THE GOOD SALES REP
I’m smack dab in the middle of everything. It affords a really nice learning opportunity from all those different avenues.” The knowledge that reps possess is not restricted exclusively to their brands. They also bring a lifetime of experience. Their travels through the territories they serve give them an intimate under- standing of the market forces they help their retailers navigate. Reps can provide a level of face-to-face customer service that is invaluable to their dealers who can always use extra assistance. “The good ones can really help you out and be an advocate for you with the brand and also with any events or events support,” says Deanne Echols, co-owner of the Great Outdoors Store in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. “A lot of general support comes from the rep rather than from the brand, and you just get way more personalized attention.” Shops in remote communi- ties, on the outskirts of a rep’s territory, don’t always get the service they need and deserve. A good sales rep can bridge the gap for their dealers with periodic
a rep based in Lakewood, Colora- do. “There are a lot of times when my schedule is dictated to me by the industry, but there are also in-between times that you get a lot of freedom.” Reps set their own schedules and can devote their free time to pursuing their favorite sports or outdoor pastimes. As skiers, climbers, snowboarders, moun- tain bikers, or backpackers, they are avid users and experts in the application of the products they sell. Reps make themselves valuable assets to both the com- panies they represent and the dealers they sell to. And through their active lifestyles, they can also inspire both the sales staff and the general public at in- store promotional events with their excitement for the brands they represent. “We’re in the middle, between the consumer and the retailer. We’re in the middle of the man- ufacturer and the retailer. We’re in the middle of the engineers and the product-development folks and the marketers,” says Overstake. “And so everywhere I go in this business, it feels like
“We’re not really salespeople. We’re kind of like business partners with all of our dealers—and they’re our friends.” —CHIP CAMILLO
on a job that paid commission.” Like most reps, Burns started his career in sales with an abiding love of the outdoors. As a ski patroller from Crested Butte, Colorado, he was content to make a modest living selling outdoor footwear and apparel with no promise of financial security. He spent long hours on the road, away from his family, earning very little money. But all the while, he enjoyed an exciting lifestyle of travel along the cutting edge of a new and emerging industry. “We weren’t out there on the road selling water pumps or microwave ovens. We were selling toys,” Burns says. “And if you love toys and love selling toys, you do what needs to be done. If that means working 100 hours a week, you do it.” Over the last 50 years, very little has changed. For decades, independent sales reps have leveraged all that hard work into a job description that is equal parts ecstasy and agony. With large territories across three or more states, reps drive thousands of miles each year to call on upward of 150 storefronts. Many reps spend 100 to 120 nights away from home. They typically cover their own expenses, includ- ing vehicle maintenance, gas, meals, and hotel rooms. Those out-of-pocket costs are paid for exclusively from their commis- sions on each sale. But the most successful reps thrive under this pressure to perform. “You’ve got the discipline to get yourself up and moving in the morning. You’ve got the organi- zational skills to do that and be where you need to be when you need to be,” says Ryan Overstake,
this translates into profound market credibility and boosts a shop’s ability to sell big-ticket items at high margins. Reps and their retailers enjoy a symbiotic relationship through which their combined passions create a beau- tiful work environment. “We’re not really salespeo- ple. We’re kind of like business partners with all of our dealers,” Camillo says. “And they’re our friends. We do stuff together, and we have fun. We have this com- mon denominator in the ski in- dustry and the outdoor industry, which I think kind of supersedes a lot of everything. And if they’re successful, I’m successful.” The outdoor industry got its start decades ago through the dedicated service and commit- ment of independent sales reps. Though officially retired, Mike Burns still works part-time as a retail sales consultant for Public Lands in Charlottesville, Virginia. Throughout his long career, Burns worked in the outdoor industry for many companies, including Merrell, Patagonia, and Oboz. In 1970, he was hired as the first sales rep for The North Face, calling on accounts east of the Mississippi River. “You have to look at where the industry was in 1970 and what the industry needed in 1970,” Burns says. “And what the in- dustry needed in the 1970s were people like myself—a lunatic who was willing to pick up my family and move across the country to an area where I knew no one, to work DYNAMIC DUO: Chip and Ann Camillo get some dolce vita in Italy. Chip calls Ann, who started working with him at trade shows, “the key to his success.”
GRASSROOTS STORIES 19
Made with FlippingBook - Share PDF online