An Interview with Alcon Lighting Sales Consultant

Stephanie Sakay lives in Texas, the place the Los Angeles native was interviewed about her work as a Specification Gross sales Guide for Alcon Lighting. Stephanie mentioned how her earlier function in customer support and her literary research in faculty inform her method to lighting session, together with lively listening and clear and assertive communication.

The lighting business skilled additionally remembers the distinctive benefits of working on the family-owned and operated firm based mostly in LA. Stephanie’s story is one in all considerate progress: from learning Shakespeare at UC Riverside to navigating the curveballs of day by day gross sales with poise. She doesn’t draw back from the unknown—as an alternative, she meets it head-on, discovering which means within the unpredictability of every workday. Whether or not it’s serving to a frantic designer discover calm or guiding an electrician via a mid-project pivot, Stephanie listens first, leads with honesty and at all times stands shoulder-to-shoulder together with her purchasers.

Reflecting on her years of service and entrepreneurialism, Stephanie savors the connection with every buyer and Alcon Lighting crew member, the place she’s spent years constructing not simply enterprise relationships, however bonds rooted in belief and understanding.

Query: What’s your favourite a part of coming to work day by day?

Stephanie: My favourite a part of coming to work day by day is simply [facing] the uncertainty of the day, figuring out I’ll get via it. On daily basis at Alcon Lighting, I’m introduced with a curveball. Generally that’s tremendous difficult. I believe what’s most fun concerning the day is figuring out that the uncertainty could be rewarding.

Query: Did you have got a problem like that at present?

Stephanie: No. I’m additionally grateful for days when there may be certainty.

Query: What occurred at present that both went fallacious and also you’ll be taught from, or that went fallacious and also you dealt with nicely?

Stephanie: I obtained a name from a consumer who was frantic about needing one thing straight away. The client wanted to point out [progress to] their contractor, and despite the fact that I instructed her that I may not get her the reply she desires this minute, I instructed her I used to be going to see what I can do. I’ll get her a solution as soon as I discover out. This gave her perspective and simply introduced her down from panic. We’ll see what occurs as soon as I get extra info and name her. In that second once I was in a position to deliver down her stress degree throughout that dialog, that was rewarding.

Query: How did you try this?

Stephanie: Mirroring the caller the place they’re at. I’m not a robotic or a therapist [who] can instantly calm them down. Generally their tone makes me wish to panic. It’s only a human to human factor; you sort of match the feelings of who you’re speaking with, so I instructed her, ‘I’m on this state of affairs, too—let me see what I can do.’ When the shopper hears that you just’re human and also you’re on that rollercoaster with them, it provides them empathy for what I’m attempting to do for them.

Query: You majored in English in faculty, did learning English make a distinction in your method to your work as a lighting gross sales guide?

Stephanie: Sure. I double majored in English and political science. Majoring in English has helped me lots in my profession, even for [a task] so simple as writing an e-mail. There’s not a lot priority for e-mail etiquette within the lighting business—everybody speaks in shorthand—so I take pleasure in [the ability to] pause and effectively articulate or clarify one thing with out complicated or leaving out info. I believe my background helps me talk with purchasers. I liked learning English on the College of California at Riverside. I realized about studying and analyzing [literature], and I used to be interested in inventive writing—so I learn Shakespeare and classical literature.

Query: Did you have got a favourite writer in faculty?

Stephanie: I learn Shakespeare and it was so totally different—I used to be out of my aspect—and [his] fiction was thrilling—it felt like such a privilege to be learning Shakespeare in faculty, each tragedies and comedies, although the tragedies are finest.

Query: Do you have got a favourite?

Stephanie: Othello. Romeo and Juliet—Girl Macbeth is my favourite character, nicely, one in all my favourite characters, so additionally Macbeth.

Query: Who’s your favourite writer now?

Stephanie: My favourite writer proper now’s Patrick Radden Keefe, who wrote Empire of Ache, concerning the Sackler household. I’ve been actually into investigative journalism and unveiling massive issues. After I was youthful, I learn extra fiction—again then, it was Haruki Murakami. I simply keep in mind loving the magical realism. He places you on this totally different world. It’s enjoyable to get misplaced. As I grow old, I understand actuality shouldn’t be that unhealthy, and so now I’m into studying investigative journalism.

Query: Is your favourite style of literature investigative or detective writing?

