A.O. Smith hosts rep contest winners for memorable golf event
BY MARY JO MARTIN
Editorial director
During the past 18 months, A. O. Smith has unveiled a new logo, color scheme and branding campaign designed to support their ramped-up efforts to bring the most energy efficient and environmentally friendly products to the market.
As a result, A. O. Smith replaced the traditional blue that had identified the company in its logo and other marketing materials since 1977 with green to signify the company’s commitment to develop high-efficiency products. They also aligned with noted environmental activist and actor Ed Begley Jr., who serves as a spokesman for the Vertex product line.
With a number of new products having been introduced in 2009 — and a slate of even more innovative models set to be launched this year — it is critical that A. O. Smith educate its customers on their benefits, both for the end users and the environment. To do this, A. O. Smith relies heavily on its network of independent manufacturers’ representatives to spread the message and conduct training classes for wholesalers, contractors, engineers and others.
As added motivation for conducting these training courses, A. O. Smith recently wrapped up its second annual “Play With A Pro” contest and golf tournament. The three-month contest was designed to incentivize reps to schedule and conduct training courses with customers. Winners were those agencies that tallied the highest number of trained contractors, engineers and wholesalers during that time period. This year, one sales team from each of A. O. Smith’s eight regions across the country was able to send four representatives to a dream golf outing near Charleston, S.C.
The eight teams were treated to an all-expenses-paid trip with accommodations at a hotel in Charleston’s historical district, dinner at the acclaimed Magnolia’s Restaurant and a round of golf with a celebrity or pro at the prestigious Bulls Bay Golf Club, a private club that was closed to all except the A. O. Smith group that day.
Many manufacturers host special events like this for their customers, but brand manager David Chisolm explained why A. O. Smith felt it was so important to provide its reps such an opportunity: “Our focus has been on bringing new products to market. The challenge is to get our message through the channel. We rely on our reps to deliver that message — they are an integral link in the chain. Over the next 18 months we expect to roll out a large number of new products and we want to ensure that our reps will be motivated to promote A. O. Smith to their customers.”
A golf event seemed to be a natural fit for A. O. Smith, as they have been sponsoring former McBee, S.C., plant employee Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey on the professional tour for the last two years. Gainey had been working second shift wrapping insulation around water heaters before being selected to appear on The Golf Channel show The Big Break — which consequently led to him joining the PGA Tour.
“We worked very closely on this event with the agency that represents Tommy,” noted Chisolm. “Ironically, our primary contact used to be the road manager for Hootie and the Blowfish. They also had a connection with this course, which helped us arrange for a private outing, and had the connection with all of the pros and celebrities. We really relied on them to help hand-pick the guys we would use. Our goal was to select low-key people who would interact well with each other and our reps, and make it a comfortable and enjoyable time for everyone.”
Kicking it off
Charlie Rymer, a PGA tour player and Golf Channel analyst, set the mood with a laughter-inducing welcome speech following dinner at Magnolia’s and played in the golf tournament the following day.
“Charlie really broke the ice for everyone that first night,” said Bob Mycoff of Harry Warren Inc. in Orlando. “He did a tongue-in-cheek roast of the PGA players who were there, talked about life on the road as a touring pro and shared old stories about some of the players. He made everybody comfortable, which was the perfect kick-off for the event.”
In addition to Rymer and Gainey, other celebrities who participated included Darius Rucker, Mark Bryan and Dean Felber of Hootie and the Blowfish; golf pros John Daly, Josh Broadaway, Chad Ginn, Lee Rinker and David Robinson; former Green Bay Packer great Sterling Sharpe; former Major League baseball player Mickey Tettleton; and NASCAR’s Kyle Petty.
The light-hearted mood continued the next morning. As they hit the driving range to warm up, there was an old blue van parked nearby with music playing loudly from its speakers. Chisolm laughed as he related the story. “We were all kind of thinking, ‘Geez, couldn’t the club have figured out a little better way to pipe in some music for us?’ This van was pretty beat up and just didn’t fit the exclusive nature of this club. As it turned out, this was the original van that Hootie and the Blowfish used back when they were just a group of college guys out driving themselves and their equipment from gig to gig.”
