We have the ability for an automated attendant to direct calls where they need to go, but we heard from our customers that they didn’t want to have to go through the system.  They want to talk to a person.  It’s that personal service that has set Tiffin apart.

We’re leveraging technology to simplify the business for our customers.  The system is more stable, we now have direct lines for all employees, we can stay connected even when we’re out of the office and best of all, it’s lower cost.  We have all calls feeding directly to the inside team and if call volume is high, callers have the ability to hold for the next available team member.

Ease of doing business is a differentiator…give us a call…we want to talk to you!

She made a good point and it has stuck with me over the years.  If you have an objective, how do you know you are meeting it consistently or making progress toward the goal unless you measure how you are doing on a regular basis?  It’s great to measure performance and results, but what are you striving for?

Clearly defining key goals is just the first step.  Monitoring how you are doing in meeting those goals is a must to achieve them.  Another individual I had the opportunity to spend some time with put it another way…”Inspect what you expect”; if you do, you’re much more likely to meet your objectives.  

At Tiffin, we have a number of customer focused objectives that we monitor including inventory accuracy, availability, on-time delivery, packaging quality and responsiveness.  We’ve set high expectations for ourselves, realizing that our customers count on our performance.   

 Let us know how we’re doing!

There is also a feeling that typically Texas goes into a recession last and comes out last.  The oilfield industry is picking up.  The optimism is unlike what I have seen elsewhere as I have traveled throughout the country.  Perhaps Texas will lead the country in coming out of the economic doldrums. 

Forestry was soft earlier in the year due to all of the bad weather that moved through the Southeastern US.  The weather cleared and March was strong and April is starting even stronger.  Sales of Industrial Engine Parts used primarily in forklift applications have been strong this year as well.  The Material Handling Dealers and Independent Repair Facilities in Texas are busy.  The telehandler utilization rates are low here as they are elsewhere, but there does seem to be some early movement.  The optimism is that things will really begin to pick up over the next couple of months, where what I heard in other parts of the country was people talking about this year remaining flat with some slight improvement in 2011.

Let’s hope that the signs of economic improvement in Texas spread to the rest of the country like the wild flowers are spreading from Houston to Dallas!

All the best!

He had a saying that has stuck with me over the years:  “If you do what you always did, you’ll get what you always got.”

People have to grow and develop to stay healthy!  Recently, I read an article regarding a finding that people that have meaningful discussions on a regular basis have better mental health than people that only have superficial interaction with others.  Challenging your mind provides the mental exercise you need.

Organizations have to grow, develop and change to be healthy too!  The world and the markets we serve are in a constant state of change, we have to change to meet our customers’ needs.  If we don’t, we won’t even get what we always got!    

That’s why at Tiffin Parts, we are changing…we’re challenging ourselves so that we can continue to meet your needs and to continually do it better than ever before. 

-Adding parts on an ongoing basis to provide you with more of what you need

-Changing our internal processes to be more efficient

-Installing a new phone system to serve you better

-Redesigning our pricing and freight policies to save you money

-Adding field sales representation so that they can meet with you at your business to share what we are doing and to help us better understand how we can help you be successful

What more can we do to help you grow your business…to keep it healthy?

What is your most important buying criteria?

-Availability – 37%

-Quality – 30%

-Price – 22%

What is the telehandler utilization rate in your area?

-50% said 20% or less

-70% said 40% or less

How much will your market improve in 2010?

-30% said it will get worse

-50% said that it will get worse or stay the same

What is the biggest factor affecting the markets you serve?

-General state of the Economy – 47%

-Weather – 33%

-Employment – 20%

This tells us that we are pretty much split down the middle.  Half of us believe that things will improve in 2010 and half of us don’t.  Frankly, telehandler usage estimates were higher than expected.  We had estimated that in 2009 they were 10% to 15%.  When considering factors affecting the markets we serve, the Economy, Weather and Employment are all interrelated.

Every month or so we will be asking a new question so check it out!  If you have a question you would like us to ask, let us know…

Note: The Tiffin Poll shows in the left side margin on all of our web pages.

My most profound takeaway from the experience was that to truly grow and develop, people have to step outside their comfort zone.  In fact, that’s where the name Outward Bound comes from.   It’s the nautical term for a ship’s departure from the certainties of the harbor.

