec team members are considered chemical grouting industry experts. There are no entry-level representatives on this team. The air fare and travel time expenditure within our company is relatively astounding.

When considering a company's commitment to support, the key issue is how much TIME a knowledgeable representative will spend with the customer to make sure they are successful. "Support" is not a cheaper price and a data sheet. Companies producing superior products, and with industry experts traveling daily, do not compete on price. Don’t get tricked by these tactics. Time is money in the construction world. When manufacturers step up and give their customers TIME, they are instantly adding value. True support cannot be quantified in a paper trail in the construction industry. Ask your suppliers HOW they support you post- sale. This is more important than any price.

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Perhaps the most profound question we can all answer is our "Why". We all get up in the morning, get ready for work, and go about our day. But why do we work where we work? And, more importantly, why should our customers spend their hard-earned dollars with us? As Simon Sinak so simply states, “people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”

Any company can search for transactions. We all know the game those transactional companies play. They prospect, identify opportunity, send the me-too samples and info, and play their game on the price court. I call these accounts easy come, easy go accounts. But these aren’t brands with value cultures; these are businesses looking to make a quick buck. Sure, the P&L will always be the scoreboard of the business, but what is the revenue-generating culture, or the "Why" in your company?

In a recent relatively high-stakes situation that most managers would lose sleep over, we discussed ways to change our internal decision-making processes in one particular area. I won't get into specifics here, but in the end, we concluded that we would continue to do the exact same thing. Why? Because our existing process was ultimately better for the customer. And over any monetary consideration, that was the most important takeaway. This situation was a breath of fresh air to me personally. It revitalized my own personal "Why".

Everything is available on the internet. There are no secrets to the "What" and "How" a company operates anymore. The secret sauce is in the "Why". Of course, we’re happy to support the me-too needs of a busy contractor, but we genuinely hope that distributors and contractors have the time to see "Why" we do what we do in the chemical grouting world.

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Giving lunch and learn presentations at engineering firms can be a great way for contractors to develop relationships with engineers, get recommended for jobs, etc. But you have to do it right. Let's take a closer look...

You schedule your lunch and learn, get your lunch delivery receipt, wrestle with the inevitable obscure HDMI/VGA/laptop technical difficulty, and present to a team of design professionals on your product line. The presentation goes well, with a couple of the subject matter experts engaging with relevant project challenges and case study feedback. In all estimations, the presentation went well, you gather your sign-in sheet, business cards, and laptop, and head to your next meeting.

What was the takeaway for this lunch and learn with the team you just left? What value was added to their day? (Of course, a good lunch is always of value!) But, did they go back to their desk immediately immersed in the 15 emails they missed during the presentation, or did they walk away with a true impression of the value your company would bring to their job sites? We all like to think that our presentations are well-curated and sharp, delivering relevance and technical insight highlighting quantifiable job site benefits. But, the truth is they are sometimes not. If they were all great, we wouldn’t realize when we saw an exceptional one.

To the engineering community who may be reading this post: what were one or two of the unique aspects that stood out to you in the last exceptional lunch and learn you saw? And perhaps more importantly, what are some of the mundane items that most lunch and learns could leave on the cutting room floor? On the supplier side, I think we could all use this valuable feedback to improve our lunch and learn efforts (and those of our contractor customers). If you found this article through a link on a social media post, go back and post your replies there. If not, please call me at 404-618-0438 with your feedback, so we can further assist our contractor customers with their presentations.

To the contractors out there: would you like help finding engineers and preparing your lunch and learn presentation? Call us now at 404-618-0438 and ask for a technical consultant!

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You meet someone for the first time, have a productive and promising conversation, exchange business cards, rinse, and repeat. As I’m sure the case is with many of you reading this, I’ve had this exchange with hundreds of people during this tradeshow season, and sincerely wonder if the connections that were made in the exhibit hall were carried through optimally.

