The Engine Room - Episode 24 with Rich Proctor from AME Group. 

Welcome back to another episode of The Engine Room. Today, I'm delighted to be joined by Rich Proctor, CEO at AME 3D. Thanks for joining me, Rich.

Yeah, it's great to be here. Thanks for having me.

Perfect. So, for our regular listeners at The Engine Room, they'll be excited to hear about your journey and story. Can you share a bit about how you got to this role and where your journey has taken you so far?

Yeah, I’d say it’s been a bit of an unusual path, to be honest. I started out as a fairly standard inverter commerce engineer, working on magnetics and helping bring new magnetic products to market. I was in the prototyping space, and then I got the chance to move across to AME. The company was growing, having secured funding and support, and because of my background in prototyping and the fact that AME has always had a prototyping focus, they thought I’d be a good fit to lead the charge on that front. So, here I am.

I oversee pretty much every aspect of the business—from production to sales, marketing, finance, and all sorts of other bits and pieces. I’ve been here just over three years now, and I’d say the steepest learning curve has definitely been in sales and marketing, especially on the marketing side.

Interesting! It’s quite unusual to hear from someone in your position, as we often speak to marketing managers about how they get stakeholder buy-in. But with you being the top stakeholder, it’d be great to hear your perspective on marketing and sales. Many manufacturing and engineering firms don’t always see the value in marketing. So, how does marketing function at AME 3D?

Yeah, looking back three years ago, I’d have been right there with that scepticism. Who wants to spend money on Google Ads for an engineering business, right? I was in the mindset of “Let’s just get the salespeople fired up and let them do their thing.” But over time, I’ve totally seen the benefit of driving inbound traffic, building awareness, and creating a brand.

When we reach out through direct marketing or sales, there’s already a sense of credibility. People are more likely to have heard of us and be open to a conversation. That’s why we’re investing more into marketing—to make the sales team’s job easier and also drive direct business through our marketing activities.

That’s fantastic. I agree—investing in apprentices is brilliant too. I’ve had about six apprentices go through my businesses over the years, and it’s always rewarding. But I’d love to go back and share what you just said about marketing with our listeners. It’s interesting because more leaders are recognising that marketing isn’t just a one-off investment, like attending a trade show for three days. So, what’s the typical sales cycle at AME? Is it 30 days, 60 days, or even longer?

It varies across the business. One of our biggest challenges—and why marketing is so important—is that our sales cycle can sometimes be as short as two or three days. We build a relationship with the client, and from the initial inquiry to order and delivery, it can happen in a matter of days.

We had a new customer the other day who inquired, placed an order, and paid the same day, and we shipped the parts out just two days later. For larger production runs, the cycle might be six to eight weeks, but it can be really quick. That’s where marketing has made a real difference.

That’s impressive. Have you had any major marketing successes over the past few years? Anything in particular that stands out?

We’ve tried a lot of different things, and the key takeaway is that there isn’t a silver bullet. It’s like spread betting—you try different things, and if something works, you double down on it until it stops working. For us, LinkedIn remarketing has paid off quite well. We’ve done campaigns where, as soon as an opportunity came through LinkedIn remarketing, people have reached out to us. It’s been quick to gain traction and has led to larger deals on the first order than many other marketing strategies we’ve tried.

A lot of people say LinkedIn is an expensive way to generate leads. What’s your take on that?

Well, nothing’s cheap if you’re putting money behind it. We’ve used software like Phantom Buster to help with our LinkedIn strategy, which has been really useful. I wouldn’t say it’s super expensive, and the ROI has been strong for us. But ultimately, people buy from people, and you’ve got to try different things. Marketing isn’t a free ride—you’ve got to invest before you see the return.

So true. What challenges have you faced? Whether it's mindset shifts within the company or something that didn’t go quite as planned?

Our board is really positive about investing in marketing, which is great because they come from strong commercial and marketing backgrounds. They understand the value of it. But the challenge is that we’re up against some pretty big players in the 3D printing and additive manufacturing space—multinational companies that are spending the same amount on marketing as we are on our whole business turnover.

We’re also competing with hobbyists, who are interested in what we do but aren’t necessarily long-term customers. Knowing where to focus for the best ROI is a real challenge, which is why we keep trying different approaches.

That’s an interesting dynamic. How active are you on LinkedIn organically? Do you see more traction from personal profiles versus the company page?

We definitely get more traction from personal profiles. It’s more work to get people in the company to post regularly, but I’ve encouraged the team to give it a go, even if they’re nervous about the response. I always say, “Just put something out there and see what happens.” The more they do it, the more they develop their own voice. If someone comments, respond—because that keeps the post visible to more people. So, we definitely see better engagement from individuals rather than the company page.

As a leader, how do you feel about your employees building their own personal brands? Does that worry you, or do you embrace it?

If the people in your business aren’t being approached by other companies who want to poach them, then you’re probably not hiring the best people! If we can create an environment where they can grow and develop, hopefully, they’ll stick around and be loyal to us long term. It’s all about the risk profile, but if it gets them more visibility and traction, then it’s definitely a good thing. I’m fully behind encouraging our team to build their own brand.

That’s really refreshing to hear. What are your top tips for marketers in the manufacturing space?

First, don’t hold back—give it a go. More and more, the B2C world is influencing the B2B world, and people are engaging with content online all the time. Even being visible on platforms like Facebook can gradually build brand credibility. Second, try spread betting—test different strategies, and when something works, double down on it. Lastly, know your audience inside out. Use LinkedIn’s search function to create a targeted list of prospects. Really understanding who you're targeting is key.

Great advice. Lastly, what are your top three marketing resources? Where do you go to get insightful knowledge?

We’ve benefited a lot from HubSpot courses. We use HubSpot to manage all our marketing, so their content is invaluable. Another resource is the book Marketing on a Page, which is fantastic for crafting a one-page marketing strategy. And then, I’d recommend Fanatical Prospecting by Jeb Blout. It’s more of a sales book, but it’s really helpful for understanding how to connect with people and make your engagement feel personal.

Thanks so much, Rich. It’s been a pleasure speaking with you. To wrap up, what’s next for AME 3D for the rest of the year? Any exciting plans?

We’ve recently brought on a new Sales and Marketing Director who has big plans to make a real impact in the industry. We’ve got some great orders coming in from some of our major clients, and we’re seeing a much broader opportunity for growth. We’ve also secured more funding to support our expansion. So, watch this space—and connect with us online to stay up to date!

Perfect. What’s the best way for people to connect with you?

You can find us on LinkedIn. That’s probably the easiest place to get in touch.

Rich, thank you so much for your time today. It’s been really insightful. For everyone listening, that’s been another episode of The Engine Room.

Check out our previous episodes on Spotify or YouTube, and hopefully, you’ll join us again soon. For now, that’s a wrap, and thanks again to you, Rich!