SR Timber has bolstered the support it offers to its merchant customers with the appointment of Phil Shotton as its new national account manager.
Phil will spend the bulk of his time visiting merchants up and down the country to increase SR Timber’s batten sales, primarily through improved product knowledge.
The 34-year-old from Leeds was a joiner before moving off the tools to take up regional sales roles for companies that supplied materials to the roofing industry – so he feels that he has great insights that can help merchants and their customers.
“SR Timber has given me a great opportunity to be part of a small, dynamic team that is focused on the supply and sales of a number of timber products. I’m joining the team with the responsibility for timber batten – and, to a lesser extent, cedar shingles,” Phil said.
“I’ve worked on roofs, so I can see things from all perspectives. I’m looking forward to sharing my knowledge and experience with merchants so that they can help their customers to get the right products for the job.”
Phil says that he has found variations in the knowledge of merchants and believes that there are simple remedies that can help them to understand more about the products.
“I’m here to help, and it’s been fantastic that a lot of the merchants I’ve already met are happy to pick my brains about batten – and I’ve been able to bust quite a few myths that still persist,” he said.
“The colour of batten, the best lengths to stock, and what is and isn’t graded batten are some of the issues that keep cropping up, and I’m enjoying working with merchants to give them the facts.
“For example, I’ve come across some merchants that say they can’t sell mid-range lengths of batten up to 4.2m because roofers traditionally prefer 4.8m lengths of batten. However, when the merchants ask roofers about the projects they are working on, they often say that they benefit from having a selection of lengths for different parts of a project, such as for garages, hips and valleys. It’s all about asking questions.”
It’s this level of tenacity that prompted SR Timber trading director, Shaun Revill, to appoint Phil, who is a keen Rugby League player to conference level, playing for Drighlington in the National Conference League (NCL) in the summer – and Mirfield, in the Pennine League, in winter.
“Phil is another great addition to the team,” said Shaun. “His knowledge from working as a carpenter and from ten years in regional sales roles means that he has a lot to offer our business, and he’s already hit the ground running, getting out to see merchants.
“We identified the need for a national account manager role as part of plans to drive our business forward and cement our position as the UK’s largest importer of roofing batten, offering additional support to merchants so that they can help their roofing contractor customers.”
