If you don’t know what cable cleats are, I know what it’s like. I was in that same position over four years ago when I started working for Ellis Patents Ltd, a Yorkshire-based manufacturer of cable cleats. Believe me, after I met the MD (Richard Shaw) and now Sales Director (Tony Conroy), I was hooked. And the obsession continues.
I’ve been working with Ellis and its cleats (cable accessories designed and manufactured in Yorkshire to withstand shortcircuits, if you wonder, so protecting cables, equipment and, above all, people, in case of a shortcircuit) across Latin America as their business development manager for over three years (before that I worked for Ellis as a consultant) and I learn from this company every day (and not just about how stainless steel 316L is the best you could wish for in a corrosive environment).
First of all, I’ve learnt about commitment. It’s easy to say that Latin America takes time. It’s easy to tell any
Ellis Patents Sales Director, Tony Conroy
company that they will need money and time. And it’s difficult to find SMEs that are truly, deeply, committed to Latin America, there for the long run. Ellis is one of those notable exceptions. There are no quick wins, and they know it. They develop markets strategically so that they can afford the time that Latin America, or any new market, takes. And it pays off.
This commitment is felt across the company. The MD is committed and so are the Directors, and everyone who has worked with me, including our ever-so-reliable export sales administrator, who totally understands now why asking me for postcodes in Latin America will never lead to a quick, straightforward or reliable answer.
Ellis has also taught me about teamwork. Real teamwork. Remember that I’m across the ocean from the company, I’m actually the only person they have in the Americas, apart from the distributors. But I feel like they are sitting in the office next to me, they’ve never left me on my own. They ask questions because they care, they answer my (many, many) questions, because they care. I couldn’t do this without them. Going back to Ellis HQ in Rillington actually feels like going home.
On a recent visit to our distributor in Peru.
I’ve also learnt that if you make something truly unique, of outmost quality, something that you are genuinely proud of, with a team that is there for the highs and lows, you will succeed. It doesn’t matter if you aren’t a big conglomerate and that you’re a 50+ employee “SME” in the middle of nowhere in Yorkshire (Rillington is pretty picturesque but it isn’t particularly “’appening”). Before Latin America there was the Middle East, but also Europe, Australia, Hong Kong, and so many other markets. And if you don’t understand what Latin America is about, you ask, you research (that’s how I started working with Ellis, on a very big research assignment), you get the information you need to make decisions. You don’t sit and wait. You lead.
So thanks, Ellis, for teaching me that what I say at conferences, in my ebook, at workshops and at events across the world, from webinars through to round-table discussions, is possible. If you put your heart into it.
