"Residential Is the New Contract and It's As Hot As Gender Neutral Restrooms"
The Business of Furniture - 5/10/17 Edition
Stephen Says Column
Dear Stephen:
I am a sales rep in the contract furniture industry. I was at a Herman Miller dealer for many years, and now I’m at a manufacturer. I have learned that everyone working at a contract manufacturer makes more or less the same money (give or take a couple of Gs). I think, had I stayed on the dealer track from the beginning, at my current age, 44, I would be making more money today at a dealer, but who knows.
Lately, I have been getting a lot of calls about “outside sales jobs” from companies I would have once described as residential manufacturers and never even knew had dedicated outside sales reps. It seems A-list residential manufacturers now want to get their products and textiles in front of commercial/contract designers for both contract and hospitality specifications. I guess it is something like Holly Hunt or Donghia furniture working its way into the executive suite of some hedge fund or movie studio C-Suites. Even some high-end manufacturers I have not heard much about, like A. Rudin, J. Robert Scott and Christian Liaigre, seem to be hiring outside commercial sales reps who are direct employees. They all seem to want to get their furniture or textiles specified for their piece of the contract pie.
How does this work? My impression from the recruiting calls I get is that most of these companies have one or two “outside” sales reps for a major market. These reps seem to call on appropriate design firms, do lunch and learns, keep libraries up to date and even call on dealers and end users. Seems like a refreshing change, and the money seems good. What’s the catch? Are these jobs worth looking at or are they fool’s gold? And why haven’t I heard about them until now? Are they new or have I just been out of touch?
Outside-Curious Contract Gal in LA
Dear Outside-Curious:
These outside rep jobs are not new at all, but there are definitely more of them now than there ever have been. If you have not been called about them or even heard of them before, you must either sell a lower level product or be out of touch with the trend in your industry. Residential is the new contract. It’s as in today as gender neutral bathrooms.
I strongly recommend everyone take a look at these jobs. If you’re getting these calls, and you’re bored of what you are doing, take an interview. It is no secret that savvy design firms have been specifying these products for C-Suite executives and partners in law firms for years. Why do you think companies like Knoll bought Holly Hunt or why Teknion’s new Studio TK licenses much of the B&B Italia contract product? And then there are those who, instead of designing new products on their own, buy a bit of everyone else’s, like Herman Miller did when it bought the retail store chain Design Within Reach. DWR, as they like to call it, sells a lot of high-end residential products, from Fritz Hansen to Knoll Studio and even Herman Miller.
DWR has a huge “contract” division of just outside sales people who are different from the upscale barrista inside sales reps.
These are all new and great career opportunities for everyone in outside sales. Options that just might make you happier, and the money is competitive with what most people are already making. Like they say: It is not always about the money.
Most of these companies seem to use different terms for their “contract” divisions. Some call them “trade,” others call them “contract,” and still others use “commercial” as a title. No matter what they call their divisions, the one term that remains constant is “outside sales.” That’s what you want to look for. Always be sure the job is not one where you are in the showroom four days a week selling inside and then go outside for just one day. Turn down that job — that’s a company too cheap to hire an actual outside sales rep. Look at all your options and remember there are more each day. The Rug Company, PFG Cassina, Kartell and DWR’s Contract Division — these are all great jobs.
When you interview, be prepared to hear the word “iconic” thrown around a lot. That’s code for we have not created anything new lately, so help us keep selling the chair and ottoman created in 1956. But still, these are really great jobs, and I am talking myself into it even more as I write. Seriously, can you imagine being the sole outside sales rep in Los Angeles for commercial sales for Holly Hunt, Donghia, Studio TK or PFG? Talk about a comfy situation. And let’s face it, most of the contract designers you already work with do residential design on the side, and they all love these glam brands. You already know the game, go collect your Benjamins!
Once was the day that Knoll Studio had that market all locked up. That day died with Florence Knoll. Now Knoll buys companies with hot designs and needs a Herman Miller subsidiary like DWR to help sell its products. I guess, everyone — even the heavy hitters — are jumping on the “contract” bandwagon. (Or is it the other way around? That is for another column). Why not cash in on that yourself?
From a career perspective, you will typically get the better accounts as well because there are fewer outside sales people to compete with. Make sense? These are stunning (oops, iconic) products that customers really like and usually cannot value engineer. In simple Viscusi terms, think of it like working for a Jaguar dealer instead of a Ford dealer. Even if Ford does own Jaguar, you want to sell the car that says Jaguar, don’t you?
Stephen
You can send your workplace questions to Stephen at: StephenSays@bellow.press.
Questions selected to be answered, will appear in this column. Please use the Subject: Stephen Says for all emails. Stephen Viscusi is a bestselling author, television personality, and CEO of The Viscusi Group, global executive recruiters located in New York. Follow Stephen on Twitter: @WorkplaceGuru, Like Stephen on Facebook, and follow him on LinkedIn.
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