The bedrock of a successful business
As the market cools, it’s not only your own business you should worry about, but the health of your suppliers, according to Sternfenster’s sales director Nathan Court.
For many business owners, running a company can be a private affair. When business is booming, the orders are rolling in, and the bottom line looks healthy, then there is nothing to worry about.
But once leads start to slow, margins get squeezed, and overheads seem to grow, then it can be daunting.
This needn’t been the case, argues Sternfenster’s sales director Nathan Court, who believes that choosing the right suppliers can help spread responsibility and reduce the risk of losing profitability.
He adds that Sternfenster is a key supplier for many window companies because its product ranges comfortably meet current demands from homeowners, namely high value products with a good margin built in for installers.
For example, its StyleLine PVC-U casement window was designed and developed by Sternfenster in 2015, by capitalising on the near invisible welds produced by the Graf Welder. Sternfenster was the first UK fabricator to own a Graf Welder, and now has three at its Lincolnshire facility. They produce a range of finishes, from a near invisible weld on foiled StyleLine sashes, to a 1.5mm pencil line finish on standard white outerframes.
But Nathan argues that products are only part of the offering from a reliable supply partner.
“We don’t want to be in a situation where we are selling products to our customers and then stepping back from any further responsibility,” Nathan says. “It’s a simple equation: if our customers do well, then so do we. But this begins with the way we run our own business.”
Last year, the company achieved the Gold Investors in People Award for empowering its workforce to drive the company culture forward, improving products and services in the process. The company also won the Training & Development Initiative of the Year G-Award in recognition of this success.
“IIP Gold meant a lot to us,” Nathan explains. “It’s not just about the colour of the badge, but about the processes we put in place to engage with our colleagues and demonstrate that a successful business is about building strength from the bottom up, not the top down.”
This philosophy extends to the trade fabricator’s approach to business support packages. In particular, Sternfenster has invested heavily in its online support package for customers, especially its new online showroom.
Nathan argues that the sale of windows and doors moved online during the pandemic, potentially leaving unprepared window companies isolated from customers, especially if their main sales route was via the traditional showroom.
“Their infrastructure was not designed to cope with the new demands placed upon them,” Nathan says. “We, on the other hand, quickly assessed the challenges and designed our response accordingly.”
Sternfenster’s online showroom was launched in 2022, which includes elements that help ‘sell’ windows and doors to homeowners, including CGI videos, an online salesman, drop-down feature-rich menus, and close-up details.
The CGI (computer-generated imagery) videos give the viewer one-minute tours of products. Set to an upbeat soundtrack, each professionally crafted video provides a close-up flythrough of products’ key features.
“These are unbranded, so our customers can buy a plug-in for their own sites,” Nathan says. “Alternatively, they can be redirected homeowners to our site where they form part of a complete showroom.”
Sternfenster has also developed online tools to better communicate with customers and help them run their businesses more efficiently.
“Our customer portal, Sternfenster Plus (SF Plus), gives our installer customers access to a huge amount of information,” Nathan says. “In addition to a regularly updated news feed, they can check the status of all their quotes, contracts and deliveries, access training and marketing materials and even tap into a live production feed that provides real-time data on the capacity of our PVC and aluminium factories.”
Other digital resources include EasyAdmin, its CRM system, and Proposal Builder, a complete cradle-to-grave quote to delivery solution.
This starts with a homeowner creating an initial quote by inputting the dimensions of the windows and doors they need – including colour and glazing options – via a customer’s website. This information, including specific pricing or discounts, is then replicated in the customer’s EasyAdmin system. Proposal Builder then allows an installer to create a digital, branded quotation pack, one that’s tailored precisely to the requirements of the prospect.
The main advantage of Proposal Builder, is that it allows end users to book a survey, pay a deposit, or place an order with just the click of a button.
“Just like our approach with our employees, we want to put more power in the hands of our customers,” Nathan says. “With Sternfenster, they know they have a strong and dependable supplier and partner that steps up to the plate to help their businesses succeed.”
