Colorado’s 25 most powerful salespeople
Sixth annual ‘power list' profiles closers excelling in tough times
By Mike Taylor and Mike Cote
Back in 2004, ColoradoBiz launched a feature we’ve come to refer to in shorthand as the “power-list issue.” It started off as a ranking – subjective, to be sure – of, simply, powerful people. That is, the 25 business owners, philanthropists, politicians, wealthy activists and others we as an editorial staff regarded as one way or another the state’s greatest power wielders.
The following year we kept the annual power-theme going, but instead of people we ranked the 25 most powerful organizations.
We’ve alternated between ranking powerful people and powerful organizations every January since, and it’s become an annual staple of the magazine. This year, though, we decided to change it up and look at the people who so often are the catalysts for a business’ growth and in today’s environment likely the key to a company’s very survival.
Introducing: Colorado’s 25 Most Powerful Salespeople
They include a real estate agent who specializes in luxury mountain homes in the Vail area and who ranked fifth among agents nationwide for sales volume in 2007; an advance-planning counselor for funeral arrangements who set a company sales record in 2008; and a sales executive for bison meat whose sales are up 30 percent over last year, remarkable growth for a high-end product in a down economy.
No car salespeople were nominated. Go figure.
According to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, salespeople make up 12 percent of Colorado’s work force, roughly 315,123 of the estimated 2.6 million employees in the state. It’s not only a numerous group, but an incredibly wide-ranging one. In coming up with our final 25, we sought to reflect the variety that the Colorado sales industry encompasses.
Nominees for our 25 profiles came from solicitations sent out to 8,500 e-mail subscribers of the Colorado chapter of the Sales Association, to firms on the 2008 ColoradoBiz Top 250 Private Companies list and to subscribers of the ColoradoBiz e-mail newsletter.
We think you’ll appreciate learning about the challenges that these 25 people encounter in their work, and if you’re in sales you likely can relate to their struggles — and to their triumphs in good times and bad.
Catherine Jones Coburn, 57
Broker, Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate at Bachelor Gulch Village (Vail)
What she does: Represents buyers and sellers of mountain-resort properties.
Personal data: With $201 million in sales in 2007,
Jones ranked fifth nationally among 1.2 million real estate agents, according to The Wall Street Journal and Lore Magazine. She’s been the top-selling agent in Bachelor Gulch Village for nine years running. Sales volume in fiscal 2008: $73.3 million.
Inside the numbers: Jones was the listing agent for the two highest priced single-family homes ever sold in Beaver Creek Resort and Bachelor Gulch Village — at $10.9 million and $11.5 million respectively in the spring of 2005. She also was the listing agent for ex-President Gerald Ford’s former home in 2007.
Customer-satisfaction tip: “Keep everyone constantly informed, whether it’s good news or bad news. I probably e-mail clients four or five times a week with what’s going on in the marketing with their specific property, what ad’s been run, who’s shown the property, what’s sold, what’s come on the market. Right now there obviously are not a lot of sales going on, but you want them to be very informed.”
Recession-survival advice: “The buyers think the world’s coming to an end, the sellers are kind of in denial, so if you get them to kind of meet. … Knowing your market is critical. Know every single property in your market so that when people walk in or call, you know exactly what’s going on.”
Tim Harrington, 51
Senior vice president, office group, GrubB & Ellis, Denver
What he does: The 24-year industry commercial real estate veteran represents major landlords in Denver, focusing primarily on office space in the corporate market. Harrington has consistently placed among the top Grubb & Ellis brokers nationwide, reaching the top five several years.
Background: Harrington averages about $240 million in business annually and says 2008 was significantly stronger for him than 2007.
Sales tips: “My sales philosophy is based on being able to do multiple transactions with the same people with the same positive results year after year. … A number of my clients go back to when I first started in the business. That’s kind of fun. There are a lot of people in this business who I was able to learn a lot from, and there are a lot of people in this business I continue to learn from.”
Surviving a recession: “It always seems a little bit worse than it really is. That’s been my take every time I’ve been in a downturn. It’s when I see the best from the people in my profession. The work ethic I’m seeing in my office right now is phenomenal. If you’re in that kind of environment you’re sure to be successful.”
Matthew Dribnak, 25
Director of Sales & Marketing, Green Valley Ranch Golf Club, Denver
What he does: “Marketing, advertising, communicating to all our customers, networking, cold-calling. You name it, I pretty much do it. I do the sales for the golf club itself, but we also have a landscaping company (GVR Landscape), we have McGetrick Golf Academy and we’re home to the HealthONE Colorado Open Championships.”
Surprising stat: Green Valley Ranch enjoyed its best sales year in its seven-year history, increasing membership by 42 percent in 2008. Dribnak’s golf sales totaled $700,000 through mid-December.
