Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/177159
Next Generation continued hours, and no time off on weekends or holidays, says Tucker, who got her start in the industry working as a manager for both Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group and Stephen Hanson's BR Guest Restaurant Group."I used to work over 80 hours a week,"she says of her stint at busy Manhattan hotspot Blue Water Grill. "And since my younger brother worked in finance at the time, I was the lucky one if I got to sleep in my own bed at night." After a year at Blue Water, it was the reality of having to hand over her 24 hours to someone else—not the long shifts—that finally pushed her to reengineer her goals and pursue a life in sales at M. Tucker, a division of Singer Equipment Co."I loved operations," says Tucker,"but I was working on someone else's time.The greatest thing about this industry is that you're going to work just as hard but you're going to do it on your own time and your own terms. I've found a way to make sales glamorous by going to restaurant openings, getting dressed up in wonderful attire and meeting fabulous people. But that doesn't mean I'm not spending my mornings lifting up the floor of a walk-in box to see what's underneath it." It's a decent pitch for an industry that's struggled with diversifying its numbers with more X's and Millennials—teens and 20 something's expected to saturate the labor pool within the next five to seven years. Often referred to as Gen Y or the MySpace Generation, Millennnials are projected to make up 36 percent of the U.S. workforce next year and nearly half by 2020, according to Gartner Research. Squarely in line with Tucker's dream-job prerequisites, their top three must-haves are a flexible work schedule, superior compensation (to help pay for their college debt), and the opportunity to make a difference,according to a Mercer study. As one of their own,Tucker's personal observations of Y's are characteristically to the point."People in my generation either work extremely hard or they don't," she says. A Natural Progression Some may assume that just because she's a Tucker, her transition into E&S sales was easy, which is not entirely untrue. Other than the obvious familiarity that comes with roaming through the halls of the family business as a kid, or goofing off in the warehouse, Tucker oozes passion for her craft, her customers, the social scene and her territory, Manhattan. About 1.5 million people live in the bustling cultural hub, which Morgan Tucker… On Her Mentor: At Singer we train via mentorship. That's how our company grows. My mentor was a wonderful teacher who taught me the importance of working extra hard for the customer. He also talked a lot about seeing the customer as a partner, not looking at them as someone you're trying to make money off of. On Technology: I don't leave anywhere without my iPad. I'm constantly using it for my SAP software or AutoQuotes app, which is extremely valuable. It's an easy way to show images, specs and e-mail cut sheets. On Partnering: You have to partner with people that see you in their future, and you also have to validate and nurture those partnerships. It's not just I placed this order so I need a better discount. That's not the way it works. That's not how you're going to be successful. You have to lose with your manufacturer and win with your manufacturer, and I would rather lose an order than take an order from a manufacturer that I do not support and does not support me. On the Future: I have to react in the present but I spend a lot of time thinking long term and trying to align myself for the future. I think that's what makes me successful. 14 FEDA News & Views is more than the entire populations of Phoenix, Dallas and San Francisco. "I live on the top floor of a building on 42nd Street," says Tucker, a senior account exec. "And every morning, when I look out onto the city with my cup of coffee in hand,I feel empowered. Success is not just about what you do or the products you sell. You have to love your environment." Prior to being awarded the FE&S 2012 DSR Award, Tucker's sales were $3 million annually. Roughly 15 months later, when she won the award, her sales were $5 million. Today, that number has ballooned to nearly $12 million, thanks to her tenacity and the collaborative efforts of her five-person sales team. Anchored by longtime friend and partner, Katie McNamara,it consists of a dedicated customer service assistant, a customer service rep, a sales trainee, and sales mentor Neil London, who managed some of their accounts before assuming the role of sales manager last year.Together they serve a mix of young entrepreneurs, multiunit independents, and Manhattan institutions like Delmonicos. The original and most famous location is credited with being the first American restaurant to allow customers to order à la carte. Numbering in the mid 200's, most of Tucker's customers are independent hospitality groups. Five years has gone by astonishingly fast, she says. Does she have aspirations of one day running her own dealership? Never,saysTucker,who is clearly disenchanted with the rigidity required for such an undertaking. Instead,she's much happier running her own mini sales entity. "I love growing my sales team and sales figures," she says. "The best success is working with such a wonderful group of people and knowing that we're all challenging ourselves and growing every day in this city that never sleeps." Playing to Her Strengths To be sure, there were challenges early on.There was the recession,which happened to be peaking when Tucker joined the dealership, and the rites of passage every newbie must endure before earning a customer's trust. "People definitely tested me in the continued on page 32