Akzo Nobel

Any job in which you become the "best" at what you do is always an enjoyable job; a job that stimulates passion.  Any company that embraces your ideas and encourages innovation is a wonderful company to work for.  When personal earning becomes a secondary consideration to the gratification inspired by the  challenge of helping a company succeed, a company is on the right track.

Akzo Nobel, at some point has accomplished all of this.  For a former employee (due to economic lay-off) to recognize and communicate these positive attributes is more significant than you might realize.  At the close of 2008, Glidden (Akzo Nobel) lost significant shelf space and more than 25 years of special HD product branding when Home Depot removed the Evermore paint brand from its' product mix.  Additionally, Home Depot removed most products targeted toward the Pro and Contractor market.  Home Depot redirected its' Pro program from Glidden to Behr.  This impending shift by Glidden's largest customer precipitated the sale of all ICI Paints holdings to Akzo Nobel.

Nationally, whenever a presentation was made to a large customer, it was requested by upper management that I be present to make the presentation.  Using a syringe and 4 mil. drawdown tool, I was able to demonstrate how paint coverage rate can increase/decrease project costs by 40%.  This presentation secured the renovation of Fort Benning, Fort Campbell, the Hurricane Katrina FEMA bid, and numerous large low income housing projects nationally.

From 2001 to 2009, I became Glidden's top salesperson. At the heart of this success was a passion for teaching/training others and communication to all levels of our management and Home Depot management.

Training is the cornerstone for every company's success.  At the heart of this training is the training of employees who then train company customers.  Training was the secret to my success with Glidden/Home Depot.  While Behr outsold and outspent Glidden fivefold nationally, my markets were unusual in that we outsold Behr in every store.

My market still holds the record for single one-time cash register retail ring for Paint = $48,000 Calhoun GA -2008.  This $240,000 sale for paint and interior room trim materials related to painting remains the single largest paint purchase in Home Depot history.  (1 of 9 invoices shown)

Communication was the key success factor for achieving the #1 Sales position with Glidden and Home Depot.  Each day I communicated with Home Depot store management to describe what I accomplished for them each day in driving sales and helping them to meet their budget plan.  I communicated weekly with Home Depot District management to communicate the functions I performed in helping the District Manager meet district goals and how each store helped me, help them accomplish their goal.  Within weeks,  Home Depot assigned store personnel to travel with me each day outside the store to grow and manage their business.  Each store, rewarded each employee, who provided me leads that resulted in large sales for paint or associated materials.  It was often difficult for me to make my way from the front door to the manager's office because so many Home Depot Associates were handing me customer business cards with their own name written on them.

Despite responsibility for Paint Only, I hold the record for one-time cash register ring to my customer who purchased $2.5 million (one-time cash register ring) in electric wire for use in FEMA trailers following Hurricane Katrina.  This occurred primarily because I suggested that Home Depot sold more than just paint.

The Chattanooga Housing Authority was the first government account secured by Home Depot and this initiative was the result of my local efforts in Chattanooga. This image was used nationally by Home Depot corporate to communicate its' "yes we can" message in securing large government contracts.  After securing this customer, Home Depot launched its' government account (GAM) Manager -sales position.

Communication in this Mid-South Home Depot Region was at such a superlative level that some Home Depot Store Managers built entire paint departments at the front of their store at the contractor entrance.  This display at the entrance of the Huntsville Home Depot produced thousands of dollars in revenue for Glidden and Home Depot.  Across the aisle competitor, Behr,  brought additional sales (people) resources into this market to protect eroding local market share and to prevent loss of national market share as a result of this program.

Shelf space at Big Box retailers is extremely valuable and can be very costly.  Communication from field level staff to upper management is critical in communicating successes.  Recently, Glidden lost significant shelf space which necessitated the lay-off of more than 500 staff in sales, customer service, transportation and production.

In 2005, I successfully captured 35% of the mobile home manufacturing industry selling through Home Depot and a secondary supplier (three mark-up levels).  In using a consultative sales approach, I redirected customer purchase decision away from product price and focused on the labor costs/savings associated paint application.  This was a highly innovative, original concept to which ICI changed it's entire corporate sales strategy to replicate.

Prior to our local sales initiative, the mobile home industry had never produced product with sheetrock and painted walls.  With a housing moving every 80-minutes, the mobile home industry is the perfect laboratory for comparing paint products.  In direct comparisons, I was able reduce every mobile home manufacturer's paint usage and labor costs in side-by-side competitive comparisons.  After saving Southern Energy Homes more than $2 million annually on paint purchases and labor costs, mobile home producers starting calling me to teach them how to paint modular homes.

Despite being outspent by more than 8 to 1 by Behr, Dewalt, Rigid, and other trade show attendees on Professionally designed show booths, I won all of my Market Vendor of Show Awards (Home Depot Tent events) by building a home-made, two sided wall with drywall and windows (in my driveway).  I performed training classes every 30-minutes at each show demonstrating and training every step of the painting process from unfinished wall to primed and painted finished room.  This (home-made) portable modular room system (on wheels) was transported from show to show where contractor and consumer skills training was performed throughout the show.

While Home Depot discontinued the use of Contractor Trade Shows at the end of 2008, My markets won three Vendor of Show awards.  No other Glidden rep won this award. 

Michael Hilton

706-463-2168