Plan at work: After being told by a prospect that budget cuts would prevent him from holding an annual golf outing, Dribnak put together a document titled, “Top 10 Ways to Make Money for Your Organization Hosting a Golf Tournament.” It included side events that would net an extra $40 per player and a way to attract sponsors by giving them more recognition.
The result: After a round of golf and a few beers with Dribnak, the prospect decided on the spot to hold his company’s tourney at GVR next year. And a couple of months later the company decided to purchase a corporate membership.
Sales philosophy: “If you feel uncomfortable selling your product, your prospect will feel uncomfortable buying your product. You have to truly believe your product is the best. Remember, sincerity sells.”
Chris Boumeester, 32
Vice president of sales, Colorado Asphalt Services Inc., Commerce City
What he does: Secures business for the Commerce City asphalt and concrete company, including working with the Colorado Department of Transportation.
Background: Boumeester generated sales in 2007 of $1.4 million, and as of early December he had logged $2.2 million for 2008. “Considering all maintenance and construction of parking lots and roads have been reduced by as much as 40 percent in the past two years, it further illustrates Chris’ phenomenal success,” said H. Wayne Lesier, president, CEO and owner of CASI.
Sales tips: “At the end of the day it’s always about belly to belly, spending time with people, certainly your customers. I always try to connect on a personal level: going for a run, doing them a favor that is unrelated to the business we’re going to discuss.”
Recession challenges: The high cost of oil over the past year led the company to guarantee prices only for 30 days. “When people fix your parking lot, it’s usually a lot bigger ticket item than painting their building,” he says. “When the prices double overnight, it’s incredible.” With oil prices coming back down, the climate has improved. “We’ve been able to go to a longer lead time and not necessarily hold them to a 30-day price commitment.”
Paul Bernardo, 57
Vice president of sales, Rocky Mountain Natural Meats Inc., Henderson
What he does: Markets and sells Great Range-brand bison meat to about 80 clients nationwide. Clients include Whole Foods, major grocers and boutique meat shops.
Company note: Rocky Mountain Natural Meats processes all the bison grown on Ted Turner’s ranches and served at Ted’s Montana Grill restaurants. That accounts for about 20 percent of Rocky Mountain’s business and is the only major account Bernardo doesn’t handle. The company anticipated revenues of $40 million in 2008, a 30 percent increase over the previous year. When Bernardo joined the company in 1998 its annual revenues were $2.7 million.
Key to success: “We stay in constant contact with our customers. I think one of the key things is not to forget your current customers and go chasing somebody else all the time.”
Typical day: “It’s a great job because there’s not a lot of paperwork, you don’t have to submit your schedule. I just go where I want to go. We usually start new customers with that fresh, ground buffalo, the one-pound pack. We get that going, established, then we’ll show them something new like maybe our top sirloins. We’re lucky that most of the accounts we’re dealing with are growing, they’re adding stores.”
Fred Kessler, 37
President and chief sales officer, Sales Partnerships Inc., Westminster
What he does: Sales Partnerships creates “virtual” sales forces for other companies, such as Level 3 Communications and Verizon. It recruits sales reps, builds the program and sells the product using the client’s branding.
Background: Kessler’s sales for 2007 were $5.2 million; in 2008 as of early December he took in $10 million for $1.8 billion in gross sales for client companies.
Sales tips: “You can’t have product be king. Products ultimately are important, but they’re secondary to the sales force. Your investments have to focus on constantly honing the talents, giving the reps the right support, and ultimately building the right sales team.”
Surviving a downturn: “There’s never been a period of sustained growth this long, which creates a huge problem in selling. For the first time in history, we have 75 percent of the current sales force in America having never sold in a depressed economy. That means they’re fundamentally unprepared for what it’s going to take to sell in this environment.” Instead of offering discounts to econ-shocked customers, offer to lock in their rates for a couple of years: “Services that focus on giving that protection to the customers will ultimately be more successful in this economy.”
Becky Stemmons, 35
Director of business development, Strategic Programs Inc., Denver
What she does: Handles the Midwest region, including Colorado, for a company that provides data research and data assessment for use in employee retention, exit interviews and personnel issues. Client industries include health care, trucking, hospitality, financial services, telecommunications and government.
Background: Stemmons’ sales volume for 2007 was slightly more than $1 million; she topped that in 2008 by hitting $1.25 million in early December.
Sales success: Convincing a third-generation family-owned trucking company that had never been open to outsourcing to buy employee-engagement surveys and exit-interview products from Strategic Programs.
Sales tips: “My approach to sales is just put your head down and work. What I do is very consultative, but it’s also a numbers game. If I get enough in my pipeline, I’ll be successful.”
Recession survival: “We’re looked at as one of those more expendable niceties, so we’re trying to position ourselves as a metric that companies can use to make better decisions.”
Last updated on Dec 07, 2009 at 07:48 PM
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