The jovial nature of the celebrities and pros helped the teams relax and enjoy the day. There was a lot of good-natured jokes and poking fun on the range, which continued on the course and afterwards.
An ideal day
At a pairings breakfast prior to tee-off, each team was able to select the celebrity or pro they wanted to play with, based on how they finished in the contest. The first one chosen was Darius Rucker. They played in a five-man, best-ball format — except for a special twist that was thrown in for the 10th hole. PGA tour member John Daly — well-known for his booming drives — actually spent time with each team and hit a tee shot for each of them on No. 10, which proved to be a big hit with everyone.
“I was so impressed that they just wanted it to be a fun experience for all of us and actually discouraged business talk over these two days,” said Bob Soderholm of Soderholm & Associates in Ramsey, Minn. “In addition to myself, representing our agency were Peter Bibby, Brain Paulsen and Dale Blanchette. We played with Josh Broadaway. We are salespeople from Minnesota and Wisconsin who don’t play a lot of golf. But we won the tournament — with a score of -14 — because of Josh. When we got on the first tee, the four of us told him that we were out here to have a good time — no pressure. And that’s the way we all played, even Josh.
“Our agency loves to have fun. When our group is together, we’re always laughing. One of the ways I often judge the success or failure of an event is how enjoyable it is for those involved. The celebrities and pros they selected were fantastic to hang around with. They could not have picked a better group to participate. They were humble and very approachable with just wonderful personalities.”
Throughout the day, director of sales John Altepeter and program manager Robin McLaughlin drove carts around the course, stopping to visit with each of the teams. There were also two lunch tents set up on the course serving burgers, brats and all the trimmings. And the scenery was postcard perfect, in the deltas of South Carolina with a view of the ocean from the hilltop where the clubhouse sits. The weather, too, was ideal, with temperatures pleasantly in the low 70s and a Harvest Moon that made an appearance as the tournament wrapped up.
Bob Mycoff headed a group from his agency that included Al Listrom, Robert Maynor, Jimmy Goodale, Mike Mcleod, Richard Helms, Stacey Phillips and Bill Orris. Mycoff’s foursome selected Rymer as their pro and actually tied for first with Soderholm’s team but lost in a playoff determined by their scores on a pre-selected hole.
“There was great camaraderie by everyone involved,” Mycoff noted. “Nobody got a free ride or went unscathed during this event. So even if the pros goofed up, we all teased them and gave them a hard time. And an event like this brings out everyone’s competitive juices, so of course our guys were trying to outshine the pros.
“Through this event, A. O. Smith gave agency principals the chance to involve our sales and specifying employees who do a lot of the hard work every day but who don’t always get to experience the rewards. This contest was actually centered around the guys who do the training and make A. O. Smith important to the distributors and contractors. It was a big thank you from A. O. Smith and me to our field guys for the job they do every day. I can’t thank the people at A. O. Smith enough for making it so special for them and honoring the hard work that goes into selling their product every day.”
Chisolm said he was surprised and pleased that the celebrities and pros they selected made time to participate in the whole event from start to finish. Most attended the welcome dinner the night before and then, following the golf outing, stayed for dinner, cocktails, card games and an impromptu jam session as John Daly and Mark Bryan (Hootie’s guitarist) took turns playing guitar.
“We couldn’t have been more pleased with the way the contest and event turned out,” said Chisolm. “We were honored to host the winning agencies to a one-of-a-kind event to say thank you for a job well done. And we have been blown away by the personal notes and thank yous that we have gotten from them in return. Their sentiments have been very heartfelt.
“At the end of the day, this entire event was all about educating customers on new products that are innovative and energy efficient, because the more you can elevate the awareness, the more successful it will make everyone in the chain.”
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