SALES & MARKETING: RICHARD LICATA – Page 3
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| Angel Burl Customer Service Person of the Year |
Bill Ruecking Salesperson of the Year |
I NEVER GET TIRED OF SAYING THIS, BUT THIS WAS ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL YEAR FOR REEBIE. BUT UNLIKE YEARS IN THE PAST, OUR SUCCESS WASN’T FROM GROWING THE BUSINESS, WE DIDN’T. BUT RATHER WE WERE SUCCESSFUL BECAUSE WE OVERCAME ADVERSITY. WHEN THINGS ARE GOING GREAT, EVERYONE GETS ALONG AND IS HAPPY. IT’S WHEN THINGS ARE DIFFICULT THAT IT REALLY TESTS THE TRUE NATURE OF AN INDIVIDUAL. THE CHALLENGES WE FACED THIS YEAR WAS A POOR CHICAGO ECONOMY AND WE HAD A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF TURNOVER. DESPITE THIS, EVERYONE WORKED TOGETHER AND HAD A “CAN DO” ATTITUDE. SO I COULDN’T BE MORE PROUD!
EVEN WITH THESE CHALLENGES, WE STILL MANAGED TO FINISH THE YEAR AS “TOP DOG” IN THE ALLIED SYSTEM FOR CONSUMER BUSINESS. WE DIDN’T START OFF THE YEAR THAT WAY, IF FACT WE WERE DOWN 25% AFTER THE FIRST QUARTER, BUT WINNERS ALWAYS FIND A WAY TO WIN AND WE FINISHING THE YEAR UP 10%. WE ALSO RANKED 4 GUYS IN THE TOP 50 POSITION FOR ALLIED, INCLUDING MATT SCHORE WHO IS RANKED 33RD AND HASN’T BEEN WITH US SINCE SEPT. SO ANTHONY HAS SOME BIG SHOES TO FILL. OUR SALES RANKING IS AS FOLLOWS: TIM GRANATA 9TH, BILL RUECKING 10TH, PETE NECHI 29TH, AND MATT SCHORE 33RD.
OUR NATIONAL ACCOUNT DEPARTMENT ALSO FACED SOME DIFFICULTIES THIS YEAR DUE TO THE UNFAVORABLE TAX LAWS AND AN INCREASE OF ACCOUNTS USING A LUMP SUM PROGRAM THAT NEGATIVELY IMPACTED CORPORATE MOVES. BUT THERE SEEMS TO BE A PENT UP DEMAND BECAUSE WE ARE FINISHING THE YEAR STRONG AND HOPE TO CARRY THAT MOMENTUM IN THE NEW YEAR. THANKS TO THE GOOD WORK OF BRIAN ARNOLD GETTING MORE BUSINESS FROM OUR EXISTING CLIENTS.
OUR GREATEST GROWTH THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS HAS BEEN IN OUR O&I BUSINESS. THIS IS A GOOD THING SINCE IT IS ONE OF OUR MOST PROFITABLE BUSINESS SEGMENTS. ALTHOUGH WE WILL FINISH DOWN, WE DON’T WANT TO LOSS SIGHT OF WHERE WE CAME FROM. SINCE 2013, WE GREW OUR O&I BUSINESS BY 300%. LAST YEAR ALONE WE GREW IT BY 39%. SO IT WOULD BE HARD TO MAINTAIN THAT LEVEL OF GROWTH EACH YEAR. EVEN SO, WE CONTINUE TO BOOK MORE THEN OUR LOCAL BUSINESS THANKS TO THE HARD WORK OF BOB LOBIANCO AND BRANDON CAPSHAW
I KNOW I SOUND LIKE A BROKEN RECORD WHEN I SAY OUR NATIONAL ACCOUNT CUSTOMERS LOVE THIS PERSON. THEY OFTEN TELL ME “AS LONG AS THIS PERSON IS WITH US, THEY WON’T LEAVE.” SHE CURRENTLY HAS A 4.60 QUALITY SCORE AND HAS WON THIS AWARD 3 YEARS IN A ROW. THIS YEARS CUSTOMER SERVICE PERSON OF THE YEAR FOR 2018 IS ANGEL BURL.
WHAT MORE CAN BE SAID FOR THE SALESPERSON OF THE YEAR? HE HAS ALREADY WON THIS AWARD 4 TIMES SINCE ITS INCEPTION. BEING A VETERAN SALESPERSON, IT IS HARD TO HAVE DOUBLE DIGIT GROWTH, BUT HE FOUND A WAY TO DO IT THIS YEAR AND INCREASE HIS BUSINESS BY 16%. HE NEVER FAILS TO REMIND ME THAT HE IS THE ONLY SALESPERSON I DIDN’T HIRE. PLEASE JOIN ME IN CONGRATULATING BILL RUECKING AS THE 2018 SALESPERSON OF THE YEAR!