Manager / Assistant Manager Interviews

 

The interviews with my assistant manager (Alexander Tushner) and manager (Dax Osborne) were very beneficial in the fact that I learned a lot about their responsibilities and how they both go about their everyday tasks. We discussed their daily, weekly and monthly responsibilities. Although I had a good idea of what they were individually responsible for, this allowed me to precisely distinguish between the two sets of tasks and responsibilities on a day-to-day basis. One of the questions that I felt was beneficial was: “What is the most challenging part of your position and why?” A combination of ‘having everything run smoothly’ and ‘ensuring every customer has a positive experience’ were the two main challenges expressed. These were the most challenging due to every customer having their own unique scenario. The difficulty of keeping business running smoothly while ensuring a positive experience among every customer is a challenge that most managers run into, and it is something than can ALWAYS be improved upon. 
 

We also spoke about their goals and how each of them ensures that those goals are met on an ongoing basis. We discussed how crucial it is to be good at what you’re doing ‘right now’, to set realistic goals, and to never lose sight of the logical “next step.” These interviews helped me immensely in the sense that it gave me a large amount of insight into how the positions of manager/assistant manager are ran, and how I can ensure my goals can be met in the future.

 

Sales Rep Ride-A-Long #1 – Sabrina Hall

 

After arriving at work on an early morning I left the store with our sales representative, Sabrina Hall. We visited the offices/job sites of customers throughout the day, whilst I was required to cover a handful of questions to gain additional insight about the position of Sales Representative through general conversation. Some topics that I was required to cover were: learn about your rep’s career path, prior experiences that prepared your rep for their current position, how to build sales in their territory, how to separate a good rep from a great rep, what they enjoy about being a rep, and how to build a connection with customers and servicing companies. While forming these questions in conversation, I made a conscious effort to direct them more towards my internship project. An example of this is when I asked Sabrina about making connections with customers and servicing companies. I specifically asked her how a sales representative would go about introducing the mySW database to a newer customer that they had recently built a connection with. In turn, this gave me insider advice as to how I could promote the mySW tool to customers in the store.

 

It’s safe to say that this was the most enjoyable activity that I completed during the internship. It was extremely beneficial to talk with Sabrina and learn about what makes our business successful. Sabrina stated that the most effective way to build sales in your territory is to build positive relationships with your customers and remain accountable. Moreover, this is what she said separated a good rep from a great rep, accountability. The best way to build a connection with customers and servicing companies is to consistently remain accountable and make sure the customer is satisfied. In all my prior management classes, specifically in my Teamwork Basics class, accountability is a fundamental ingredient in output satisfaction. I was provided with a saying that Sherwin-Williams lives by, “D.W.Y.S.Y.W.D.”, this means Do What You Say You Will Do.

 

Sales Report Review

 

An exercise that I thoroughly enjoyed in the early stages of the internship was the ‘Sales Report Review.’ The two reports that I was to retrieve from our company’s online database were the ‘Zero Sales Report’ and the ‘Weekly Customer Sales Frequency Report.’ The exercise required me to observe the reports and answer questions such as: What does the report show? What information is provided in this report? How does your store utilize the report? How can this report positively affect your business and the relationship with customers? The ‘Weekly Customer Sales Frequency Report’ displayed the different types of accounts within’ our store, and what these accounts had purchased/not purchased in the last week. This tool allows our management to contact companies that haven’t been purchasing from us and gather information as to how we can serve them better. The ‘Zero Sales Report’ is very similar to the ‘Weekly Customer Sales Frequency Report’. The main difference is that the ‘Zero Sales Report’ has a wider timetable of months-years. This allows management to observe company’s trends and improve upon weaknesses in the selling process.

 

This exercise was immensely valuable as I was able to view mySW e-Commerce sales for individual accounts. These specific sales tools have not been presented to me in any of my prior business courses. What ‘has’ been presented to me is the skill of comparing and evaluating. In several of my management courses, I have been responsible for comparing past assignments/tests/projects and working to improve upon my weaknesses. I learned just how crucial that skill was as comparing and looking for accounts to improve upon was the underlying theme of this exercise.

