"New Haworth Strategy? Instead of Poaching Individual Sales People, Poach the Whole Dealership!" - 12/23/20 Edition
Stephen Says Column
Dear Stephen,
I have been working for many years for a large Herman Miller dealer in Manhattan. This company has been around for 115 years. We were one the oldest Herman Miller dealers in NYC with offices in New Jersey, too. On a recent morning the owner of the dealership announced we were no longer going to be a Herman Miller dealer. My boss had come to an agreement with Haworth to be our dealership’s major line.
Everyone I work with was taken by surprise, even the yenta who thinks she knows everything knew nothing about it. Yes, I work for WB Wood, formerly a Herman Miller dealer and now a Haworth dealer. I think I have reason to be concerned about Haworth because one of the oldest and largest Haworth dealers in NYC and New Jersey recently ceased being a Haworth dealer. On top of that, from what I can tell, the Haworth managers in NYC change jobs more frequently than I change my mask.
If Haworth management could not make it work for the previous long-term dealers how are they going to support us? I could not figure it out: Why was my company dropping Herman Miller to take on Haworth in a market where Haworth is not #1? But I know my boss is very smart and a good business person, so maybe I am overthinking all this. Every other Herman Miller dealer in our market has called and offered me a job, as have other dealers. I could also see myself at a Knoll dealer.
I have made it my entire life’s work serving my clients on this Herman Miller dealer. And I happen
to think they are my clients, not my dealer’s clients. Maybe my ego just lets me think that. Everyone here is shell shocked. Should I stay or should I go? I don’t really know much about Haworth because I hardly come across them in NYC. My A&D clients in the city make me compete with specifications from Knoll, Teknion and sometimes Steelcase but seldom Haworth. Now I see Haworth is a $2 billion-plus privately owned company.
I can tell you very few of my customers in NYC know of Haworth’s size, so Haworth must do the sales volume elsewhere. My boss, the owner here, is a great guy and has made it welcoming for us to stay. So has Haworth. Lots of incentives I won’t discuss which makes it a very difficult decision. Do I stay or do I go? It’s the end of 2020, seems like the perfect time for changing jobs since I have so many options from other dealers right now. Again I ask, do I stay or do I go?
Signed,
Is Now The Time?
Dear Timely,
Wow, what is going on at your company? I have a good idea because I have received similar letters from a number of your colleagues asking the same questions about jumping ship. Funny, they don’t send me their resume because like you they all have options from other dealers so they’re not looking for a job, they just have lots of questions for this BoF column.
I chose to print and answer your question this week because I love your analogy on Haworth managers changing as often as you change your protective mask. Very funny, but I doubt that is true! Speaking of which, the only person that may be changing is whoever was responsible at Herman Miller for losing your dealership to Haworth. That is the elephant in the room here. How does Herman Miller lose a valuable dealer asset? Who is responsible for that? Who is it that was blindsided and so out of touch with their dealers? Shame on Herman Miller. But that is another column for another time. And maybe the Herman Miller dealer model is going in a different direction so this was a part of a strategy. Who knows, maybe they do not care about the traditional dealer.
As to the question from you and your colleagues about changing jobs, the answer is a simple NO! STAY! All of you should learn what Haworth has to offer. Haworth has fresh ideas and a portfolio of brands to meet the needs of your A&D clients, and Haworth is trying harder to cater to the likes, wants and needs of its dealers. Do not worry about a former Haworth dealer in NYC. That may have been a long time coming and proof that not everyone can buy a dealer and make it work. It is not something I would blame on Haworth. Your boss made a decision for the well-being of his company and his employees, and I bet he will be very successful.
Remember Haworth has more than 7,500 employees and 650 dealers worldwide. I think you just let yourself become a bit of a product snob and in a Herman Miller bubble so you did not know how big Haworth is or how it’s been building a group of designer subsidiaries. You sound like a very experienced and tenured salesperson in the industry with a strong customer base, and I have no doubt your customers will stay with you, whether you work for a Haworth or a Herman Miller dealer. Your boss will be more grateful that you stayed, and you will be rewarded.
I believe Haworth has a secret weapon Herman Miller does not, and his name is Franco Bianchi. Bianchi is the president and CEO of Haworth. He has stealthily swooped in and scooped up furniture subsidiaries for Haworth for years from all around the world. And guess what? He just put his competition on notice here in the U.S. He has now set his sights on converting (not buying) choice dealershipsto Haworth. Maybe this is a sign of the times and indicates Haworth is slowing down on acquiring manufacturing subsidiaries.
I have no idea if your company is the first dealership lured over, but I doubt it will be the last. Smart move on Haworth’s part and your boss’s. Hey, if you can’t create a good dealer, go steal one, just like headhunters do for manufacturers when it comes to poaching sales people. Haworth is clearly out to find bigger and better dealers. All done in secret. They have the smarts, and they have the cash.
So it is comparable to what The Viscusi Group does when recruiting people but they are doing it with the entire dealer. (Gee, I wish I had thought of that first. Maybe there is a “let me recruit a whole dealership for you” in my future). Haworth sees the need to focus on luring the best dealers into its fold to increase revenue in an underperforming market, and the best way to do that is to poach existing dealers from their competitors rather than to try to create a brand new dealer. Bravo Haworth! Watch out Steelcase, Herman Miller and HNI. Haworth may not be coming for your salespeople but they may be coming for your dealerships. And if you are a dealer owner and not feeling warm and fuzzy with the manufacturer you represent, maybe it’s time you talk to another manufacturer. Haworth seems to be all ears.
So to answer your question, stay put, stay put, stay put. Get your ego in check, inform your clients of this “marvelous change at WB Wood” and give this new scenario a chance. Thank you for writing.
Stephen
You can send your workplace questions to Stephen at: StephenSays@bellow.press
Questions selected to be answered, will appear in this column. Please use the Subject: Stephen Says for all emails. Stephen Viscusi is a bestselling author, television personality, and CEO of The Viscusi Group, global executive recruiters located in New York. Follow Stephen on Twitter @stephenviscusi. Like Stephen on Facebook and follow him on LinkedIn.
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