Company Profile:

Handrails, guardrails and grab bars. Promenaid's team are committed to ensuring swift and easy access to elegant handrails for everyone, from homeowner/DIY to construction trades and architects. No experience, special tools or training required. Their obsession is to make everything easier for their clients, from design to ordering to installation.

Event(s) attended: 8 events – Mainly Arc US and, more recently, Arc Middle East

Industry: Handrails & guardrails

Company size (by employee count): 30

Attendee Profile: 

Rob Geller, VP Business Development. Co-owner and friends with business partner since 1965.

“I would in no way consider myself a salesperson in the traditional sense. I still get a kick, after 15 years doing this, seeing the look of amazement the first time someone sees how Promenaid works and the relief when we solve their handrail nightmares.”

Personal fact:

Was on Canadian National Swim Team and NCAA University of Houston Swim Team.

Favourite quote:

"People are often more afraid of success than they are of failure."

The Problem

The adoption of innovation – convincing people to try something new. “Typical scenario: a customer receives their order, gets through the learning curve of their first installation. Next day they want to work for us. As a smaller company, the broader challenge is balancing our time between acquiring new clients and growing within our existing client base. We have to do a ton of both.”

Promenaid are also highly motivated to explore other regional market places such as the Middle East but the challenge is finding those channels which will yield the right intel and support.

The Solution:

“Nothing beats a face-to-face conversation, especially meeting someone for the first time. Web meetings did wonders for businesses but as a selling tool, it sucks, especially for our product, where you need to hold it to understand how innovative and robust it is.

Without BOND there’s no way in the world we could have met this many architects. We get to spend 3 days together, get a real sense of their personalities and for them to not only see our product firsthand but also realize they’ll have a fun time working with us.”

Results

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Secured a number of follow up L&L’s that are well attended with lots of conversations and questions and in some instances, Promenaid has walked in already having been specified for major projects

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Secured a showcase facility project  for the Orlando Utilities Commission with Jacobs architecture just days after attending Arc US.

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As well as securing significant business and advocates at the major firms, Rob has found a tailor made panel of experts to bounce ideas off and get invaluable regional intel and support from.

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Rob now has advocates at the big A&D firms who will protect the spec. to the end and he can walk into a lunch & learn where the audience is already warmed up.

 

Our events →
Rob's comments on:

ROI:

"We've already achieved some significant wins with good revenue. Sometimes timing and good fortune are everything."

"At ARC US in 2022, I met Dan Kirby, who leads Jacobs Architecture in Orlando. He was overseeing the construction of a showcase facility for the Orlando Utilities Commission with a 450-foot elevated, curved pedestrian bridge as the main visual feature. They’d run into a really tough roadblock finding LED illuminated handrails that met the quality and costs they were looking for. Because of our conversation at BOND, he discovered we specialized in railings with integrated lighting, which ultimately led to us securing the project within a matter of days."

“If that’s ‘hard ROI’, the ‘soft ROI’ is that we now have people who will advocate and protect the spec for us through to the end. It’s not just getting the business – it’s getting the advocates so we’re walking into Lunch & Learns and we’ve already got a warmed-up audience.”

Audience quality:

“The thing I felt from the first BOND event I went to, and it’s been validated at every one since, is that every architect really wants to be there - they’re not punching the clock. They want to hear about new products. We’ve had over 200 meetings and we’re struck by how eager they are to meet you and how welcoming they all are.”

Help to Navigate New Regions:

“Coming away from ARC Middle East in Oman, I was blown away by how generous the architects were with their advice on how to navigate the system out there. But, also, we now have what is effectively a ready-made market research panel. We love that feedback - positive, negative, whatever it might be – it’s the hard truths we need to know about.

Connections made:

I get three things from the people I meet at BOND: actual business, advocates and champions, and a source for information and learning.

Compared to trade shows:

“We’ve done a whole bunch of trade shows in the US and it’s high traffic, low conversion. We call it trade show euphoria – where they get to the booth, say great things, but try to get them on the phone afterwards! We go to BOND because the architects have projects at all stages. Some will get you in at the design stage and some are already shovels in the ground like the Orlando Utilities Commission. So, the more connections you have… And those 3 days are establishing that common ground and shared history and anecdotes so now you’ve got something to talk about when you phone them up and, as we all know, people buy from people.”

Any advice to other suppliers considering BOND?

“BOND is the BEST way to meet architects, bar none. To get the job done you’re dealing with the whole spectrum – the installers, the contractors and subcontractors but the big influencers are the architects. There’s just no better way to connect, and for the investment, compared to a trade show, the value is off the charts. I figure we can do 3 or 4 BOND events for the cost of 1 trade show.  I don’t know why you wouldn’t do it, frankly. We sit around and ask, ‘what can we do to connect with architects?’ And there’s really nothing that compares.”

"Ultimately, the people we meet at BOND are the ones to get you in the door and connect you with their people handling the day-to-day operations and details and that’s where it all happens.”

It starts here:

Connect with the team