This past month has brought us unprecedented challenges, and those challenges continue to evolve even as you read this inaugural From the Fort newsletter. To the credit of the entire Spacesaver Group, we were still able to meet incoming order goals and fill our backlog. We did this TOGETHER.
During these unparalleled times, it is more important than ever that we support each other and set a clear path for success. The original goal for From the Fort was to simply deliver Spacesaver information to your teams, but our intention now is much more than that—to ensure our entire network is staying connected, that everyone understands the strategies we have built to succeed, and that we’re working TOGETHER to deliver on those strategies.
In each issue of From the Fort, we will share our monthly Area Contractor standings—our scorebook for the entire team. We will also share details on go-to-market plans, provide insights from key markets, and share lessons learned. At the beginning of each month, you can expect to see From the Fort in your inbox and we hope you and your team find it helpful.
Enjoy the read, stay safe and healthy through these challenging times, and remember that we’re in this TOGETHER!
Mark Haubenschild | President/CEO
Spacesaver Scorecard
Amidst the health crisis we’re all facing, March rounded out to be a good month for incoming orders. Eighteen Area Contractors exceeded their monthly incoming order quota, bringing our YTD total to 13—up from eight through February.
A shout out to Dave Simons and his team at Patterson Pope Midwest for leading the way in March ($519K), edging out Bill Corbett’s crew at Diversified Storage Solutions ($512K). We can’t forget about Motus Space Solutions — another month exceeding quota and already sitting just under their full annual quota. Congratulations Sam Ausloos and team!
It is very impressive the way the entire Group has stayed positive, re-focusing their efforts to be efficient and effective during this pandemic. We are truly in this together and we are confident we will be stronger together on the other side.
Without further ado, here is the entire March 2020 Area Contractor Standings as well as the results from the March Triple Crown Challenge.
The Team has FOCUS: Purpose
Unveiled at the Principals Meeting in February, our 2020 strategic plan revolves around FOCUS. What does that mean for the Spacesaver Group? It means that our team has put serious time and resources into developing a roadmap to success—and the team will remain FOCUSED on executing that plan.
A few of our key initiatives for 2020 include product innovation, end-user engagement, vertical market management, detailed go-to-market plans, and providing you with the tools and information you need to successfully promote and sell Spacesaver.
Each month, we will highlight one of our FOCUS themes and how it ties back to our collective success. This month our rally cry is centered around PURPOSE. By definition, PURPOSE means to have intention or objective.
To Spacesaver, PURPOSE means:
- Developing and implementing a comprehensive strategy that will take the entire Spacesaver Group to the next level
- Building detailed, actionable go-to-market plans that will drive brand recognition and leads in each of your territories
- Ensuring every action we take is with PURPOSE and aligned with the needs of the markets we serve
Amidst the current situation we’re all facing related to COVID-19, our team remains FOCUSED. Every one of us is still engaged and delivering on our respective pieces of the puzzle, operations is up and running, and we are here to help you maneuver through this crisis. Together we will get through this and come out a stronger, more united team.
Vertical Market Updates
Agriculture
As we continue to expand into the promising indoor agriculture market, our top priority is equipping you with the education and training you need to meet with prospects and to close deals. Our partnership with Hawthorne Gardening Company has been invaluable in building our knowledge base, and the Hawthorne team continues to share valuable insights with our team at Spacesaver about the cannabis market. We look forward to passing that knowledge on to you, along with insights we’ve gained from clients and at trade shows and other events.
With that goal in mind, we are now offering “GROW 101” virtual training sessions. We are going to start with territories where cannabis is legal—but will soon offer the trainings more widely as cannabis legalization spreads and as we begin to penetrate other segments of the market.
The training will focus on:
- The cannabis lifecycle and how it affects facility layout
- Spacesaver products and applications
- Our Hawthorne partnership and how to leverage the expertise of their team
- Customer mapping sales tool
Recent Win
Cheers to Gary Lowery and Bradford Systems for being innovators. Gary worked with a local cultivator and the Spacesaver engineering team to develop a custom cannabis drying solution utilizing modified 4-Post uprights and garment hangers. This design is being considered as a potential candidate for a commercialized drying rack as we move into Phase 2 for GROW.
Greg Sayre will be reaching out to your teams to schedule training during the month of April, with the goal of completing all trainings by the end of May. In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to email Greg if you have any questions or for project assistance.
Military
As most of you are aware, ADS is our largest partner in the Military Market and our partnership offers a number of benefits to our entire distribution network. ADS does about $3 BILLION in military sales every year and they hold several contracts that allow the entire Spacesaver Group to sell at maximized margins. Many of their sales reps are on-base or in contact with key decision makers in every branch of the military daily—and they are here for us to use for personal introductions and for valuable insights.
One of our top 2020 strategic initiatives is to better utilize this relationship to drive demand for Spacesaver and to help increase leads and opportunities for your teams. Leveraging the current situation, knowing the military market is ready to execute on projects and spend their budgets, we are fast-tracking some of our initiatives.
