By Rich Davies of Highlander
Highlander’s business development manager Rich Davies talks to unLTD’s Dan Laver about his appetite for networking (and breakfast sandwiches!) and the opportunities it has led to for the company.
‘When does Rich Davies actually get any work done?’
I’ve heard that more than a few times over the years, in fact I’m pretty sure I’ve said it myself.
If you have spent any time at business networking events in South Yorkshire, you’ll probably recognise Rich. Firstly, because he is quite tall, which makes him easier to see, but also because he has attended a lot of them.
“I don’t necessarily love networking, but I do love people,” Rich tells me when we meet for a pint in Sheffield’s Kelham Island after work on a February Friday. “I’m not there to do the part that a lot of people consider networking. I’m not really fond of two-minute pitches or dishing out as many business cards as possible. I try and attend a lot of events because I’m looking to meet a lot of people. I keep going because I enjoy getting to know them all.
“I’ve eaten a lot of breakfast sandwiches while I’ve been doing it, but the point is to get to know the people properly and see how I might be able to help them.”
When he does dish them out, Rich has a few business cards. Along with his roles as small business owner and on the nominations committee, and council, of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, Rich is mostly in his guise of business development manager for Highlander Computing Solutions.
“I think I can be a very good middleman when it comes to IT,” Rich says. “I’m technically capable, I know what a lot of the acronyms mean but the guys and girls behind me know the ins and outs of it all. We have developers, script writers, CCNA’s, Microsoft, Amazon and Google gurus, security experts and more!
“My first step in working with a client is to get to know their business and how it runs. I’m interested in their business overall. I think that’s the first step in really understanding how we might be able to support them. Or maybe I’m just a bit nosey!
“Highlander is a good home for me because we agree on the same approach. Our teams have that same curiosity, they want to find the technical solutions that make things really come together and make life as easy as possible for our customers. I’m lucky in that they give me the time to get under the skin a bit more, which indulges me in letting me snoop around and get to know everyone that bit better.”
Building trust with his clients is important to Rich and is something he believes needs to come right at the start of a professional relationship - in fact, probably before it even starts.
“IT can be really frustrating for a lot of us. We know what we want to be able to do and we just want to be able to do it. That’s not always the reality of working with technology. As a business, we need our customers to trust that we will get them where they need to be, and they need to feel comfortable letting us know if things aren’t working how they want them to be. Frankly, a friendly face makes that a lot easier!”
That’s Rich’s approach to networking. He’s building that confidence every day, getting to know people and finding out about the things that they love, the things that do their head in and at some point, when they need help with their IT.
“It’s not rocket science. If I’m the first person you bump into when you need some support, you’ll start asking me about what you can do. Then we can start to sell the rest of what we do.” Rich is proud of his ‘Highlander Family’. He thinks they share the same values, although he thinks it comes from a simple place – good people.
“One of the things I picked up from Highlander MD, Steve Brown, was replying to every email I receive. It’s something I really appreciated. I think it demonstrates that every time we hear from you, we value your time and we want to show we appreciate that. It’s a goal, not a promise, I guess – I’m getting better at working out when I’ve been included in a mail merge - but I think it’s a really nice goal to have.”
So, when does Rich get time to reply to all those messages? In between networking, visiting clients old and new and the odd golf day thrown in for good measure, we come back to discussing how Rich manages to get any of that work done…
“Firstly, I think that the events are some of my most important work. I’m not there just to have a laugh, although I think it’s important that I don’t take myself too seriously, which is probably why so many people tease me about it!
“When I’m at an event, I’m representing Highlander. I’m showing that we are approachable, that we value you and that we don’t want to hide behind being just technical support to our customers. I’m part of that brand, and I think being easy to communicate with, whether it’s on email or by grabbing me to the side when we bump into each other is a fundamental part of what Highlander want to stand for.
“Every great opportunity I’ve had in business has come from networking. It’s not usually on the first time I meet someone, it’s often many meetings down the road. Being there and being open to anything has done me a lot of favours and opened a lot of doors.”
The biggest opportunities are just one more breakfast sandwich away…
85% of vacant positions are filled through networking
95% of professionals consider face-to-face communication vital for long-term business
Source: Hubspot