Stephanie: Sure. I like seeing massive firms get taken down. The final ebook I learn known as The Radium Ladies, and it’s about this firm utilizing radium to color the dials of watches for the conflict—that’s after they didn’t know Radium was so unhealthy—and all these women begin getting sick in Ottawa, Illinois. It unraveled this large scandal, so I believe it’s the taking down of those massive firms that make a revenue from the struggling of others.

Query: What’s your favourite kind of lighting?

Stephanie: Ring or round chandeliers—or pendant lighting. If you concentrate on a hoop chandelier or a hoop pendant, it’s a easy, round design.

However while you put it over a gathering room desk—or while you put [a chandelier] in a lobby or a reception room, it does a lot for the house. I like doing so little—it’s minimal and nonetheless very dramatic with out being ostentatious, so that you get greater than what you ask for—in the easiest way—from a hoop chandelier.

Query: What makes working at Alcon Lighting totally different?

Stephanie: It is a family-owned firm. We’re not large. It’s close-knit. I do know everybody. I speak to them day by day, although I work remotely.

Query: How does Alcon Lighting preserve that for its distant staff?

Stephanie: I believe we keep away from that by having [regular] dialogues and firm gatherings. Our firm tradition was stored alive by [social] gathering. Then, got here vacation events which had been tremendous enjoyable. As a result of our crew is extra unfold out [across America], generally it’s tougher to get everybody in the identical time zone on the identical night time however there’s numerous enjoyable in our firm—via our distinctive personalities. Additionally, because it’s a family-owned enterprise, we’re nearer. For instance, for a Christmas get together [at a bowling alley], one in all our colleagues introduced their mother as a result of they had been a tremendous bowler and we had our Christmas get together bowling league—how cool is that?—so we get to know a deeper a part of individuals we work with for hours of the day.

Query: What’s the most constant buyer praise you get?

Stephanie: Folks thank me for being frank. Perhaps an order didn’t ship on time, or one thing went fallacious with manufacturing that triggered a delay. I attempt for dialog to be sincere, although I do know it may not be one thing the shopper desires to listen to. Like I stated earlier than, when the shopper is aware of we’re on the identical crew tackling the issue—and that [the situation is sometimes] out of my [control]—they know I’m attempting to do the perfect I can with what I’ve.

Query: Are you direct along with your prospects?

Stephanie: That’s proper. That’s what occurred on a name at present. Generally, individuals have charged feelings, and so generally I’ll simply inform them ‘that is what’s occurring and these are the choices now we have.’ I received’t simply drag them alongside once I know like what’s actual and what’s going to occur—versus what they wanna hear—so I believe it is likely to be in each salesperson simply to know how you can lay the [facts out]. After so a few years of doing this, you additionally construct a [reserve]. There are completely generally when individuals simply must vent or one thing’s fallacious and simply listening to them helps. Individuals are individuals, and generally they should vent and I occur to be on the road.

Query: What’s your favourite buyer praise?

Stephanie: The final one I had was for customer support—the shopper stated he hadn’t had that high quality of service within the business shortly. That was refreshing and sort—very rewarding for somebody to say thanks for simply being dependable. Good customer support is uncommon, which is so unhappy—a bit of bittersweet—as a result of it’s like, wait, no, you must get this all over the place from everybody. So listening to that was nice. It is a buyer in San Luis Obispo—he’s an electrician who, at first, was on the lookout for surface-mounted cylinders that will match the mission, so he ordered the lights. Later, he wished to vary [the order] to pendant lights. It was a clean order from begin to end. He was excited to do enterprise with Alcon Lighting as a result of he felt that my service was nice.

Query: Are you aware why the mounting requirement modified?

Stephanie: I believe his buyer wished to match different pendant lights within the room or one thing alongside these strains.

Query: So that you had been in a position to present him that the pivot may very well be comparatively streamlined and easy, and wouldn’t be a trouble?

Stephanie: Sure. I used to be additionally in a position to present equipment for a discipline adjustment. It labored out. I had checked with manufacturing to see if the newly ordered lights are able to being field-adjusted. The manufacturing crew defined that we might ship pendant lighting kits the shopper wanted to [conduct] the sector set up—it was no massive deal. We despatched the lights inside 24 hours. I believe the mixture of having the ability to accommodate that, along with delivery straight away, helped.

Query: How lengthy have you ever labored for Alcon Lighting?

