Caribbean Cement Company Ltd hosted the inaugural “Distributors’ Academy” on Wednesday, October 9  at the Spanish Court Hotel in Kingston.  Distributors  from across the country, participated in an engaging seminar which focused on tools for growing  their businesses through proactive approaches and out-of-the-box thinking.

Yago Castro, General Manager, Carib Cement, who expressed his delighted at meeting the distributors in a more relaxed environment and added: “This exercise is part of our commitment to adding value to our distributor network and to establish a win-win situation where the companies that work with us and contribute to our own success, can significantly improve within their own business performance by keeping the overall focus of better service to customers, which is at the heart of our business.”

The approximately 6-hour seminar led by the vibrant Andrea Fletcher of Action Coach, who is experienced Corporate Banking relationship manager, was more than qualified  to share with participants full proof  ways to take their businesses to the next level of growth. 

“You must invest in yourself  through training to get better at what you do.  Investigate the reasons why customers purchase and be able to explain how the products that you sell work so that you will establish a level of trust,” Fletcher advised.

Fletcher added that persons should move beyond being ‘inspired’ for a day or two to actually implementing continuous improvement in the various components of selling, so that by participating fully, they can see results improve sustainably so that their companies will stand out as unique in a very competitive environment.

The participants also received an inspirational message from Deputy Chairman of the Customer Service Association of Jamaica, Richard Rowe, delivered as the Association marked the 2019 renewal of Customer Service Week. In a spirited address, Rowe encouraged the participants to identify  – and to become – models of service within their organizations, and further to  “observe employees doing the right things, and reward them for it.”

A number of participants were vocal in their appreciation for the workshop. Among them  was   Radcliffe Robinson, Director, Homer Plus Hardware in Old Harbour, who said he would definitely share the notes with his staff, as engaging them in a course such as this would be too costly for his own company.

Another participant, Marsha Welcome-Brown, of  MSM Limited, said she was happy to be able to receive information on  alternative strategies towards generating growth in the business. “We’re always looking for new information, and for ways to get better and do better for our customers,” she said.

Carib Cement is a member of the CEMEX Group, a leading global building materials supplier. Customer Centricity is one of its key pillars and within that is the commitment to helping its stakeholders, including its distributors, succeed. The training and insights provided by Action Coach is one of several approaches and initiatives.

L-R “Roberto Villareal, Commercial Director; Yago Castro, General Manager; Andrea Fletcher, Business Coach; Rayon Markland, Customer Service Representative; Andre Nelson, Industrial and Builders Manager and Garen Wilson, Distribution Sales Manager.