As I read through daily posts on social media, it’s clear to me that there are some very creative, driven, and competent sales professionals in my network. After reading a particularly interesting LinkedIn post on leadership culture, a lightbulb went off. Why don’t we ask more questions in our posts? There’s a very good chance that a lot of us are thinking and pondering over the same basic sales and marketing challenges.

So, I raise these questions to those who found this post via social media (our posts are shared on LInkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Google Plus). What are some of the creative ways you have personally followed up with trade show contacts? Or perhaps you could share how a vendor has creatively followed up with you. And what is the best way to follow up these days? Phone calls, emails, social media, etc? I would love to hear some of your trade show follow up strategies. I know some of you have some great ideas. If you found this article via a link in one of our social media posts, please go back to that post and reply with your thoughts!

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If you are a concrete repair contractor, you may at some point want to make cold calls to gain new business. Calling on new prospects can be very frustrating if you are not used to it. Cold calling can be done by phone or in person. Before you even contact your prospect, make sure to do as much research on them as possible. Once you’ve thoroughly researched your prospect, you can make an initial contact.

In this thorough research, ask yourself how you can help their business.  What services does the contractor offer, and how are your products relevant add-on revenue streams and offerings that compliment their current operation?  If calling a distributor, know what product lines they already stock, and educate them on how your product line is complimentary to an their current partners, and why it makes sense for their internal efforts.  Successful cold-calling informs the contact of a new and exciting opportunity for them.  It does not represent a new and exciting opportunity for you.  A successful introduction will leave that person seeing you as a potential value-add partner, and not a slimy salesman.  Aim to be a business partner before a vendor.   Remember, companies see most vendor relationships on the expense side.  Business partners have more effect on the revenue side.  Ask yourself where you stand.  

Helpful tips for your first contact with a prospect:

• Stay focused on the client and not yourself.
• Make sure you plan all your questions before you make the sales call.
• Be very careful to not overwhelm your client with information.
• Listen to them and get a sense of their needs.

One of the biggest mistakes is to try and sell right away. Never attempt to sell on your first cold call. Gather as much info as you can, focus on the relationship and keep your client very relaxed. Listen to their needs and concerns. After gathering all of your info, set up a time to go back to that client and provide the answers he or she was looking for. Remember this is about the client and not you!

We at Alchemy-Spetec aim to be much more than a simple vendor for your materials and equipment. We provide robust technical, sales and marketing consulting to our customers. If you have any questions about these sales tips or any other marketing or technical information, please call us at 404-618-0438.

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Perhaps even more eloquent than e=mc2 is Isaac Newton’s Second Law of motion, F=ma. For all of those fellow physics enthusiasts out there, we all know how F=ma is the flathead screwdriver in the formula toolbox; and for good reason. The amount of Force generated by any individual object being equal to the object’s mass multiplied by the acceleration of that object has profound proofs across the universe that can also be observed in our everyday partnerships.

Take a minute to consider your own business. How much force do you have in your industry? For most large companies, a considerable amount of force is generated simply from being so big, or having an extreme amount of mass. Any acceleration is extremely forceful in the industry simply because of the mass.  But for a smaller, or less massive, company to generate the same industry force, the acceleration must be much greater. This is why successful startups and new product launches are projected to have extremely high growth rates, or very high factors of acceleration. Without considerable acceleration in a small company or new product launch, the industry force is quite small simply because their masses are so insignificant. I’m not recreating the wheel here, after all, Newton was putting this phenomenon into Law in the 17^th century. Another description of acceleration is Disruption, while another description of mass is Scaling. 

But let’s consider this regarding the partners that we choose. We are all seeking industry force. This comes in many canned phrases such as brand awareness, product adoption, market leading, etc. etc. But what we are all trying to say is that we want the market to know we’re there; that we want to be forceful in the markets in which we operate. 

