wet feet
first meetings with customers always get the blood pumping
I just got back from a 3-day trip to Las Vegas Market, and I’m excited about getting to work. I’ve spent the past few weeks working out a mattress sales training regimen that I’ll be using with store sales teams, and I’ve been reaching out to old friends and new prospects. Starting over is exhilirating.
Exhausting, but exhilirating.
As I had the opportunity to meet with a few new customers, I found myself experiencing confidence I didn’t know I had at the moment.
I fell right back into it.
I sensed the old persona, the recollections of interactions from the past, and the knowledge I’ve built up over a lifetime of consultations with retailers. What surprised me was how quickly I was able to put on the mantle.
I’ve been out of the wholesale game for quite some time. Since COVID, I’ve done some deep dives as a retail executive, to test out some of the theories I’d developed on the sidelines, and to try my hand at building cohesive teams that put the Customer’s Experience Front and Center. This is the unseen work that makes retail such a rewarding enterprise. When you get it right, it’s breathtaking.
So, as I begin the process of approaching people who are currently doing what I’ve done for the past 4 years, it’s interesting to find what we have in common. The concerns, fears, anxieties are all there. But there are also the celebrations, accomplishments, and confidence as well. I’m back in a position to bring solutions for retailers in a way that’s more focused than ever on the reality on the ground.
Market is always an endurance sport. There are long days on your feet, and even longer evenings entertaining customers and partners. It’s a game I wasn’t sure I’d ever come back to, but after this past weekend, I left with WAY more energy than I arrived with. While Vegas isn’t necessarily everyone’s cup of tea, getting back into the swing of the face to face meetings is definitely mine. Listening to stories, catching up with old friends, and re-establishing old relationships that have gotten a bit dusty from a few years of absence has been a treat. I found myself listening much more than anything else, as wave after wave of interactions swept in.
There’s one thing about getting your feet wet. It encourages you to dive in.
As I launch out onto the road, I’m diving back in to a life that’s similar to one I’ve lived, but is now significantly different.
As I noticed as a retailer, virtual meetings are often preferred to in person meetings for minor catch-ups and discovery meetings. Training associates is something that can happen in any number of ways. Orders are much more of a self-serve experience than ever before. The business has changed.
What hasn’t is the value of the relationships built over years. Trust isn’t built virtually. Doing what you say you’ll do is still a standout position in this business.
So, here I come. I’m a big guy, so expect a splash— we’re all going to get wet.