Sales consistency beats talent (and other lessons from Tom Howley’s ex-Technical Director)

This week inside The KBB Collective we were joined by Michael Cowell – former Technical Director of Tom Howley and now Design Director at Andrew Ryan Furniture.

We pulled back the curtain on how the best kitchen retailers in the UK operate behind the scenes.

Here are 3 quick-fire lessons from the session:

If the client’s unsure, it’s your fault

The job of your designer or salesperson is not just to “present options.”

It’s to guide with authority. Indecision is a symptom of weak direction – and it costs you time, profit, and trust.

The best teams are doggedly rigid with their process

The reason Tom Howley can scale excellence across 20+ showrooms?

They don’t “wing it.”

Everyone follows a tight, structured process – every client, every time.

That’s how you make talent scalable.

Designers sell feelings, not furniture

Great design sells kitchens.

But great salesmanship sells the future life your client dreams of living in that kitchen.

Both matter. You need a balance of vision and persuasion on your team.

We’ve got 10+ independent KBB retailers inside the Collective already.

And if you’re ready to level up your sales, marketing, and operations – without doing it alone – you’re invited.

👉 Just hit reply and I’ll send you the details.

Let’s build a stronger KBB industry, one system at a time.

— Josh

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