Formed in 2002, Platinum International Limited implemented a focused strategy of growth within the independent aftermarket. Through our ‘in-house’ service, maximum availability and tight control over the company’s spend.
We work with Quality ‘Tier 1’ Partners, which ensures that we provide the highest quality products to our customers. Through our nine strategically placed Platinum Customer Support Centres, we service the UK and Ireland via our own fleet of Platinum Vehicles.
From modest beginnings the team has grown and now has more than 170 Platinum Ambassadors working towards our shared goal, whilst providing our customers with the Platinum Experience at every level.
With customers in a number of sectors, we are able to provide an unrivalled service, whether it is for an independent company or one of our Blue Chip customers.
To further support our customers, we provide a legally compliant hazardous waste, scrap battery collection service.
Platinum International was founded in 2002 and was originally known as UK Batteries, though the hard work began long before this.
Chris Taylor, along with Stuart Dale, founded Northern batteries in 1988, which was a privately owned independent enterprise.
The team soon grew the company’s market share to 20%, and in 1995 renamed the company to National Batteries. Just three years later in 1998, National batteries was bought by one of their major competitors Exide.
Three years later in 2001 Chris was eager to start up another business, in the industry which had become his passion. In 2002 UK Batteries was born.
MAKING APPOINTMENTS
SETTING OBJECTIVES
OPEN AND CLOSED QUESTIONS
BUILDING RELATIONSHIP
OVERCOMING OBJECTIONS
RECOGNISING BUYING SIGNALS
CLOSING TECHNIQUES AND CLOSING THE SALE
The group found this training session very helpful and the light humoured videos from John Cleese kept everyone in good spirits and ensured interaction from all. The group could see vast improvements in themselves and the others in day 2 compared to day 1. Being the “Old Bull” that Andy is, only a fraction of his years of experience could be shared but the team have obviously taken the training on board as the results are coming in fast and steady.
Having our Platinum Customer Support Centres and Platinum delivery fleet, strategically placed across the UK, allows us to hold large amounts of stock, whilst delivering up to 5 days per week, therefore overcoming issues currently in place for Odyssey customers. Our ‘All Year Round Availability’, ‘No MOQ’ and other services, such as reverse logistics, supported by Our People, meant that we were the perfect solution and partner in the eyes of Enersys.
We identified and created a two day advanced skills “Recruitment & Selection” course. This will focus on interviewing skills to ensure that our Managers and Directors can get and keep the best candidates.
The course identified what is good practice for Recruitment & Selection; how this impacts on the quality of candidates, our subsequent selection and, ultimately, our staff turnover.
Platinum International is committed to continuously strengthening the quality of the new starters, who are joining the Company, and improving our staff retention rate. Thereby ensuring our new starters are more customer focused and are willing and able to, “do what is right, do the basics consistently well, do what they say they are going to do, when they say they’re going to do it and, as a consequence, we will become an easy company for our customers to do business with!’’ to secure our “Category of One” status.
The business fully understands the vital importance of further developing our Platinum Ambassadors. This training, along with previous training on the “Platinum Experience and Leadership” course and 2014’s “Brand Bath” when every colleague visited our Business Support Centre, Manchester, represents a substantial investment by the Company. It is vital that our upskilled colleagues and Managers are ready to advance to more senior positions within the Company as we continue to grow. These new and further developed skills must be then passed on from the course’s attendees, through formal and informal coaching sessions, to other team members.
This in turn ensures that we can drive through further improvements and efficiencies across the entire business while also developing the entire team. This course once again highlights the Company’s commitment and continued investment in our colleagues.
At the heart of this initiative is the recognition that our people are the real differentiator versus our competitors. Therefore, we must challenge every member of our team, at every level within the organisation, to find continual improvements, which is only possible if we have the right people who are enthusiastic, energised, fully committed and with a ‘can-do’ attitude.
This commitment to deliver ‘The Platinum Experience’ to all our customers had then drove our decision to rename our company from UK Batteries Limited to ‘Platinum Batteries (Europe) Limited’.
Indeed our people can set us apart! So in 2015 our Brand Bath programme has been rolled out during the months of June and July; to buying on the first Brand Baths in 2014, with the main theme centred on “Becoming a Category of One” Company.