So, what would Isaac Newton say if he was a business consultant in the 21^st century?  Shortly after lamenting about the shame of our youth paying more attention to the Kardashians than to Kinetics, I think he would call for the ole’ flathead, F=ma. Perhaps your organization can acquire a unique technology and give mass to their acceleration. Or maybe your unique technology needs a distribution partner with nationwide outlets giving it more mass. This may sound very simple, but how often do we see partnerships thinking that mass+mass = increased force? When in actuality, they are just cutting their acceleration in half. 

Next time you have a vendor detailing their service pitch, or you're reviewing your own pitch to prospective clients, take a minute to consider Newton’s Second Law. Who offers mass, and who offers acceleration? If you get this formula right, you’ll be on the path to creating force the way the rest of the universe does. 

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In 1927, a German physicist, Werner Heisenberg, introduced what would become the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. In short, his theory maintained that two very distinctive properties when examining any particle, location and momentum, could not be accurately measured at the same time. The more one knows about one value, the less it knows about the other. So how does this relate to business? 

By multiplying the deltas of position and momentum we arrive at a value that is equal to Planck’s constant/2pi. Planks constant is relevant here as it’s essentially a measure of granularity in the world around us. And there is the magic word: Granularity. How often do our Strategy teams discuss granularity? It’s turned into one of those jargon words that seem to carry more form in conversation than any function in execution. But nonetheless, everyone in Strategy wants granularity.

The physical world around us is made up of particles. You, me, the buildings we work in, and the computer screen you’re looking at; all made up of particles. So, let’s be careful on the amount of granularity that we all aim to achieve in decision making processes. The often-quoted phenomenon of analysis paralysis lies in the Uncertainty Principle. The more you examine one aspect of any given part of the physical world, products and opportunities included, the less you know about another aspect. There’s no way around this.

To find the spin of a particle, or the angular momentum, light is often shined on that particle. But true to Heisenberg’s Principle, the energy from the light makes the particle spin faster, thus harder to measure. So next time you tell your team members to ‘get more granular’, remember Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle. You may be far more effective by identifying an opportunity, and creating your own spin. Or taking an existing spin, and find your own location. Werner Heisenberg has well shown us that it’s not possible to strategically measure both. The more light you shine on something, the faster it spins. So be careful with how granular you get.

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"No matter how great the talent or effort, some things just take time.  You can’t produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant.”
– Warren Buffet

In my career, I have never worked for the 800-pound gorilla. My 12 years have been spent pioneering brands and eating elephants one bite at a time, as a good friend of mine always says. In a lot of ways, my DNA is programmed for the daily grind required to promote a brand and climb the ladder to one day become industry-leading.  

When assuming a new role with Alchemy-Spetec, I was very intrigued by the amount of technical expertise that the team offered. Having longtime industry experience in every facet of the business is very appealing to all of us. We have all come from well-established industry brands, with many of our team members being a part of the industry-leading chemical grouting manufacturer for decades. Now two months in, it’s very clear that all of the experience in the world does not substitute for the daily grind process required to achieve company-wide goals.  

The partnership of Alchemy-Spetec will be celebrating its 1-year mark as of March, 2018. It has been an exciting time for everyone on both sides. However, a long road of specification work and project support lies ahead. One of the things I like most about the building materials industry is that it is very grounded and straight forward. There are no shortcuts in our world. The path is clearly paved for what needs to be done to create a well-known brand.

1. Develop and manufacture quality products
2. Clearly define performance benefits
3. Market products to design professionals and end-users
4. Deliver on supply chain
5. Provide top-notch on-site support
6. Repeat

There is no way to skip any of these steps other than to hustle more than the next company (who may be ahead of, or coming after, us). I’m confident that wherever you find an Alchemy-Spetec team member, you’ll find them hustling through the process outlined above. And in the event that you are unaware of our team's technical capabilities, not to worry, we are confident that you will soon work with us on a chemical grouting project. We welcome all constructive criticism to improve as we aim to be the industry-leader in chemical grouting solutions...but after all, some things just take time.   

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