Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/602622
10 FEDA News & Views DEEPLY ROOTED DEEPLY ROOTED DEEPLY ROOTED DEEPLY ROOTED DEEPLY ROOTED DEEPLY ROOTED DEEPLY ROOTED DEEPLY ROOTED DEEPLY ROOTED DEEPLY ROOTED DEEPLY ROOTED DEEPLY ROOTED DEEPLY ROOTED DEEPLY ROOTED DEEPLY ROOTED DEEPLY ROOTED DEEPLY ROOTED DEEPLY ROOTED DEEPLY ROOTED DEEPLY ROOTED DEEPLY ROOTED By Stacy Ward, Managing Editor fedastacy@verizon.net "My mother was a great salesperson," says Myers CEO Charlie Fusari, laying the groundwork for a bundle of life lessons that have led us here—that place in time where the youngest guy in the room becomes one of the oldest and is comfortable enough in his skin to share a few snippets of his story. "Back in the day, she was a hustler," he says, evoking one of Anne Fusari's personal sales truths, "You've got to have the gift of gab." "There are many things my mom and I agree on but I com- pletely disagree. Listening is more important than the gift of gab. You can't ask a question and then not hear the answer," says Fusari, part of a rare breed that knows firsthand the highs and lows of servicing the customer—first as a manufacturer, then as a manufacturer's rep, and for the last 15 years as a dealer. "I've watched salespeople, young reps that come in and talk to me. They ask a question and I give an answer, and in that answer there's a clue on how to get more of our business. But instead of following up on it, they go on to something else because they never heard what I said." It was the art of extreme listening and a huge dose of humil- ity that carried a 25-year-old Fusari through his early years at Dura-Ware as a national sales manager, a new position created in the mid-80s to respond to an influx of imports and the emergence of buying groups. Dura-Ware, a regionalized player at the time, was looking to expand nationally by forging ties with reps and dealers throughout the country, and it was Fusari's job to get on a plane and make it happen. "We were all challenged back then and everybody knew it," he says. "The industry was evolving and you had to have the ability to evolve with it instead of fight it." And then comes a Fusarism. As expected from anyone who's reinvented themselves in the image of an ally, Fusari is big on collaboration, and with that comes an occasional musing or two. "It seems that throughout the years, the channel tends to fight more than they tend to embrace," he s ay s . " T h ro u g h o u t my 35 years in the industry, I've cher- ished the relation- ships I've built throughout the chan- nel and it's probably because I've had the opportunity to work with some of the best dealers, manu- facturers and reps in the country. I see the value. Anyone who knows me well knows that to be true." Earlier this year, he toasted one of his longtime industry friends, former ABC Executive Director Tom Wilhelm, who now goes by the handle "retired guy." Back then, Tom was my rep, says Fusari. "He was one of those guys I learned from every single day, every day, about partnering, building relationships and how not to sell on price. Have you ever noticed that Something happens to you with what happens next that one is going to believe it. But are full of true rhyming stories message into our hearts if to hear them.-- Leadership "What Happens When We Really 1978 1983 Hired by Bloomfield Industries as a New York City territory salesman. 1985 Joined Dura-Ware and became its national sales manager. 1992 Promoted to VP Marketing at Hired by New Jersey-based manufacturer Intedge at age 18, Myers CEO Charlie Fusari got his start in the industry assembling meat chopper attachments.