Southbound Ch. 03-04

"His brother has revamped the folding carton business into a highly specialized one that includes machinery for carton erecting and filling. He is systems orientated and also doing very well. We often team up when the situation presents itself. In addition, Paul has a small, specialized multi-wall bag operation."

"So, you're in the carton and paper bag business too?" she asked.

"Not directly. It's something to keep in mind if there's an opportunity that presents itself. Their sales staff operates completely separately from ours. They are on salary, while our business is generally salary and commission or straight commission as in your case."

"You said you have business in California already. Where do you sell now?"

"We've been specializing in coffee, confectionery, dried fruit and nut, as well as some miscellaneous items."

"Who's selling for you now?"

"Ted Hollins is our representative here. He lives near Sacramento. He's on straight commission as well."

"I think I've met him somewhere. Tall, sandy hair, drives a pick-up truck?"

"That's him. He owns a medium-sized orchard, so he doesn't devote full time to us. We didn't have enough capacity to afford a full effort on the west coast until recently. I've been spending two weeks a month in the territory to get us going down here. As I said earlier, we're going to move some of our Langley business here to give the Tracy plant a jump start."

"I'm really excited about this, Mr. Andrews. It's going to open up so many possibilities. I was seriously considering finding another converter if things didn't pick up here. You came along in the nick of time."

"First of all, please call me Andy. Secondly, I'd have been very upset if we lost you. I couldn't promise you anything until Leo made the decision to go ahead with the acquisition and the re-equipping. That only happened ten days ago. Right now, I want to secure the key people and let them know they are wanted and needed. You are one of those people."

The woman blushed. "Thank you. That's good to hear. I've spent the last four years building my territory and my reputation. I've had a couple of job offers lately and that was good for my ego. It told me I was making progress. I had a hard time finding someone who would take a chance on me. I worked in customer service at Century City Films, but there was no way they were going to give me a sales territory. Women didn't do that kind of work, and besides, the customers wouldn't accept me. That was their story. I think I've proven them wrong. Lorne gave me the chance and I'll be forever grateful to him."

"What do you know about the other reps? Rick Mendez and the Ventriss guys."

When I mentioned the father and son team in Los Angeles, I saw her frown and show a look of disgust.

"Rick's okay. He's not terribly ambitious. He lives in Bakersfield and covers north of there. He's a nice guy and gets along well with the customers, but he doesn't try to do much prospecting. He inherited a territory from a previous rep and works that most of the time.

"As far as Rod and Rob Ventriss ... the less said the better," she snapped.

"I gather they aren't on your list of favourites," I grinned.

"They're both a pair of creeps as far as I'm concerned. Rod is on his third marriage I hear. His son is no better. Both of them have hit on me a number of times. I finally had to get in their face and give them the facts of life. No way, no how, not in my lifetime. That seems to have cooled them off.

"As far as sales reps go, they are low-ball price artists. Their first instinct is to cut the price to get the sale. Unfortunately, there are enough buyers out there that think that it's to their benefit that they get some business. I know they represent at least two other companies and I'm sure they play them off against each other. Scumbags!" she said with scowl.

"Don't sugar coat it," I laughed. "Tell me what you really think."

"Sorry ... I can't stand either of them and I stay away from them whenever they are around."

"Well, my opinion of them is similar to yours," I said. "I didn't know about your personal experiences, but just talking to them when we were doing the acquisition was enough to convince me they weren't our kind of people. I'll be notifying them that we will be terminating their agreement at the end of the year. If they give me any grief, I'll mention a possible lawsuit for sexual harassment. That should close the book on them."

I got a big smile and a thumbs up in response. "I like the way you think," she grinned. "I think I'm going to like working here all over again."

"Good, that's what I wanted to hear. When would be a good time for you to visit our Langley plant?"

She thought for a few moments. "My daughter will be out of school until the second week of January. If we could do it right after New Year's. My mother could look after Tina for a couple of days."

"How old is your daughter?"

"Seventeen. She'll be a senior next year."

"You must have been very young when you married," I suggested.

She gave me a look that immediately told me I was in sensitive territory. I back pedaled in a hurry.

"Sorry, Fiona. That was uncalled for. I apologize."

"It's all right. I've never married. Tina was an accident, but a wonderful one as it turned out."

"So you've raised her on your own, then."

"With a lot of help from my parents," she added. "You were right. I was very young ... and foolish."

I refrained from adding anything to her admission.

