Gurus reveal their trade secrets
Clipsal’s Tricks of the Trade nights held during July proved that there are a lot of wise heads amongst our electrical contractor Club Clipsal Members. And now there are many more wiser heads amongst those that attended the shows.
Asking each state to give up three of their best electrical contractor business brains and then putting them under the spotlight was a concept that had never been tried before by the Club or the electrical industry. The results were nothing short of informative and at times inspirational.
The first show kicked off in Melbourne before proceeding on to Launceston, Brisbane, Sydney and Perth (Adelaide is scheduled for October). On average, the attendances varied between 60 to 80 Club Members and their partners, double what Club Clipsal Customer Relations Manager, Angelo Russo had been anticipating.
"We didn’t know quite what to expect when we decided to put on these shows or how they’d be received. We thought we’d see mainly the younger Club Members turn out but what we got was a fantastic cross section of members and their partners, eager to listen and gain some valuable advice."
Key to the attendances was the caliber of gurus that were generous enough to share some of the lessons they had learned in their careers. The gurus discussed their career paths, business and planning strategies, staff management, pitfalls and successes.
"We had gurus who have been in business for up to 50 years. We had new generation gurus to give us a contemporary perspective. Some of our gurus and guests drove for hours from the country to be with us. We had gurus who have made their name in residential markets and those who have been successful in commercial, industrial and mining areas. We couldn’t have asked for a better cross section."
Despite initial apprehensions, Queensland guru Ron Della Piana described the event as very professional and a lot of fun. "What I thought would be a sort of typical forum turned out to be quite an event. Full marks to the guys for another great Club event."
Host for the evenings was Adelaide television sports presenter and businessman, Troy Grey. Troy held the evening together making the gurus feel at ease, getting them to reveal their secrets and then transforming the evening into a true forum with lively Q&A.
Troy’s address at the beginning set the tone for the evening.
"We don’t have all the answers, but if you can take out one piece of information to help with your business then we have done our job."
Tricks of the Trade has now set a precedent for the club and the electrical industry. After the Adelaide event, the Club Committee will review the responses before committing to a Tricks of the Trade II.
The Club Clipsal Committee would like to thank the following gurus for making the Tricks of the Trade nights such a great success:
- VIC - David Rintoul, Rod Collinder, Craig Skeer
- TAS – Murray Roberts, Neville Dobson, Rodney Bracken
- QLD – Ray Culpan, Tony Arnold, Ron Della Piana
- NSW – Henk Hoffman, Peter Cole, Danny Rodgers
- WA – Vern Hiddlestone, Brian Tilbury, Nick Bertucci
SA Club Members don’t miss your Tricks of the Trade night!
SA – Wednesday, October 7 (Clipsal Head Office) 7.30pm
RSVP to Rachel Trimboli, Ph: (08) 8161 0400
Wise words from our gurus:
"For every dollar that goes out of the business you need to have three that comes in. I call it my three to one ratio… If you can’t afford your business insurance then you really shouldn’t be in business." - Nick Bertucci, WA
"Partnerships are a bit like a marriage; they must be open and honest. We developed a business plan and gave ourselves targets and turnover goals." - Murray Roberts, TAS
"I asked one customer why he gave me a job recently. He said: ‘You won the job after 10 mins because of your enthusiasm and concern for our needs’." - Ron Della Piana, QLD
And from those who were there and now a bit wiser:
"A great night with some fantastic ideas that I will look into further to use within my own business." - Glen Dix, TAS
"It was well organised. The host was a great interviewer and kept the night moving well." - Paul Moodie, VIC
"It was a good night, reinforcing what we should all be doing. Simple tips like giving every staff member a business card to make them feel like they belong to the team was invaluable." - Russell Chatfield, VIC
For media enquiries please contact: Alex Beltrame, Media Manager, Clipsal Australia Ph: (08) 8161 0822
For general media inquiries about Clipsal Australia please contact:
- Alex Beltrame,
Media Manager,
Ph: +61 8 8161 0822
Interested in joining these Club Clipsal functions?
Then become a member. Call 1800 244 414 for your FREE information pack or visit:
www.clipsal.com/clubclipsal
