| |
|
|
Real-Life Success Stories
Office Furniture Express - Administaff frees business owner from administrative “stuff ”
The Company
Don Norris was determined to run his business
his way and does so. He purchased an existing
office furniture business in San Antonio and, in
addition to gaining his own company, met and
married one of the employees, and the two now
run the company together. Office Furniture
Express primarily sells office furniture, but can
help clients with space planning, layout and
interior design. The company boasts the widest
range of price points in town and focuses on a
mid-market niche of owner-managed companies
and divisions of major corporations with 150
employees or fewer.
The Challenge
Choosing to function independently and not
as an aligned dealer of any major furniture
manufacturer, Norris depends largely on his
company’s value reputation and viral marketing to
earn business. Nearly 40 percent of his business
comes from repeat customers. “We develop
relationships,” says Norris, president of Office
Furniture Express. “People buy from people,
and I want to convey to them that we’re the best
company to do business with.”
The Solution
Generating new business is what Norris prefers
to focus on. When an Administaff sales consultant
called on him in the early days of the company,
Norris wasn’t interested, but by the end of that
year, “all of the workers’ comp carriers pulled out
of Texas, ours included, and we were going to
be thrown into the state pool, even though we
had a great record. The first call I made was to
Administaff, and I’m now your biggest evangelist.”
The Value
Having spent 20 years in the corporate world
as a human resources (HR) executive, Norris is
thrilled that “Administaff is like having a Fortune
500 HR department on the other end of the
phone. I don’t handle benefits plans, unemployment
or workers’ comp issues. I don’t have the
time or the inclination to negotiate insurance
plans, and I’m hours and headaches away
from that (with Administaff). My job is selling
furniture, and that’s what I have fun doing, so
why shouldn’t I go to the best people I can find
to handle what I don’t enjoy doing?”
The Return on Investment
“Administaff has saved me at least one and a half
people, but the real ROI for me is peace of mind.
Stress reduction is important to me. I just want
to run my business; I don’t want to do all that
administrative stuff anymore. Administaff is a
no-brainer; they do their job, so I can do mine.”
And part of the fun for Norris is writing and
voicing his own radio commercials, his preferred
advertising venue. “I have a good time doing it,
and I tell people that I may be the voice and the
face of Office Furniture Express, but my wife is
its heart and soul. We have a core group of a few
people who have been together for nearly 20
years, and together, we make this thing work.”
Click here read more real-life success stories
|
| |
|
