A Day in the Life of a Sales Rep with Elizabeth McElhatten
In the wholesale industry, a Sales Representative serves as a vital link between Brands, Sales Agencies, and Retailers. They are responsible for developing and maintaining those critical relationships, from prospecting to sales to reordering. A Sales Rep career can be rewarding, exhilarating, and on some days exhausting. Elizabeth McElhatten, a Sales Representative at The Portico Collection, told us all about a day in her life as a Salesperson during a recent interview.
About The Portico Collection
The Portico Collection is a Sales Agency with their showroom headquartered in Dallas Market Center. They represent over 60 brands with two Sales Divisions, containing 25 rockstar Salespeople. In their own words:
“Our mission is to make every phone call, in store or showroom visit and online experience a celebration of you and for you. And, to offer you the best brands in the industry in an environment that will inspire you to make your store and your life just a little bit brighter and a lot more fun!”
About Elizabeth McElhatten
Before joining The Portico Collection's team as a Salesperson responsible for the entire state of Louisiana, Elizabeth owned her own retail store. Her background as a Retailer positioned her as the ideal salesperson, which she used to her advantage.
Elizabeth enjoys her job as a Sales Representative for many reasons. For her, the best part of her job is that she gets to meet new people every day and help her retailers succeed in their businesses.
“The relationships that I have with my retailers are amazing. And to be able to help them along the way as somebody that came from a retail background and experienced a lot of different things is so rewarding for me… Especially if it’s a new store owner who doesn’t know what to expect. For me, that’s the most rewarding part of my job.”
Start of the Day
Elizabeth’s day starts as early as 6 a.m., and each day may begin differently than the previous one.
On some mornings, the first thing she does is check her emails and text messages. Other times, she may wake up straight away to a phone call from a customer looking to place a large order or in need of her assistance.
“You know, every morning I feel like it starts differently. It could start with a phone call from a customer with a problem or it could start with a really big order. You just can never know!”
Planning for Customer Visits
To adequately prepare for customer visits, Elizabeth starts by researching more about her customers. She uses MarketTime to generate key reports and look up information, including who her target audience in a specific area is, who are her top accounts, which customers haven’t ordered recently, and anything else that might help inform her of what her customers might need. These reports provide her with direction of the accounts she needs to focus on for the week.
When making appointments, Elizabeth starts by visiting with her returning customers so she can visit their stores and see how they are doing. She then reaches out to customers she hasn’t spoken with in the past months. Reconnecting with clients helps strengthen long-term bonds and ensures that retail buyers see the value in working with their local rep to find the products that are best suited to be sold in their stores.
Tracey Barringer, Owner at Give Me 3, shared this quote surrounding her experience working with Elizabeth, “Being a store owner, I have a lot of reps that I work with. Some are terrible, some are decent, some are in it for the paycheck, but some are in it because they have a true passion for retail. Elizabeth is one those reps. She cares for me as a business owner. She always knows what will sell in my store. I am always impressed how well she knows her products and her lines. I love that I can send her a simple text saying, “I need to restock more (insert line)” and that’s all I have to do! She knows which product of that line will sell best in my store. She even shows up to help merchandise the products for me! She is the hardest working rep! I also love that I can call her for ideas on promos to do in the store! She is such a true asset for me personally! Thank you, Elizabeth, for everything you’ve done to help me grow my business!!”
Once she is ready to visit with a customer in person, she again pulls a MarketTime report to see what the customer ordered from her last. This informs her of what to look for when she arrives. Having this information fresh in her mind when she arrives at a store allows her to quickly identify what new items may sell well in the store, which items are selling well and should be reordered, and any other important information she can use to better assist them during their sales appointment.
Preparing for Video Sales Calls
In Elizabeth’s experience over the past few years, Zoom video calls are one of the most important parts of how sales reps work with their buyers to place sales orders.
Elizabeth always does three things to prepare for each video call with a client to ensure they both have a valuable meeting:
- Have samples of all the products in her office behind her while on the call so she can show customers her best sellers and make quick recommendations
- An internet tab of The Portico Collection B2B shopping website open for quick access to the catalog and products
- mtPlay open on her iPad so she can enter their orders as they are on the call.
Having all this information at her fingertips helps her sell more as she can help retailers explore any items they might not have ordered. In addition, she can review any of the items that they previously ordered utilizing the order history reports. These actions result in higher total order amounts and her attention to these details helps her clients experience higher sell-through rates in their stores.
