Flo-Tech VP of Sales and Marketing interviewed by national publication

Middletown, CT, January 2007 – Flo-Tech’s VP of Sales and Marketing, Scott MacGregor, was recently interviewed by OfficeDealer Magazine.

The interview, highlighted in the Nov/Dec issue of the national publication, was part of a feature article on “Finding Good People”.

Abstract from Nov/Dec Issue of OfficeDealer Magazine, article by Scott Cullen:


The Flo-Tech Formula

Flo-Tech is a 14-year old dealership in Middletown, Conn. The company has a simple formula for success, at least with its sales and marketing hires. “We know exactly what we’re looking for,” says Scott MacGregor, vice president of sales and marketing.

Flo-Tech works closely with one primary recruiting firm and also posts on Monster.com. Although the latter has yielded mixed results, the former works very well. “Recruiters typically are impressed by our diligence and the tools we use to evaluate candidates, but also because we can clearly define what we’re looking for,” explains MacGregor.

It wasn’t always that easy. About six years ago, after MacGregor had been with the company for two years, he sat down with Flo-Tech’s regional director of sales and CEO to discuss what exactly they were looking for in a candidate. To do so , they compiled a list of the qualities possessed by the company’s most successful employees. “We said, ‘What are the common denominators?’” recalls MacGregor. The common denominators included a track record of success and the ability to fit into Flo-Tech’s culture among others.

Using those common denominators, they developed a candidate review form, which is used to rate every candidate after they’re interviewed. For example, after the regional director of sales interviews a candidate, he fills out the form, rating that candidate in different areas on a scale from 1 to 10, weighted by order of importance. “If we say ‘Track Record of Success,’ we’ll rate them on a scale from 1 to 10, which has a multiplier based on how important we think that (quality) is,” says MacGregor. After a regional manager, MacGregor, and Flo-Tech’s CEO fill out the review forms, they compare scores.

MacGregor stresses the importance of due diligence and not straying from the program. “It doesn’t matter how in love you are with a candidate or if the candidate says I need a decision tomorrow because I have another offer, we never skip the steps in the process,” he says. Those steps include reference checks, background checks, and ride-alongs with regional sales managers.

In addition, Flo-Tech does something unique when it finds a hot prospect. “When we’ve narrowed it down to where we feel that the candidate is a good fit for us and that candidate also feels very positive about the opportunity with Flo-Tech, I give the candidate an opportunity to speak to every person in my sales and marketing department,” says MacGregor. “Because we’re so upfront, nobody ever comes in with any false expectations.”

Although some dealers have had mixed success working with recruiters, Flo-Tech has hit on a winning formula. The primary recruiter has taken the time to learn Flo-Tech’s business and its specific needs. “The recruiter doesn’t send us a million candidates, but as far as the people she does send us, very rarely will I call and say, ‘What were you thinking?’” says MacGregor.

Not surprisingly, Flo-Tech is demanding of its recruiters and expects them to meet the candidate in person before scheduling an interview with anyone at Flo-Tech. “If my primary recruiter has to go to Boston or New York City to meet a candidate, then that’s what she has to do,” says MacGregor. “I’m not going to have her put someone in front of one our regional directors of sales unless she’s actually eyeballed that person”.