Consumer Products
Know your business
How to attract the right customers and employees
By Carolyn LaWell
Smart Business St. Louis | January 2009
Page 1 of 2
Dave Spence
president and CEO, Alpha Packaging
Dave Spence likes to live in
what he calls a state of paranoia to help him avoid the
stages of complacency and
arrogance he’s seen competitors run into.
As president and CEO of Alpha
Packaging, a bottle manufacturing company, that has meant
maintaining momentum and
sticking to the foundations of
what is best for the company.
“The one thing I always say
about our company is the
only thing stopping us is us,” Spence says. “There’s nobody
putting artificial roadblocks in
front of us.”
And there’s been little stopping
Alpha Packaging. The company
grew revenue from $18 million
in 2001 to $107 million in
2007, it’s Spence’s goal to
reach $150 million without
acquisitions in the next two
years. The keys to growth, says
Spence, have been choosing
the right customers and
employees and staying flexible
in a changing marketplace.
Smart Business spoke with
Spence about how to attract
the right people to your company and how to identify your
marketplace.
Know who you want to do business
with and gain their trust. We’ve
grown more organically, and
that is developing relationships with customers and then
expanding those relationships
once we start.
I’m a believer that your best
source of new business is
going to be your new customers. Everybody is always
looking for a sale they don’t
have. But if you concentrate
on your existing customers, it
will grow quicker.
It’s a matter of trust. I think
people like to do business with
people that they generally like.
They’re going to try to do business with people they’ve done
business with in the past.
I think, good news or bad
news, always be there. Be honest and be forthright; I swear
that works. People want to
know that you’re going to be
around and you’re consistent.