"I'll make the flight arrangements for you after you let me know when you can come. If I can suggest," I said, pointing to my wall calendar, "If you fly up Monday afternoon and come back on the afternoon flight Thursday, that will give us enough time to fully brainwash you."

She laughed. "Yeah ... it won't take much."

She left the office with a smile on her face and what I perceived to be a spring in her step. In reality, she was the only sales person that I could call full-time. Ted Hollins was working when he didn't have to tend to his orchard. It sounded like Rick Mendes wasn't a go-getter, but I'd need to assess that myself. The Ventriss duo were history.

So, aside from Mike Knowlton, I had no one else but myself who knew the territory and our customers. Mike and I had built the U.S. business a piece at a time and he had earned the opportunity to move up in the organization. If he looked after Canada and Washington State, I would have the time to build the sales force down here. If I could find a couple of people like Fiona, I would be set.

On the flight back to Vancouver, we were a light-headed trio thanks to a couple of drinks in the lounge at San Francisco and another on the almost three hour flight. It was a release of tension and somehow the meetings made the whole idea of my being the new general manager become a reality. Until then, it almost seemed like it was an illusion. I was in hope that I would enjoy the coming Christmas and New Years, despite the end of my marriage.

The last hour of the flight gave me time to think about my plans for January. Fiona Alexander was a delightful surprise. She was confident and had a presence that helped her succeed. She was younger than me, early-to-middle thirties perhaps. She was tall, full figured, with straight strawberry blonde hair combed back, ending at the nape of her neck. She was a very attractive yet professional looking woman and that undoubtedly helped her in her career.

I knew she lived in Livermore, but little else about her. She wore no rings, confirming she was single. I liked her attitude, while her smile and sparkling blue eyes made an impression on me. It was probably my sense of relief that I had at least one quality sales person I could rely upon that gave me the positive impression of her.

My divorce was final just before Christmas, hardly a present I was looking forward to. It put me in a sour mood for a couple of days until I took a call from Fiona.

"I'm good for that Monday to Thursday trip you suggested. Are we still on?"

"Absolutely. I'll pick you up at the airport and book a room for you. Would you prefer a hotel or a B & B?"

"Motel or hotel's fine. I'm used to them."

"Okay, I'll email you the arrangements and have the airline tickets couriered to your home address."

"Thank you. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do and how you do it."

"I hope you'll be impressed," I said. "I want you to be confident we can give you what you need in the marketplace."

"Thanks, that'll be a big change and a real boost."

"Oh, by the way, I have talked to Rod and Rob Ventriss and let them know their services are no longer required. They didn't take it very well, but I suggested they wouldn't want the notoriety of a legal action against them for sexual harassment. As expected, that put an end to their argument. I've sent them a registered letter confirming my phone call and an accounting of any monies owed them."

"Oh ... good. That's a smart move, Andy. They wouldn't do your reputation any good."

"I'm probably going to come back to Tracy with you on Thursday afternoon. I've got to start looking for a place to live as well as getting out and meeting our new customers. Some of them know what's going on, but I want to make sure they know it's for real. I'm going to send you a list of five key accounts that I want to transfer to you right away. I'll send the details and some product samples for you to review, and we can talk about it when you're here."

"I've said this before, Andy, I like the way you think. I'm counting the days until I can start to work for you."

"You already are. You might call your accounts and let them know what's going on. I'm sure they will be interested."

"I'm already on it. I've been on the phone for the last two days telling them about what's about to happen. I'd like to take you in to meet them. You could tell them what's coming. I'm sure they'll be interested."

"Of course. I should have known you'd be ahead of me. I'll talk to you soon. If you need me for anything, just call."

"I will. Thanks," she said. I could hear the enthusiasm in her voice.

I left the office feeling much better than I had in the past couple of days. Fiona seemed to have that affect on me. She was a positive person, as most sales people are. She expected to win, so she set about making it happen. They were sometimes the most difficult people to work with. They wanted the obstacles to their success removed, particularly if those obstacles were internal. Faster than normal deliveries, bailing out a customer in trouble with a competitor's product, rapid changes in artwork, and so on.

We were set up to be that kind of company. We had created a manufacturing base that was capable of quick turnaround, smaller order sizes, rapid deliveries in an emergency, and rescues when disaster struck. Our entire U.S. strategy was based on being willing and able to handle smaller or medium sized businesses and give them top quality and service. It took a while to establish ourselves, but our customers had come to expect that kind of performance as normal. That, and a willingness to try something different if the occasion arose.

To Be Continued