(Virtual) High Fives
Recently, Andrew Bethke worked with Spacesaver engineering and manufacturing to create cost-effective bunk lockers for the MNARNG. The process wasn’t easy, but he overcame challenges to land a multi-year IDIQ.
Some of these initiatives include:
- Developing a toolkit that your teams can use to sell to this market during this pandemic. The toolkit will be delivered to your teams by the end of April and will include a memo that highlights that we’re open for business and made in the U.S.A., a tech data sheet on our antimicrobial product features, talking points, website blog, and more.
- Utilizing ADS customer data to execute Business Development call blitzes and appointment setting campaigns, slated for late April through June.
- Creating comprehensive, co-branded marketing initiatives throughout the year.
- Hosting military market training.
- Coordinating tradeshow exposure and regional sales meetings. When travel restrictions are lifted, a schedule will be updated and shared.
- Sponsoring print and online advertising campaigns throughout the year.
- Identifying long-term space planning solutions we can deliver to help the military prepare for future pandemic-like situations.
For help leveraging the ADS reps in your territory and more information about our military market initiatives, drop Pete Rooney an email.
Library/Education
While all markets are impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, higher education is most definitely operating very differently than normal—and that makes one of our 2020 key initiatives very timely. At our Principals Meeting earlier this year, we talked about the core pillars of this market being libraries, athletics, public safety, and museums—but that we need to also start working with other crews across campus.
Because campuses are essentially shut down, you will not find much luck in reaching athletic equipment managers or librarians, but the physical plant and maintenance teams are still on campus every day—and working on critical projects while students and faculty are working remotely.
Do you want support in building a plan for reaching these key decision makers? Reach out to Zak Hermans and he will help you get in contact with these hard-to-reach customers.
Persistence Pays
When you stick with a customer and keep Spacesaver front of mind, you’re guaranteed to reap the benefits—and Catherine Belmont from Systems and Space is proof of that. She recently closed a very large mobile order at UC-Berkeley—one that first came to light in 2017. Because she stayed in constant contact with the customer and included Spacesaver from the beginning, the teams worked together on ETOs, funding options, strategic pricing, and holding that price while the customer made decisions. A win for all parties involved.
Museum
The investments in time that you make in the museum market might take a while to pay off, but this can be an incredibly lucrative market for those who put in the effort. Our current focus in the Museum Market—and one of our 2020 initiatives—is to support the Spacesaver Group during project planning, strategy discussions, pre-bid site visits and walk-throughs, and to join you in sales calls when needed.
THIS JUST IN: To offer your clients greater assurance of getting the product they want at an already-negotiated contract price, we have been getting more Spacesaver products onto more contracts. The Viking 420 Series Flat Files and 920 Series Cabinets are now available through Sourcewell (in addition to Omnia Partners IPA). Take advantage of these sales tools by ensuring that your clients understand the benefits of competitively solicited purchasing agreements. Freight and install are quoted separately on both contracts. Reach out to contracts@spacesaver.com if you need more info to get started.
Teamwork Success
These efforts are already bearing fruit. For instance, the Spacesaver team recently worked with Bob Tyler at Patterson Pope to secure a big project despite tough competition. By working together, we were able to win the bid for 4-Post Shelving and Viking 920 Cabinets at the Albany Museum of Art.
Would you also like to take advantage of our in-house expertise on your next sales call? Contact Ben Adamitus today!
Marketing Minute
Want to take what you’ve learned through GROW 101 and start calling on customers? Need materials to take with you on your sales calls or to send via email? We have everything you need to start actively selling in the cannabis market. Check out our ActivRAC 3 and Widespan GROW marketing library today. If you have questions about any of these materials, don’t hesitate to contact Carla Chase.
Save the Date
Below is a list of events, trainings, and tradeshows that Spacesaver will be at in the upcoming months. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, several tradeshows are being canceled and postponed. We are staying on top of this fluid situation and we’re continually updating our full 2020 tradeshow calendar on SpaceNET.
April 2020
| April 1-2 | Tradeshow | Warrior West – CANCELED |
| April 9 | Conference Call | Library and Education Market Call |
| April 23 | Webinar | TUSC New Features and App Updates |
| April 30 | Conference Call | Military Market Call |
May 2020
| May 5 | Conference Call | Museum Market Call |
| May 8 | Conference Call | Marketing Tribe Call |
| May 17-20 | Tradeshow | American Alliance of Museums – CANCELED |
| May 20-22 | Tradeshow | American Institute of Conservators |
| May 28-31 | Tradeshow | LIFT & Co. – POSTPONED |
June 2020
| June 1-4 | Tradeshow | Athletic Equipment Mgr. Association – CANCELED |
| June 8-10 | Tradeshow | NeoCon – CANCELED |
| June 16-17 | Tradeshow | Cannabis Business Summit – POSTPONED TO SEPTEMBER |
| June 18-19 | Tradeshow | Warrior East |
| June 25-30 | Tradeshow | American Library Association – CANCELED |