The
Elder Group's client success strategies and success
stories and Interviews
Today
we are happy to speak with Glenn Marthens, President
& CEO of MiltonTerry. MiltonTerry is a leader in
commercial office furniture layout, design, installation,
and service in Northern New Jersey metro area. Serving
the needs of over 4,000 customers since 1975.
Mr.
Elder: What do you attribute your success?
Mr. Marthens: I truly believe it is a matter
of staying focused on the core business. Of course extraordinary
customer service, no debt, continuous improvements to
our processes and lots and lots of hours helped the
cause as well. The Key is to be unique, make it easy
for your clients to do business with you and let someone
else be the hero for a job well done!
Mr.
Elder: How do you find your opportunities?
Mr. Marthens: Most of our opportunities are from
referrals by existing clients, networking and strategic
partners. We do very little marketing. We have just
started a monthly newsletter by email.
Mr.
Elder: How does your internal staff function?
Mr. Marthens: Business is all about the processes
which are implemented and after 30+ years of business
we have a good idea which processes can help us streamline
and minimize issues for our clients. As for the staff;
First we check our egos at the door, second we cross
train employees as much as possible. One of the things
I am most proud of is that my staff, which is a collection
of sales, designers, administrative, warehouse and installation
folks, can communicate very well because we don't place
one department or person on a pedestal. Our sales and
design departments cannot function nearly as well with
out a first rate administrative, customer service, warehouse
or installation team that support them and they all
must respect one another.
Mr.
Elder: Does your team function as one unit in and
out of the field?
Mr. Marthens: We pride ourselves in our logistics!
Yes, we are a design firm but design fluff is worthless
unless you have a sound and fundamental logistics/process
behind every installation, large or small, from beginning
to end!
Mr.
Elder: How do you promote your business?
Mr. Marthens: The best way to promote your business
is to provide a service that will absolutely WOW your
clients. Exceeding the clients expectations by providing
extraordinary service, making the process very easy
and allowing the client to look good when the Job is
done. This will allow us to ask that client for help
by referring us to the building management or to someone
that can benefit from our services! It really works!!!
Mr.
Elder: Where do you see your business as a whole
in 10 years?
Mr. Marthens: If we continue on our current path,
I can see us evolving into a premier dealership. Today
we are a hybrid of both New and Pre-owned office furniture
with related design and relocation services. I want
to continue to grow all four areas as well as expanding
our "Green" story. Today we have 2 LEED accredited
members, one being myself. Our Pre-owned division has
an excellent reputation; we avoid almost 250 tons of
furniture ending up in the local landfills by reselling
200 tons and recycling over 50 tons of scrap metal and
cardboard a year! I would like to add to our reputation
by earning the LEED certification to our building by
adding Solar Panels.
Mr.
Elder: What are some of the challenges you face
as a business owner and how do you rise above them?
Mr.
Marthens: I am fortunate because we have 10 employees
and over 120 years experience. My challenge is to encourage
my core team to continue to grow and adapt to the changes
in the industry and in the world itself. We have to
continue to set ourselves apart from our competition
by becoming more creative and inventive of the items
our clients perceive as most important to them.
Mr.
Elder: What sets MiltonTerry apart from other furniture
companies?
Mr. Marthens: We make it easy and we try to educate
our clients as to the options available to them regardless
of their budget! We are unique as having both New and
Pre-owned options as well as Free space planning and
design services. We also control our own in house warehousing
and installation services. We do what we say we are
going to do.
Mr.
Elder: Can you share a success story about one of
your clients (without naming names of course)?
Mr. Marthens: I would love too! You introduced
me to an architect Barry Poskanser, after a quick phone
conversation between Barry and I, he invited me to his
office. I met with Barry and we had a wonderful conversation
and a month later he called me to assist him and his
designer on a $1,000,000 (yes, Million $) list project.
We worked together for the next 6 months designing and
selecting the products that was eventually delivered
and installed in their NY state office. Things we so
well that they invited us to design their expansion
in NY state as well as in Canada. The Designer Diane
Picyk recommended that we should apply for an interior
design award, so she applied and won a Gold award from
the American Society of Interior Designers. Now that's
a success story! Thanks to Andy we are very proud to
tell our story!!!
Glenn
Marthens, President & CEO, MiltonTerry
Office: 888-697-0600 Website: www.miltonterry.com
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