Stephanie: I began work right here on March 9, 2018. I didn’t have a lighting background. I attempted to be taught from the back-and-forth customer support help inquiries with our guarantee or order standing—taking a look at invoices to see what individuals ordered, nevertheless it was minimal. I knew I wished to remain at Alcon Lighting and I knew I’ve at all times had an inkling or urge for food for studying. I’m a really curious individual, so once I was given the chance to enter gross sales, I took it and I keep in mind the very first thing [co-owner and sales director] Jake [Hakimi] stated was ‘we’re going to coach you,’ so my gross sales work began from there. I picked up an excellent quantity in customer support, however aside from that, it was numerous coaching. I signed up for a course from the Illuminated Engineering Society (IES) on the basics of lighting. That helped. That and being within the workplace round different salespeople. I attended class in a showroom close to Helms Bakery in Los Angeles each Tuesday from 6PM to 9PM for a couple of months. I believed it was cool that the corporate desires to spend money on me—that they might see worth in me.

Query: You additionally attended what’s identified inside the corporate as Jake College, the corporate’s lighting schooling periods. Have you ever graduated?

Stephanie: I don’t assume anybody graduates from Jake College, however I believe you may develop into an honorary alumni. Jake [Hakimi]  has a wealth of data. After I began to be taught, studying extra about lighting, studying extra concerning the business, I keep in mind going into his workplace with a pocket book and never figuring out if and once I might exit for lunch as a result of he would simply maintain going and going and I keep in mind filling pages of my pocket book and I used to be like, ‘OK, when is coaching over at present?’ These days the place I used to be studying from him or strolling across the workplace with him, explaining such a fancy topic to me in layman’s phrases, I most likely realized essentially the most about lighting—greater than I did in that lighting course. Jake has a means of simplifying issues we see in on a regular basis life—Jake’s coaching was so invaluable. I believe he noticed that I had the drive and keenness to be taught.

Query: What did you do to retain the data? 

Stephanie: Through the first week, I used to be [enlisted] in gross sales boot camp. Jake stated—this is without doubt one of the issues he instructed me throughout my first yr—to go dwelling and skim all of the articles on Alcon Lighting’s weblog, so I did that. Additionally, on the finish of each work day, I might rewrite my messy, scribbled notes as a result of it was arduous to transcribe throughout Jake’s classes. I might re-write my notes to assessment what I’d realized—to maintain contemporary for the subsequent day.

Query: Do you keep in mind particulars of your first sale?

Stephanie: I believe my first sale was $8,000. They had been for linear pendant lights for a distributor. I used to be so excited that somebody purchased one thing from me that I entered the fallacious billing identify into our system. What was most memorable was not even the sale—simply my pleasure, like: I can do that.

Query: Do you recall your first lighting gross sales expertise after you made the change from customer support?

Stephanie: On my first day on the job, I keep in mind being nervous. I questioned who’s going to name? What are they going to ask for? What if I don’t know the reply? Trying again at it now, there was pleasure and nervousness, particularly being surrounded by different salespeople taking calls, making offers left and proper.

Query: What was your background earlier than you had been employed at Alcon Lighting?

Stephanie: I labored in wholesale vogue and merchandising—all the pieces however lighting.

Query: You discovered the job via Craigslist in 2018?

Stephanie: Sure. The advert described this family-owned firm on Robertson Boulevard. I didn’t assume I’d ever apply to a job within the lighting business. I used to be curious sufficient to strive. I responded and heard from Jake. Then, I got here in for an interview, which was about an hour and, once I didn’t hear again, I adopted up. I believe my follow-up is what acquired me the job.

Query: How do you assume your customer support expertise helped kind your transition to gross sales?

Stephanie: I owe numerous what I do know to my customer support place. I had initially utilized for the customer support job as a result of my perception was that you’d solely know an organization working up from the underside. And customer support is the muse of an organization.

You get to know the purchasers, the [problems] they’re having, all the pieces from entrance to again. So I purposely wished to get into customer support as a result of if I used to be going to achieve this firm, I wished to know all the pieces about it and customer support is the place to start out.

Although I got here from wholesale vogue and merchandising, the place I wasn’t doing customer support, I felt like this was the suitable place to start. I realized the [elements] of the lighting business and Alcon Lighting, and it helped me put together for a gross sales function, which is extra intense.

Stephanie Sakay, now based mostly in Austin, Texas, stays a gradual and dependable pressure at Alcon Lighting. Her considerate method, clear communication and dedication to doing the suitable factor proceed to earn the belief of consumers and coworkers alike. This dialog highlights not simply her adaptability, however the sensible strengths she brings to each mission—proof that nice work doesn’t rely on the place you’re, however the way you present up.