Future in Sight!
I have now been in my outside sales phase for thirteen months. I have had lots of time to build the relationships with my best customers. Many experienced salespeople agree with me that we treat them like business partners, and both offer a lot to the other company. In wholesale, our best advertising is word of mouth. If it were not for my customers spreading my name to other customers, I would probably only have half the business I do now. I have also come to understand exactly how essential a contractor’s salesperson is to their business. We provide expertise on sourcing material (I have learned how to find just about any hard-to-find item) as well as our large amount of inventory that plumbers could not afford to keep in stock themselves. Within my quality customer relationships, there is a clear understanding of helping each other out. Eighteen months does seem like a long time for outside sales training, but it has flown by! There are still many times that I need help from my mentor and team mates for handling certain customer situations.
As my time in training is coming to a close, my region manager and I have discussed possible locations for me to manage. There are currently five locations in my region that are in need of management, so that’s why the management training program is taken so seriously at Hajoca. I have been doing research on the market, competition, and potential of each location; and there are so many things to consider about each one! I have been able to talk with my mentors at my current training site, Richmond Virginia, and also my previous mentor in Fredericksburg, Virginia. It’s good to know I have a whole team of experienced people that are able and excited to help me succeed in my new role as Profit Center Manager!
– Emily Cowdrey
(Pictured Above: Fellow Hajoca teammates at our Richmond, VA location!)