 

SherPlan with Store Manager

 

This exercise was implemented to help me understand the different types of customers, volumes and paint competitors within' the market. During this activity I learned the value of “opportunity accounts”, or accounts that we are seeking to gain business from. Through this, I discussed which market segment presents the most opportunity in our store’s business plan. This was a perfect chance for me to view opportunity accounts that we, as a store, could promote the mySW tool to. Another aspect of the activity that I found beneficial was discussing who our main competitors are in the market and what our plan was to increase our share in said market. I thoroughly enjoyed this exercise as it allowed me to visualize our “opportunity” customers and how they would help our company in the short/long-run.

 

In one of my prior courses that I have taken, Principles of Marketing, I learned about market segmentation and the importance of knowing your customer. During our market segmentation discussions, we discussed the importance of 1) identifying essential components of a market, 2) outlining the role of market segmentation in developing a market strategy, 3) describing criteria necessary for effective segmentation, and 4) explaining the geographic approach to segmenting consumer markets. Each of these vital steps were extremely apparent during the completion of the activity.

 

District Manager/Vice President Visit

 

Midway through the internship program, our District Manager and new Divisional Vice President visited our store. This was a fantastic opportunity to introduce myself and make a positive first impression with someone of higher position. Through conversation with our new Vice President, I learned that we both were familiar with the Bellingham area, giving headway to further conversation. This gave me the opportunity to transition into a quick conversation about what his thoughts were on the mySW database. Hearing him talk about the tool was insightful as it further motivated me to promote it. After finishing up with the VP, I spoke with my District Manager about my progress with the internship project. We spoke briefly about when I would be presenting my final presentation, and what I still needed to complete.

 

Although meeting with the Vice President and District Manager doesn’t necessarily relate to any prior courses I have taken, I was able to discuss how the internship has been beneficial to me and helped me grow as a student/learner of business management. It was beneficial to be put ‘on the spot’ about stating what I have learned and why it had directly corresponded with what I have learned through school.

 

Sales Rep Ride-A-Long #2 – Brandon Hill

 

After arriving at work on an early morning I left the store with our sister store’s sales representative, Brandon Hill. As we visited the job sites of customers throughout the day, I was to cover a handful of similar questions to gain additional insight about the position of Sales Representative through general conversation. Once again, this was one of the most enjoyable activities that I have completed throughout the entire internship. 

 

For this ride-a-long I decided to choose a rep that had more experience, so in turn I would gain more perspective on the rep position. Throughout the day, we traveled to multiple different job sites while completing various tasks. These tasks included: going over price quotes, delivering product, checking up on key customer’s jobs, and doing site inspections. With every customer we visited, I had the opportunity to introduce the e-commerce side of things and got them registered on the database.

 

Through marketing and communication courses that I have completed, I felt very prepared to communicate and sell the customers on mySW. With different demographics and types of jobs, I pitched different aspects and features associated with the tool. Relating to communication, I gave the customers visuals by having the app/website open on my iPad and walking them through each significant feature. Not only was this second rep ride-a-long beneficial for my business skills, it was also beneficial for my Sherwin-Williams internship project, as I received multiple e-commerce signups/orders that day.

 

Large-Volume Store Visit

 

This exercise required me to go to a larger volume store and interview the manager throughout the day. I visited our sister store in East Vancouver, not too far away from my Camas store. I was to shadow and interview the store manager, Kevin Armijo, as he conducted his store operations. I was required to pose different questions to Kevin to further my knowledge within’ different store environments. Throughout the program I had been told by numerous sources that each manager has their own methods and techniques for handling different scenarios, and this was extremely evident as I observed store operations. This exercise greatly benefited my knowledge within’ the Sherwin-Williams company as I was able to see what a different volume store was ran like. Additionally, working at the Industrial store in Bellingham before this internship gave me another store/manager to compare to.