From the Desk of Drew Bremner,

Sales Manager. Parts and Power:

TO Northern Lights Caribbean Dealers:

Well, here we are into the most active part of the hurricane season. With luck, we have all been busy servicing the industrial and marine generators in our respective areas. The refits on all of the charter fleets are well underway and vacations are done or happening now. We have taken this slower part of the season to get some well needed training in. Northern Lights, and Parts and Power ran a very successful dealers meeting in July with specials on product to pass along for the refit vessels and customers. A Northern Lights service school is going to happen in September with techs flying in from all parts of the Caribbean. Inventory is coming up for most of our dealers and us, not something anybody looks forward to, yet the only way to put everything on an even keel before the next onslaught of a hopefully busy season.

By all accounts the economy is holding but not rebounding with the vigour that we would have hoped. Things will remain challenging for the next season and, with luck, keep slowly climbing up. Bearing this in mind, we all have to keep vigilant with expenses, quotes and above all, service to our loyal customers. Good rapport and feedback are what will carry a company through hard times.  This is very important in all aspects of our businesses.   With solid communication and feedback we can all benefit from each others experiences. Problems can be solved and proper solutions can be reached. Advertising is an indicator of a strong company with the resources to make it through good or bad times; this instills confidence in customers and end users of products. Dealer networks and easy access to information, coupled with professional service will maintain the confidence in a product that will keep the customers using Northern Lights product for years to come. We plan to promote this concept and assist any and all of our dealers to maintain this with us.

To this end, we ask that you contribute information about your customers, product sales, information about your staff and any other relevant news to our website.

Training, service schools, staff customer service seminars, product knowledge training, all are the first items looked at when tightening belts. This is not a path any company wants to go down. Without solidly trained staff in the right positions, a company starts the decline of service and in turn the confidence of customers will crumble. How many of us have laughed at the commercial where the customer is looking for a store employee to help and the employee is running around the aisle avoiding the customer. There are many tools to maintain your staff’s expertise without breaking the bank. In house training after hours, seminars done on premises with representatives of products, video conferencing. Advertising can be shared out with a group of dealers and done on the internet, bulk ads in papers, magazines and so forth. It is very important that you keep a high profile in your areas with anyone looking for your product lines seeing you first! Answers to inquiries must be answered immediately and followed up with callbacks. I guess it’s always going to be back to basics, but it’s those concepts that work and make a company one that lasts. Good luck in the upcoming season and I look forward to working with and hearing from all of you in the coming season.

Drew Bremner CD SSM
Sales Manager
Parts and Power
Tortola, BVI