Yes, I really did climb this tower, but I couldn’t have done it one my own.  One of the most important concepts is belaying.  It’s a climbing technique to ensure that a falling climber, doesn’t fall too far.  Essentially, it’s a safety harness attached to a rope that is supported by others on your team.  It really was an experience, maybe extreme…at least physically, analogous to stepping outside one’s comfort zone.

Anxiety improves performance…leaving your comfort zone allows you to optimize your performance and to further expand it.  Each time you do it, your comfort zone grows.  Continual growth and development is needed not only for a person, but for an organization, for a society to stay healthy.  Go too far and anxiety (change) will be too great causing performance to deteriorate.

At Tiffin Parts we’re stepping outside our comfort zone every day.  As a team, we’re here to support each other and you…we’re your belay.  We’re growing and developing our business to stay ahead of the competition to serve our customers better and to help you be successful!

-Continually adding parts to provide you with more of what you need

-Changing our internal processes to be more efficient

-Installing a new phone system to serve you better

-Redesigning our pricing and freight policies to save you money

What more can we do to help you?  We need your guidance…push us…we’ll be better for it!

The general sentiment seems to be that once the weather clears that logging activity will be up in the Spring over last year since the mills are in dire need of wood.  Once their needs are met, there seems to be some sense that the price of wood will drop and the logging segment will fall back to last year’s levels.

It was surprising to hear that several dealers had sold all of their Skidders and were waiting on delivery of more.  It was not a surprise to see how little new inventory was sitting on the lots.  The most sales activity seems to be with 2 and 3 year old equipment.

If there were bright spots, it seemed to be with equipment that moves dirt, whether it be for road construction or mining.  In general, the feeling was that 2010 may be the same as or just slightly better than 2009 and that the market won’t show marked improvement until 2011.

We want to know…what are you seeing in the markets you serve???

I believe that for a small business like an independent repair facility or a dealer to maximize their sales, they need to use direct marketing as a tool to reach out to their customers.  It’s cost effective and it gets the message delivered ASAP.  

Does your company collect the email addresses of your customers?  It’s a great way to do direct marketing so start collecting.  When your customers come into your business ask them about getting an email from you.  If your customers really depend on the services that your company provides then believe me, they will be very happy to get an email from you.  Don’t be shy but don’t overdo it either.  Make your emails about specific parts or services that your company provides and always put your contact information in the emails.

Staying in touch with your customers, whether in person, via phone or through some form of direct marketing, is a must.  All of these touch points help build on each other to create an integrated marketing effort.

What ideas do you have to stay connected with your customers?

This thought really hit home.  Tiffin Parts isn’t the biggest heavy equipment parts supplier; although, other than the OEMs we do have the largest market share by far in the aftermarket for the primary brands we support.  We have niches that we focus on, which we believe provides us with a competitive advantage.

What I think is really the differentiator for us though is that we are small enough to be responsive to our customers’ needs.  Do you need a part reconfigured, do you need special packaging, do you need it tomorrow?  Even something as basic as needing to talk to a knowledgeable person that can provide assistance…that’s what we strive to offer…superior service.

Because we are right-sized, we can do these things…if we were the biggest, large and bureaucratic, I’m not sure we easily could.  We’re here to help you be successful!

What can we do to help?

Who's on first?

Who’s most important when making a decision…your customers, your company, yourself? In business, is making a decision based solely on one’s own self interest ever the right decision? I think not! It’s what allowed the Financial industry to get the world economy in trouble. Incentives that encouraged individuals to make decisions that were high risk for their business, but low risk and high reward for themselves. Individual incentives were not appropriately aligned with that of their business. This isn’t exclusive to the Financial industry…it’s a problem throughout the world of business and government.

There’s an argument that decisions should be made for the greater good. I’m a firm believer in Transcendent Leadership, where decisions need to be made with a broader perspective. For instance, if our customers don’t succeed, how can we? We can’t, at least not long term. At Tiffin Parts, we’re here to help you be successful. If you’re successful, we will be too!

For more on this topic, Knowledge at Wharton published a great article from the World Economic Forum in 2007. Here’s a link: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1649

Photo:  The great comedy team of Abbott and Costello doing their classic skit:  “Who’s on first?”