Randy Conley
Vice President New Business Development
Facilisgroup
Breckenridge, Colorado
Nominators and distributor partners: Ron Baellow, president, Bright Ideas LLC; Peter Bunker, business development, Shads Advertising Co.; Jules Fabbri, president, South Paw Canada; Tim O’Neill, president/CEO, Image Masters; Rick Bowman, president, ProCorp Images, Inc.; Pat Hughes, president, Custom Specialties; Geoffrey Patack, partner, Broadway Marketing Ltd.; Tom Wagner, owner, Quality Concepts, Inc.; Scott Moscow, owner, Booke Promotions; James Greaves, CEO, Brand Makers
“Partnering with Randy, along with the whole Facilis team, has been a game changer for our company,” says James Greaves, CEO of Brand Makers, who joined Facilis in 2012. “We have had one good experience after another. He is genuinely interested in our success and is extremely responsive to even our most difficult challenges. He is there in good times and bad times.”
Quality Concepts, Inc. Owner Tom Wagner says he’s been working with Conley for the past five years and in that time Conley has been instrumental in providing business analysis and suggestions on how to improve the bottom line. “He has been able to digest my company’s economic data and provide concrete suggestions on streamlining my business practices to increase profitability.” He adds that Conley has not only been someone he can turn to for industry guidance but he’s become a friend as well.
Geoffrey Patack, partner with Broadway Marketing Ltd., says Conley provides great advice from experience, not opinions, and he’s always available and responsive. Pat Hughes, president of Custom Specialties, also likes Conley’s diligent follow-up and follow-throughs—and something else. “Randy will never cross lines of confidentiality of supplier or distributor information,” says Hughes. “I had an issue with a competitor a few years ago and Randy skillfully provided his opinion on the matter without crossing any ethical lines.”
Tim O’Neill, president/CEO of Image Masters, is another who salutes Randy’s effective style. “Randy truly models professional sales behavior,” he says, adding that when Conley was recruiting O’Neill’s company to join Facilis he was respectful of his prospect’s time. South Paw Canada President Jules Fabbri calls Conley a constant mentor. “He never turns away from assisting or providing advice when called upon. He didn’t just sell us on the system and walk away. He is with us every step of the way to ensure we meet my expectations.”
Randy Conley On Partnerships
What are the most important qualities in a good business partner?
Trust (you can’t be a partner without this), respect (their time, knowledge and success); listen (this is how you learn); value (you have to add it in every conversation).
What do you do that sets you apart from others in the way you work with clients?
I tell them what I think and not what they want to hear. For distributor owners, it can be lonely at the top. They often need a sounding board when dealing with management challenges and can’t go to staff, and don’t always want to take the work issues home with them. So they can call me and have a conversation with someone who has been in their shoes and understands the issues.
But they don’t want to be pandered to—they want to know what I think even if it goes against what they were thinking. This type of relationship is what true business partnership is all about. I get them thinking and then get out of the way. My job is to add value by making them think about their options. They know their business the best and are very successful but often they want to be challenged to either confirm their thoughts or to consider another direction. So I tell them what I think, review what others have done in the past and often refer them to other Facilisgroup distributors to get different opinions and discuss the topic further.
At the end of the day, it’s their business and they get to make the decisions. Hopefully I have helped them make better decisions more often by getting them to think about their options.
Is there something your clients do that makes it easy for you to provide exemplary service?
They understand the areas where I can help them and add value (strategy, management, technology) so our conversations tend to focus on the right topics. They know I travel for a living so they often send me outlines of the discussion topics via email and then we schedule a call to discuss. This gives me time to research the topic a bit and be prepared for the call. They share ideas and don’t mind me sharing them with others. I learn a lot from them, and the Facilisgroup community is all about the sharing of information to help everyone be more successful.
What advice do you have for others who want to achieve a true partnership with their clients?
Trust and respect have to be earned, and that takes time. So be patient, ask lots of questions, listen and then add value where appropriate. It’s a lot easier if they feel like you understand them and their challenges, and it really helps to have been in their shoes. You need to be able to relate to them on their level if you want a true partnership to blossom.
