We don’t sell. We match.
By Neil Parton, MD, Elumatec
Have you ever bought something because everyone was raving about it? I know I have.
Although as I get older, I’m learning the lesson that something can garner high praise and still prove no use to me.
With luck, we only make those mistakes with modest purchases, like a pair of jeans or an album we play once. But, sadly, people are often influenced to part with significant sums for something that doesn’t suit them. In my role, I’ve heard many stories about machines, acquired in a rush of excitement which are now mothballed or waiting to be sold on.
The problem sometimes lies with the machine itself, but more often it’s a case of failure to match machinery with the buyer’s needs. The machine may be fully deserving of its excellent reviews, but it just doesn’t fit.
Last year we launched a new CNC model. We made quite a bit of noise about it. It’s a cracking machine. It’s tidy, compact and capable, offering 3-axis machining for a very affordable entry-level price. The SBZ 118 proved a hit and went on to grab gold at the prestigious MTP 2023 awards in Poland.
But here’s the thing. I don’t want to sell you one – unless it’s going to benefit your business.
Yes, it would look good on our figures, but when you realised that what you needed wasn’t this neat little superstar but rather an upgrade to an existing CNC machine, you wouldn’t be very happy, would you? In one move, I’d have made an enormous dent in the trust we’d built up, and you’d probably look elsewhere when you wanted to increase production capacity.
The SBZ 118 provides a perfect example of a great product that’s not right for every buyer. But it’s not just products that can be mis-sold. You could be given misleading information, or advice that sends you down the wrong path.
What if you were keeping a limping, ancient machine going with constant services and spare parts?
Wouldn’t you like a straight answer on what you should do with it?
You’re right. I’ve just proposed two opposing arguments: Don’t buy a new CNC machine versus do buy a new machine.
But I’m okay with that because, at Elumatec – and it’s a principle I hold very dear – we only ever recommend actions we believe are right for you.
Of course, to be able to make the right recommendations, we have to have a good understanding of your operation. That has to go beyond what you’re doing now. It has to consider not just your plans and objectives but what’s happening in your sector, or indeed other sectors you could potentially service.
We need to see the challenges you’re dealing with, understand any limiting factors, and find out whether it’s your assets, the way you’re using them or the skillset of your team that’s slowing progress.
Sometimes tough questions are required. Very occasionally, we might ruffle a few feathers as we poke into the nooks and crannies, but the results are almost always worth it.
Selling machinery is only a small part of what we do. In some ways, I don’t even like that word ‘selling’. To me it’s more of a matching process. There’s a need. We’ll find a solution. The solution might not be a new CNC machine or a new automated saw. It could be an adaptation to an existing machine, some training or a couple of days with one of our engineers onsite. It might be something as simple as a tweak to a machine.
When we find the right solution we get the rave reviews, and that’s the kind of positive feedback we like. It reflects our entire approach rather than one newly launched machine.
