Training consultant and freelance sales coach (1993 to present)

Director of Human Capital Development Ltd (2002 to present)

Course Director at the Chartered Institute of Marketing (1997 to 2001)

WURTH UK LTD.
As Sales Director and then Managing Director at Wurth I was answerable directly to the Group board in Germany, I continued to build the company's sales and profits. Expanding the sales force in l99l to include four Regional Managers, sixteen District Managers and one hundred and thirty salespeople. I was responsible for the whole business, as before in external and now in the internal Sales and marketing function with ten personnel an internal Sales Manager and a Marketing Manager. In total we had some 220 personnel. In 1992 we broke through £1m per month average turnover.

I was accountable for diversifying the company, changing and developing new markets with new products, i.e. the successful range of Wurth chemical lines (Body repair products, various aerosols, etc.) from almost nothing in 1987 these soon provided half of all the sales turnover in the U.K.

We developed the sales promotions for the English speaking subsidiaries of Wurth KG. I invented and developed ‘FOCUS’ the company, now international-company magazine. Under my direction all training and development activities were taken into a new dimension this was my favourite area and we soon had the most comprehensive sales training outside of the German speaking companies in the group. Wurth UK still run a version of my six week induction programme.

It might interest any reader who has got this far that my son Michael reached the top ten percent of 340 salespeople at Wurth in his second year (March 2004) and the company turned over £23,000,000 in 2003. He stayed with the company for four years, then left to join Neopost in 2006.

Promoted in July l983. Placed in full control of the Sales and Marketing operations in the U.K. Masterminded an ambitious expansion plan and carried it through in the mid eighties increasing sales many fold, Sales turnover of £1.600.000 in l983 with 23 salesmen to £7.400.000 by l988. Developing new areas now covering the whole of the British Isles and Northern Ireland with over l00 salespeople. 1987 saw me acting as Sales Director, with other M.D. roles and responsibilities in company whilst our MD was ill.

I received the Wurth Honour Pin of Merit (Gold with diamond) we had achieved the largest percentage sales increase in that year of any sizeable Wurth subsidiary company. (1988 over 1987 acheived an increase of 38% in sales and profit doubled)

In l986 extra work as the leading Wurth (English speaking) Sales Trainer I travelled worldwide, one month was spent travelling with and intensively training salesmen in the newly acquired joint venture in Japan. As a direct result of this visit and that of others later, Wurth aquired the company and today trades very successfully as Wurth Nipon.

I was the first person to be promoted in Wurth U.K. In this position I employed, managed and developed a team of ten sales consultants, they were consistently in the top sales team. Additional responsibilities taken on as the company sales trainer. 1982 saw my team achieve £880.000.

I joined Wurth as the second salesman, entering into a virgin market and built an extensive customer base, selling to automotive outlets in the Home Counties and London. Later taking on and controlling four salesmen in my original area during this period. I also helped to create and build the companies internal sales in these early days.