Preparing for Trade Shows
Elizabeth, like the other sales representatives at Portico Collection, prepares for trade shows by becoming acquainted with new brands and products. They accomplish this by scheduling video calls with manufacturers and brands before market to familiarize themselves with any new products and best sellers. She then runs a MarketTime report to see who Portico has met with previously at this trade show and other shows. This provides valuable insights as to who hasn’t purchased or been in contact with Portico Collection for some time.
"Elizabeth is great to work with. We appreciate that she responds quickly and that she is very thorough.” Charlene Yeager, Co-Owner Fancy Panz
Deciding Which Samples to Show to a Client
When Elizabeth visits customers, she always brings samples with her. She brings candles, scents, lotions, and anything else that customers can see and smell. Depending on where she's going and who she's meeting, she makes sure she has samples for them to get a better feel for their business. MarketTime allows her to see what products the customer has ordered most in the past so she can then procure a box of personalized samples for each specific customer.
“I can always count on Elizabeth to take excellent care of her customers! She will go above and beyond and take that extra step to make sure their displays look great and are well stocked!” Kelly Stacy, Rustic Cuff
First Visit to a New Store
Instagram is one of the places Elizabeth looks for new customers. She considers her customers and then looks for which of their friends’ own businesses. She also uses Google to find potential customers by looking up stores, pharmacies, gift shops, and other locations in her target area.
Before her first visit to a store, she’ll conduct a bit of research about the store online to see what they're buying and which products they might like. This gives her context about their store identity and prepares her to meet key decision-makers upon arrival.
She immediately takes a mental inventory when she arrives at the store to see what they have, what they are selling, and where her products fit in. This way, she can help retailers merchandise her products with the rest of their store’s offerings and demonstrate how her products can be best sellers for them.
“Elizabeth is a blessing as a sales rep. She is always very helpful with our needs and has been such a pleasure to work with. She is one of the best sales reps I have ever worked with since I opened!” Jamie Kochakian, Jolie Blondes, Shreveport, LA
Fostering Relationships with Retailers
Elizabeth fosters relationships with her clients by maintaining an open line of communication via emails, messages, zooms, and phone calls. She also goes above and beyond to suggest ideas for upcoming events, seasons, and marketing that would help them grow their businesses and connect with their customers.
She makes certain that she only recommends products in which she believes. That way, she can build trust and contribute to the development of those important relationships.
Elizabeth shares, "The greatest value that I bring to my customers is that I know the trends in my industry - what customers want, what the top sellers are, and what is selling in that store's area. What is moving in Louisiana may not be moving in Texas and knowing that helps my retailers purchase the right products for their store and then we both sell more" (p. 5).
Source: Lowenstein, Ari. Digitally-Enabled B2B Sales & The Human Factor: How Salespeople Impact Buyers, Brands, and the Industries They Serve, MarketTime Illustrated White Paper, published August 2022.
Promoting The Portico Collection’s B2B Site
Elizabeth makes use of the Portico Collection’s website, featuring their online showroom. This makes it easy for retail buyers to view the products and see how they might look in their store. She also shares the shop link to their online B2B shopping portal so that buyers can review brand catalogs, products, and other resources that are helpful in how they can showcase product information on their own B2C websites. On the platform, she can also review customer carts to advise them on which products are a good fit for them and which ones may not be the best fit for their particular store.
End of the Day
For Elizabeth, the workday never seems to end at a specific time each day. She continues to check emails and messages until 9 or 10 p.m., when she goes to bed. If her customers need her help, then she always makes herself available. When they are working, she is too. Before checking out for the day, she’ll check MarketTime to ensure that all her orders have been synced and there are no unfinished orders.
“For the most part, I don’t end my day until I close my eyes because your retailers still need you up until the last minute. And I’m okay with that because I came from a retail background, and I know that’s what they need. And if I have to stay up and answer a few text messages or emails, then I’m fine with that!”
Using MarketTime for Wholesale B2B Order Writing and B2B eCommerce Sales
Elizabeth has used MarketTime tools to help her close more deals, provide better service to her customers, and work more efficiently. MarketTime's monthly report is one of her favorite tools, which she uses to see things like which products her customers have purchased from her or who she should target next. The tool provides her with a wealth of information about the behavior of her customers to drive her sales efforts.
Our mission at MarketTime is to “enable trusted networks to conduct commerce more efficiently”. Sales professionals are at the center of these trusted networks. We are proud to provide an end-to-end wholesale suite, designed to help sales reps save time and grow their business.
Built from the ground up to support B2B commerce and incorporating 35 years of experience serving the most demanding and innovative sales team, the MarketTime platform and team are ready to help you succeed. We would be thrilled to show you how we can support your growth. Contact us to schedule a demo today.