A Life in Sales
I had the great pleasure of helping to celebrate the fine careers of two great salesmen last week, Bill Moodie and Tom Pincu. It's not that often you get to really celebrate a lifetime of service in sales.
These guys are real fixtures (luminaries) in our lighting business and I have been honored to work with them through the years. (They only hold hands on special occasions! I think.) The lighting luminaries were out for this great event and to congratulate them on their fine careers.
Bill started with Century lighting in 1956. At the party last week in Los Angeles there was a framed poster of his employment letter from Century. His salary was $65 each week. The writer of the letter took great pains (at least 5 mentions in the letter) that this was his ONLY payment and that any information on his sales efforts provided for him by the company was purely informational. A long winded way of saying "you are not on commission, Bill." That changed over the years!
Tom joined Century in about 1966(my memory fails me exactly, after all I was 1 year old at the time!) He later moved to Colortran as their product manager and then eventually into the rep world and an eventual partnership with Bill. Bill and Tom were repping Strand when Fred Foster convinced them to come over to ETC around 1991. Good move Fred!
My experience with Tom and Bill began in 1994 when I went to work for ETC in Los Angeles, moving from a dealership I helped to open in Texas. I looked forward to meeting these experienced "big city California reps."
Mike Griffith took me to meet Bill and Tom at a local Toluca Lake eatery and pointed out Tom's stately Volvo on the way in. It looked replike, well cared for, and I had a sense that all the service information was recorded in the owners manual. Pointing to a VW Vanogan Mike said - "that's Moodies van." I thought - "Oh yeah - a real surfer type." Mike went on to say that Bill and Tom met and had meetings in the back of Moodies van as they had no office. Now in Texas our reps had offices, with meeting rooms. They drove trucks - and did not meet in the back of vans (down by the river!)
Tom and Bill were rather suspicious of me! They had a lot of experience with "manufacturers bringing in their own guys." They were sure to tell me not to talk to anyone without letting them know. Over the years we became fast friends. I worked hard to help them make money - and they did the same for me. We won a lot of jobs and built ETC's business in LA. Tom's stories of his Product Manager years at Colortran helped inspire me to move in to that field myself. I learned a great deal from each of them and I am honored to know them and learn from them.
Along the way these two saw it fit to mentor others. Tony Stefani first - and then Warren Mays. These young bucks brought a new dimension to the business and like me, had a chance to learn from these veterans.
Now they pass the torch to Tony Stefani and Warren Mays - two guys who have the same attributes as Bill and Tom. I have equal respect and admiration for these two "young guns." I am proud to see them grow in their careers. I will work hard to help them make money and build their new business and I know they will do the same for everyone at ETC.
Thank you Tom and Bill for sharing your wealth of knowledge with others. Congratulations on a great life in sales.