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CHATTING WITH ...
Current, past and future leaders in the equipment rental industry
Published on June 14, 2020
Dean Muir
Dean Muir is the National Operations Specialist at Kennards Hire. Dean has worked in the equipment rental industry since 2001. Over his 19 years in the industry, he has specialized in renting shoring and pumping /dewatering equipment.
Image: Dean Muir from Kennards Hire
How and when did you get into the equipment rental industry?
I spent many years managing service stations and convenience stores but I wasn't enjoying my work. I wanted to get into sales or business development for a very long time, but I couldn't get an opportunity since I didn't have experience. I finally got an interview in 2001 with Coates Shorco Sykes. After three interviews they took a big chance on me, as a Sales Representative, even though I knew nothing about the hire industry and had never even been on a construction site. It was a steep learning curve for the first year. I had to cover a large area of South-East Queensland and Northern New South Wales and learn about all the equipment; shoring boxes, pumps, confined space equipment, message boards and so on. Not too bad for a ‘Mars Bar’ Salesman, as told to me on my first day.
What type of roles and responsibilities have you taken on over your career?
With my start at Coates Hire, I began as a Sales Representative and moved into a Product Manager role for traffic. As part of this role, I trained new sales people, which was something I thoroughly enjoyed. When I moved on, I began specialising in hiring shoring and pumping/dewatering equipment. Once I began with Kennards Hire in 2010, I started as the Queensland Pump Manager moving into Product Manager for Pumps. During this time, I helped build the pumping sector into a successful part of the business and set-up a new location within Queensland. After moving onto other companies specialising in pump hire, an opportunity to come back to Kennards Hire arose in a National role. So, now I have a foot in both the sales and operations side of the business, along with training, which has been excellent.
Who played a big influence in your career, and would you consider being a mentor for someone in the next generation?
Brendon Flaxman and Steve Gallagher were the people that gave me a shot in the industry, which I will be forever grateful for. They were also heavy involved in my initial training, along with Matt Ball and Richard Purser. Later on, I learnt a great deal about managing people from Tony Patteson, who was a calming influence during a tumultuous period. I learnt that you do not need to micro-manage high performing sales people, but just be there for support and advice, to let them continue to perform at their peak.
I welcome the opportunity to mentor others. There are so many opportunities to learn new skills and specialise in a variety of areas. I hope to help others, who were like me, be given a chance, so I encourage those in the position of hiring and training, to look outside the box. Especially to those from a more diverse background, as well as advocate for a more gender diverse hiring practice. The industries we service have become more diverse and so should we.
How has the equipment rental industry changed over the years?
I was trained under a very regimented system; a sales representative handbook, the 100 calls a week, hand-written weekly reports, gold, green and target cards, amongst other things. It gave me an excellent grounding and work ethic. Over the last decade, the emergence of CRM in the industry has made it much easier to service clients and track trends. Social media, predominantly Linkedin, has given many of us an opportunity to share innovations and projects, as well as increasing our own profiles. Now with COVID-19 impacting how we contact clients, we’ve had to learn to use Zoom, Microsoft Teams etc. which has been a challenge. Overall, not much has changed when it comes to renting equipment; knock on doors, look for opportunities to solve your client’s problems, be trustworthy to your clients - not just because it is the right thing to do, but because it makes good business sense.
What one piece of advice do you think would have helped you early in your career?
I would tell myself that it's okay to show vulnerability, as well as let people see some of my own personality. I used to keep work and personal relationships separate so I didn’t let people know the real me. I would encourage myself to look out for opportunities to help others, rather than see other team members as competition. I would also tell myself that working in the rental industry is like being in a rugby team; each one of us are different, with different skills. To be successful, we have to recognise we are not all going to be the captain or the star player, but that doesn’t mean we are any less important to the team’s success.
How do you define success and what was a defining moment or event in your career?
Success for me is not about the position I hold, but more if I can build others up. I look for ways to help others be the best version of themselves and teach them what I can about our industry, the clients we service and the products we have to hire.
There have been many defining moments over the course of my career, one especially challenging and rewarding time was during the 2011 floods. I felt our team worked exceptionally hard for all our clients, including water utility providers, to try and keep critical infrastructure going. I recall one client called quite late at night and needed a pump quickly; their basement carpark was flooding and the switchboard was about to go under, we urgently delivered a pump and averted disaster. To be able to solve people’s problems makes it worthwhile.
How can people connect with you?
I am very active on Linkedin - my wife would tell me I am too active on it. I am happy to connect with others inside or outside our industry. Just look for the many sewer bypass posts!
