Networking The Room
For Facility Interiors, those relationships often are forged at business conferences, says Bob Bacic, the company’s chief financial officer. “We find out who supports minority business enterprises and who’s looking for it. So, I’d say in that sense that we look for a warm cell more than we go cold calling,†he says. “When they see that they have a furniture supplier that they can work with and be confident in the results, it allows them to open up those dollars to us.â€
You don’t necessarily meet the person at the company that does the facilities work, but they may introduce you to someone who works in their organization, points out Griggsby. “Most of the companies that we do business with, we established a relationship at a conference.†As an example, he points out meeting a regional facilities manager at Xerox at a Dallas/Fort Worth Minority Business Council meeting roughly six years ago. Later, that manager in turn recommended Facility Interiors to supply the furniture when Xerox was moving offices.
Looking ahead, Griggsby says revenues for 2012 were essentially flat, and while the 72-year-old asserts that he has no intention of retiring, he’s putting together a succession plan that involves bringing his son, Alan (who is currently a general manager for a semi-professional basketball team in California), into the business. “Well, I’m enjoying what I do,†says the CEO. “I enjoy talking to people when you look at what they are thinking about doing and you look at the furniture. It gives them an image of their company. That’s what furniture does.â€