It’s been a few months since I moved to Sacramento and time has flown by! Moving from a relatively small area in Washington State (about 32,000 people) to big Sacramento (almost 480,000 people) has been a bit of an adjustment but it’s growing on me. There are tons of things to do in the Sacramento area; many within just an hour or two drive.

At the profit center things are going extremely well. The team here is very cohesive and have all begun to share their knowledge and experience with me. We have a very experienced team, a few of our members have been working in the industry for almost 30 years! Having people around you with that much to share is incredible. In my inside sales phase I get to do a lot. I’ve got one pretty big customer that I am in charge of helping. This customer is working on eight different residential jobs and it’s very exciting for me to assist them with their needs. In addition to that I get to work on the counter a little, purchase a handful of our lines, and field incoming customer calls. Being able to get into a multitude of different things has been a great help for my development.

In the next few months I will be moving into the outside sales role. We have a great outside salesman here who is going to take me out to visit his customers and “show me the ropes.” I think the outside sales time will be a great opportunity to not only learn more about the market but to learn more about products, preferences, and how to best meet customer’s needs. The journey has been great so far and I can’t wait to see where it goes!

Taking the scenic route

At the beginning of July I began my transition into phase two of the MDP Program. My second phase brought me to Sacramento, California to Heieck Supply. Previously I had only spent an hour or two in the area, so moving to a new city and state has been extremely exciting!  We were lucky enough to take the “scenic route” which made the move that much more fun. Along the costal drive we made stops at a few beaches and some of the dunes in Oregon. We even had the chance to go on a tour in a dune buggy!

The move from Wenatchee to Sacramento was a big one, almost 800 miles! In just a few days at Heieck Supply, it’s obvious to me that the Profit Center has a lot to offer. While there are some products here similar to those in Wenatchee, the offerings and customers here are much different than the ones I have dealt with in the past. One example would be no hub cast iron, a material that we did not sell in Wenatchee. One my second day here, I had to prepare a sales quote for this material! The team members here have a lot of combined experience and they will all have a lot to offer me over the course of the next two years. As time goes by and I continue to get more comfortable in my new market, I’ll continue to be more and more excited for my outside sales phase. For now I’m looking forward to learning the new products, getting to know our customers, learning about the nuances of the market, getting to know the team, and exploring my new home!

Over the course of the past few months I have had some great learning experiences outside of my profit center. The first was a trip to EMCO in Vancouver, BC. EMCO is Hajoca’s sister company in the Canadian provinces and my PCM and I traveled there to meet with the local PCM to see how he operates his business. Specifically we discussed how his showrooms are managed and how he has grown to such a large operation. His PC has roughly 95 employees while we have 6 here in Wenatchee. It was really great to see the possibilities!

The second opportunity that I had outside the PC was to travel to Dallas, TX for the Hajoca National Showroom Summit. This
was the first such summit in Hajoca’s history, and it allowed PCMs, Showroom Managers, Consultants, and Vendors to come together and discuss best practices and trends in the showroom marketplace. For a PC that has only just opened their showroom this was an invaluable experience. Talking with other Hajoca teammates about their experience has given us a fresh outlook on the potential our showroom has to offer.

Here at the PC I am wrapping up my counter phase and am moving into the operations phase of my training. In a smaller PC, like Inland Pipe, I will still get plenty of time on the counter but I look forward to learning as many new things as I can. My time in Wenatchee is getting close to being over and I’m looking forward to seeing where Hajoca is going to take me!

As of now I am 6^th months into my training and it seems like time is flying by! I have been continuing on with my counter sales training, learning the ins and outs of our point of sales systems, and building relationships with our customers. Getting to know our customers’ product preferences and learning more and more about their businesses and styles has been a great experience. Each interaction with a customer, whether it be in person, over the phone or via email, is a valuable learning experience for me.

In the past few months we have expanded our team by hiring Jan, our new Showroom Sales Consultant. In a short period of time she has meshed with the existing team extremely well and we are all excited to see where the showroom can take our business. Having a Sales Consultant, and a wide selection of display products, should really separate us from our competitors in our market.

Wenatchee has had pretty significant snow fall in the last few weeks, and I had my first “White Christmas” in as long as I can remember. The snow can make driving difficult at times but Wenatchee and the surrounding area is really beautiful this time of year! I’m really looking forward to continuing my training and learning more about our business.

 

I’ve been in Wenatchee and a part of the MDP Program for about three months now and I am still really enjoying it and learning a lot! A few weeks ago I started the Counter Phase of my training and it has been a great transition. Getting to interact with the customers and learning the nuances of Eclipse has been really beneficial. While I enjoyed the warehouse phase, I know I’m going to enjoy this phase even more!

Here at Inland Pipe and Supply in Wenatchee we have a lot going on. We are currently looking to hire two new team members. I’ve got to learn how the recruiting process works and how important it is to find members of your “Dream Team.” Each time we find a new prospective employee, our PCM interviews him or her, and then the rest of the team interviews them again as a group. When you have a team as small as ours I think this is a great way to make sure any candidate is going to fit in with the goals, personalities and work styles of the existing team members.

Right now we are also in the process of remodeling and reopening our showroom. It’s pretty close to being finished, we are just waiting on some additional product and for the bathroom to be finished. Everything looks great so far and we have a really good plan as to how we want the showroom appointment process to work, so that we can maximize the experience for our Plumbing Contractors and their customers. Getting the showroom up and running is an exciting opportunity for our PC to grow our business.

The weather has stayed pretty nice here in the area and it has allowed me to explore a little more and play some more golf. I really like the Wenatchee area and am enjoying learning all that I can about our business!