For our latest #TeamTalk, we spoke to Harry Phillips, our Area Sales Manager for the South East, to find out how he got into flooring, the biggest lesson he’s learned, and one thing his customers don’t know about him…
View the full video below or scroll down for the transcription:
How did you get into the flooring industry?
I used to work at a company called Würth, selling fixings, fastenings, sealants, PPE, adhesives, etc., and was having a try on LinkedIn one evening and saw this job advertised. It actually didn’t say Bostik – it said manufacturing in the flooring industry. Looked really interesting, so messaged the lady on there. Within ten days, I had an interview. Within two weeks, I had the job. So purely by fluke, really.
How would you describe your current role?
Every day is different. It is challenging – it can be frustrating as well, there’s no doubt about that – but very rewarding when you’ve really worked hard to get someone on-board or get a product into somewhere or you’ve spec’d a job, and six months down the line, you’ve tried and tried and tried, and then eventually that order comes in on your inbox and the hard work pays off. So, yeah, it’s very challenging, requires a lot of hard work and perseverance, but very rewarding.
What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned in your career so far?
Be honest, open, transparent. If you think the customer’s not gonna like it, you’re just gonna have to deal with it. You’d rather be honest than hope and pray it works out and it doesn’t. Be honest and say, “Look, so it might turn out like this. If it doesn’t, great. If it does, can’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Name one thing that your customers don’t know about you
I’m a qualified football referee. I’m just newly promoted this season to Level 3. I operate on the Isthmian League, which is the local contrib league, and I operate on the National South on the line, and Fourth Official on National League. Been doing that for 11 years now – absolutely love it.
What has been your proudest moment?
Proudest moment certainly has to be the birth of my daughter Holly, which was back in August 2020. Nothing else comes close. There are other things – the football and work, etc. – but certainly number one is Holly.
