HAPPY EMPLOYEES SPELL SUCCESS

HAPPY EMPLOYEES SPELL SUCCESS

I GET A LOT OF E-MAILS EVERY DAY. Industry companies like to keep us informed about a new hire here, a promotion there, even the opening of a new office. Most of these we post to our website's News Central section.

But even I had to sit up and take notice when I received eight of these "press notices" in the space of 13 days, all announcing new hires for the same business: The Vernon Company.

Vernon recently hired one account representative for its Great Lakes division, three for its South Central division, three for the Northwest division, and one in the Western division.

Last September, The Vernon Company joined the ranks of an elite group as it commemorated 100 years in business as a family-owned operation. By achieving the century milestone, Vernon became one of just 30 companies across the United States that is 100 years old, in the same industry in which it started, and with the founding family still retaining ownership.

So I had to find out: Just what is going on at The Vernon Company? What do they have that makes them so special? What are they obviously doing right?

Being the curious and assertive person that I am, I was determined to get answers. So I had a little chat with Dave Regan, Vernon's vice president of sales.

Regan explained that while Vernon has felt the effects of the slowing economy--its sales force is actually off by about 4 percent versus last year--from what he can tell, Vernon is still faring better than most of its competitors. And it's the company's reputation of longevity and taking care of its salespeople that has others who are leaving sinking ships elsewhere come a'knockin' on Vernon's door.

"There's a ton of uncertainty out there, inside and outside our industry. When a small distributor runs into cash flow problems, who gets hurt? The small distributor salesperson gets hurt. Many of them have been coming to us," Regan says.

"We are a rare breed; our people are employees, not contractors. We pay into Social Security, we offer group health and dental insurance, and we have a 401K. We pay commissions up front, at a 50/50 split. Plus, we continue to invest in technology. The stability of Vernon can't be understated."

Another advantage the company may have over you is that the Vernon sales force has tended to focus on small and mid-sized companies. "Had we had a large percentage in Fortune 500 companies, we'd be hurting more," Regan admits. "I think that our focus on small and mid-sized has insulated us a little more."

Regan points out that when behemoth companies like HALO go belly-up, it sends a message that bigger isn't always better. Vernon, he says, has performed a delicate balancing act of growing, but doing it financially responsibly and conservatively.

Maybe that's why Vernon boasts a handful of salespeople that have been with the company 40 or more years. Maybe that's why it hires between 50 and 60 new salespeople every year.

Maybe that's why The Vernon Company is proud to tout its accomplishments.

So what about you? Have you got a success story you want to share? Tell us about it! Tell your peers that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and if you are growing and thriving, then they can, too!

Keep up the good work,

Teri Carnicelli

Editor
teric@vpico.com