As the Commercial Integrator #AVLivingLegends series roll on, we celebrate Gordon Dutch of Re-Sauce as inductee #65. Re-Sauce, a sales and business consultancy, is just the latest professional endeavor for Gordon Dutch, whose history in the AV industry traces back decades. Indeed, Dutch served as CEO of BBG Distribution; served on the board of and was co-owner of Peerless-AV; and helped guide the careers of his team members along the way.
Here, in a detailed conversation with Gordon Dutch, Commercial Integrator examines how he found his way into our industry. Plus, we learn about the mentors who helped him along the way, as well as his mindset as a mentor to others. In addition, he shares a crazy anecdote about his first ISE show in Barcelona. Dutch closes with words of wisdom he’s learned along the way, as well as a paean to finding balance in your life.
Dutch recently earned SCN Hall of Fame honors for a lifetime’s worth of contributions to our industry. Now, we complement that distinction with another: Gordon Dutch is officially an #AVLIvingLegend!
You can read even more coverage relating to #AVLivingLegends like Gordon Dutch of Re-Sauce by checking out our hub page. It includes direct links to every living legend!
Commercial Integrator: What motivated you to join the commercial AV industry?
Gordon Dutch: Like many people in the industry, I almost fell into it by fate. I left college and went into law, and I absolutely hated it. At the time, I was playing in a band. So, I decided to leave the law firm and go to work in a TV shop selling TV and audio part time during the day, while trying to “make it” with the band by night. We did OK and played some really big venues, including Earl’s Court, but we never got signed. And so, eventually, I started to take my day job more seriously and it kind of went from there.
Commercial Integrator: What has kept you motivated and engaged in the decades that followed?
Gordon Dutch: I first started out in car audio, which, back in 1990, was absolutely booming in all sorts of ways. I had opened a specialist car audio shop in London, and we were doing stuff in cars that was totally groundbreaking. We used computer programs to customize subwoofer enclosures, used studio-quality 3rd Octave EQs and real-time analyzers (RTAs) to see how the car itself sounded. Back then, it was the buzz of that whole industry.
We actually went on to work with all sorts of celebrities and sports stars, and even worked on “Pimp My Ride” and with McLaren Automotive on the F1 supercar, Aston Martin and Bentley. When Dolby released 5.1, we moved into home cinema, as many of our clients who owned nice cars also had nice houses. And the technical expertise we had gained from the in-car business in acoustics was easily transferable. That definitely kept the buzz going! After that, I opened BBG Distribution, a distribution business in car audio and CI, which I moved into pro AV. And then, in 2009, I became one of the owners of Peerless, and that also kept me buzzed.
So, in the 1990s, it was car and home audio that kept me motivated as an integrator. In the 2000s, it was pro AV as a distributor. And then, in the 2010s, it was being on the board of and co-owner of Peerless-AV. Now, in the 2020s, it’s Re-Sauce, my sales and business consultancy. I just love learning new things and passing on my expertise and experience.
Commercial Integrator: Reflect on your role as both a mentee early in your career and as a mentor later in your career. Who helped shape the trajectory of your professional life? How have you tried to help shape others’ careers?
Gordon Dutch: That’s a tough one. There are so many great people whom I have had the privilege to work with. In my first job selling TVs, it was a bloke called Len who always made the most sales and commission. I watched and listened to him, and then I honed my own selling techniques and learned to close a sale. Keith Peterson (Phoenix Gold/Carver Home) really gave me my first big break and allowed BBG to distribute PG and gave us a credit line.
After that, I met Tom Lands, who at the time was working for Mitek (MTX, StreetWires, AtlasIED). Tom had previously built up the legendary Monster M4 cable training and attachment-selling business. Tom was a whirlwind and taught me so much about cross-selling and upselling.
In terms of my mentoring side, I have always tried to motivate all my team(s) to be the best version of themselves they can be, as well as to support them. During my time running BBG, and later on Peerless-AV, we had excellent staff retention. Indeed, many of my team members were internally promoted, including people from diverse backgrounds. In fact, the Peerless-AV sales team in the U.K. was predominantly composed of women, and the same in Europe when we first started. I believe I am a natural mentor, as I always want my team to do well, and I try to share my experience and skill sets. But you would really have to ask them if that was true or not!
Commercial Integrator: What’s the most memorable story/anecdote of your career in commercial AV?
Gordon Dutch: I would point to my first ISE in Barcelona. I had just started Re-Sauce, and, so, I was super-keen to sign new clients. Therefore, I was being very well behaved. I popped along to the legendary Peerless party and left early to be fresh for the next day. I got back to my room around 1am, leaned on the doorway to the bathroom and the whole wall came crashing down on my head! So, genuinely dazed and confused, with a massive lump on my head, I rang down to reception. The night porter said he was sorry to hear that but that no one was available to come and help until 8am the next morning! So, off I went to bed with about a ton of marble smashed all over the bathroom and hallway.
I WhatsApp’d my wife a pic of all the damage the next morning, and she immediately came back with, “It must have been one hell of a party!” From there, I used that image and experience to write my first ever Gordon’s Bonkers ISE Blog, which is now quite well followed. So, that’s how to turn a negative into a positive. (And I got the room free, of course.)
Commercial Integrator: What has been your greatest professional accomplishment to date?
Gordon Dutch: From a “company” perspective, it was Peerless winning the Queens Award for International Trade in 2020. Only around 7,000 U.K. companies had won that award since 1965, and it is based seven years of audited and continual growth in sales. It was due to involve a trip to Buckingham Palace to collect it, but that was cancelled due to COVID-19.
From a personal perspective, I hope it is leaving a legacy behind with both BBG and Peerless. BBG was very much “my baby.” And when I sold it to Peerless and joined their board, it was a lot of hard work. However, when I left the Peerless business in 2020, the business had grown beyond all expectations — and I believe they are still growing today. I will be forever grateful to Walt Snodell, John Potts and Nick Belcore at Peerless for all their belief and assistance over that period and even after I left.
Commercial Integrator: What has been your biggest professional regret to date?
Gordon Dutch: That’s also a tough one. Monetary wise, it is probably not signing with Monster just before they signed Beats! However, my biggest regret overall is the brands who used BBG to distribute their products and then tried to come into the U.K. directly. Many of them found out that “people buy from people.” And so, not only did it have a massive short-term effect on BBG’s turnover and business but also, long term, they actually massively damaged themselves, and some disappeared forever. And all for a few extra points — or so they thought.
Commercial Integrator: What’s the best advice or pearl of wisdom you either received during your career or came to realize on your own?
Gordon Dutch: Treat everyone with respect. It’s the right thing to do! Also, you never know where they will pop up later. (Laughs.) This is a small industry. Be straightforward and honest in all your dealings, and love what you do! Because work then doesn’t feel like a job. That said, make sure you always have a life outside work. Mine is family, music, sports and my dogs.
Would you like to nominate a peer or colleague — or perhaps yourself! — to be featured in this #AVLivingLegends series like Gordon Dutch of Re-Sauce was? If so, just email Dan Ferrisi, group editor, commercial and security, Emerald, at [email protected].