When Richard Percival started Jigsaw FM he went for any job he could find and sold extra services to the client. Two-and-a-half years on and he is still successfully selling up. And he only takes on engineers who will also sell to customers. Paul Braithwaite talks to the salesman turned installer.
Presentation is all. That's what Richard Percival, director of Jigsaw FM, believes and it is what he stands by.

For instance, one gas installer begged Richard for a job. Richard employed him - on condition he threw away the cowboy boots. wore safety footwear and ditched the torn jeans.

'I also took his hammer away. It seemed to be his favourite tool. We were in McDonald's at the time. I took the hammer and dropped it in the bin with the used cartons.' Now he is as smart as the rest of the Jigsaw installers.

And it does not stop at the clothes! All the vans are sign written in an expensive vinyl wrap with the Jigsaw logo - and kept clean. But the engineers are expected to think smart too - and sell up the clients!

Richard started his working life on the tools with British Gas.

His previous job, as UK director of Winterwarm industrial heating company, lasted 19 years. But he was getting stale, selling the same product for 19 years does that, he says.

He left the company amicably, and occasionally he still acts for Winterwarm as technical support. And he supplies its goods through Jigsaw. (Why not, he probably knows them better than anyone!)

In October 2007, he started Jigsaw FM. Clearly he and wife Jane, the other director of the company, are enjoying themselves. 'I am having fun and every single day I come home having learned something new,' says Richard.

They worked together at Winterwarm and have continued to work together here.
Richard is the front man - and, at first, installer, maintenance man, surveyor and salesman - and Jane runs the office, a cabin built in the garden of their house in Tarporley, Cheshire.

Richard adds it may be just a few steps from the back door but it is far enough from the house to make him feel he is still going to an office.

He smiles as he says: 'I am not one of those people who say 'I wish I had done this 10 years ago', I say: 'I wish I had done this 15 years ago'.'

It was hard when he started. Jane would be in the office and I would be out on site. In the evening when I was finished we would sit, discussing work, working out the schedule for the next few days or generally talking about work.

Nearly two and a half years on and Jigsaw has grown from two to five people.
So how does he choose his staff? 'I probably should not do this but I make my decision in about 20 seconds.'

For instance, he decided to take on Mark Jones who saw his van parked up, stopped his car, knocked on the window and tried to sell him filters. 'You have got to be some salesman to spot a van and try to sell product to the occupier. When I found out he started out on the tools, I offered him a job.'

Why take on a salesman? 'I encourage my guys to sell up once they are on site.'
Mark was in charge of the firm while Richard and Jane took a two-week holiday.
Not that Richard left his mobile at the office. Jane says they and some friends went on a yachting holiday around the Greek islands and, when it was Richard's turn, he was steering with one hand and had his mobile to his ear taking orders.

For this year he expects to take on another two-man team with another van. He admits to having too much work at the moment and scheduling is a bit of a problem. 'But it is a nice problem to have!'

'If I could have foreseen that in year one and year two Jigsaw would make a profit, I would not have worried so much.' What he does not want to do is grow too quickly. 'That is when companies get into trouble and go bust!' he says.

This is obviously not going to happen to Richard and Jigsaw. 'We intend to grow at a rate at which we are comfortable. But, he insists: 'We want to be the best at what we do.'

Again, when customers realise Jigsaw is up there with the best, he will get more work. But already his client list reads well - Asda, M&S and moneysupermarket.com - were just a few of the ones I recognised.

Another layer

There could come a time when the company has to take on another layer of management to allow the firm to grow to another level. But for now he is content to manage a growing business.

Richard says that he has never come away from a site without selling up the client.
For instance, his first job was for Westbridge, which makes furniture for M&S. It was a small job, installing a circulating pump on a boiler but subsequently he refurbished the company's warm air heaters and installed a complete new plantroom. Last year, Westbridge was a substantial client. The new equipment was part of the M&S Plan A deal where the company and its suppliers all try to reduce carbon emissions.

'A few months into the new business and I had to present to M&S directors and the bosses of Westbridge on the new technologies and what they (and I) can do for the carbon footprint,' he says, looking back on the stress.

Richard has linked with a leasing company. 'In this recession, we can offer new heating, cooling, solar thermal, PV or heat pumps, often at little or no cost.'
He adds that if the sums add up, companies can, via leasing, replace out-dated equipment, save on the carbon footprint and make a profit. 'Make a profit?' I asked.

'Yes. If the figures are right, we can take out the out-of-date equipment, install state-of-the-art boilers, solar thermal, or heat pumps and pay for the equipment over five years from the money saved and, sometimes, the firm makes a small profit.'

And, he adds, all our maintenance charges are included. 'It is often the way we get an appointment. Who else offers this free refurbishment?

'Financial directors of stretched companies and even not-so-stretched firms can see the value of replacing old, less efficient kit with up-to-date units with the latest controls.'

And when they are told there is even some money for the bottom line, they are hooked.

'We survey the site, order the equipment and hand the order over to the leasing company. When we receive the go-ahead, we install the kit. Simple,' he adds.
The deal is usually for a five-year leasing agreement with new equipment and Jigsaw will maintain it during this period. Once the leasing period is over, the kit will be sold to the company for a nominal fee. But Jigsaw will still be available to maintain it in a separate deal. Or the firm may want to start again with new equipment!

And it is a case of the installer doing the best it can do..

'There is a certain amount of money built into the contract for our installation, breakdowns and maintenance. If we do not have any breakdowns, we have more profit and the company has no trouble with its equipment.'

Richard has also ventured into pre-fabrication. He has a double garage which he has turned into a workshop. Here, he and his team make the skids for cascades or any units for a plantroom or, indeed, the whole plantroom.

And this side of the business could grow too. 'Work on site is expensive. Everything which can be done off-site is cheaper and more efficient.'

Anything which is too big for his workshop goes straight down the road to an engineering firm.

What about geographical spread? 'There is plenty of work locally for now.'
Jane adds that when he left Winterwarm, Richard had the ceremony of throwing out his overnight bag. However, he had to buy another one when one of his local clients wanted Jigsaw to work at another location.

'We sometimes need to work elsewhere to protect our interests. If we will not go to other parts of the country, then the company might employ a contractor who will.'
Richard says he works as hard to satisfy his suppliers as he does his customers. It is, he says, about long-term partnerships. When he was a supplier, he appreciated contractors who were straight with him, wanted to build relationships and paid when they said they would. Now he is on the other side of the fence, he deals with suppliers as he wished he had been dealt with. 'And we pay on time,' he adds.

Which leaves Richard with a dilemma. He needs men on site to sell the client up but he also needs to be a full service provider. But he laughs when he says that when they go to site with the pre-fabrication unit they still manage to sell.

Priority for this year is to upgrade all his staff to be able to take advantage of renewable technologies. Currently not everyone is up to speed with all the technologies.

Jigsaw knows where its priorities are and works to its strengths. Perhaps Richard is wrong. Maybe he should have moved into contracting 20 years before!