Strategy January 09, 2019
2019 Distributor Salesperson of the Year Finalist - Felipe Leighton, Sobe Promos
Get to know Felipe Leighton, a 2019 Distributor Salesperson of the Year Finalist!
Salespeople of the Year: Get the complete list here
Distributor Finalist
Felipe Leighton
Sobe Promos (asi/245603)
Felipe Leighton is a rising star at Miami-based Sobe Promos, bagging large clients and becoming one of the top account managers at 2017’s fastest-growing distributor. But that hasn’t caused the University of Miami grad to rest on his laurels.
“Felipe is the kind of guy who still personally drives orders all over the Miami area just to get some face time with his clients, and will stay up all night heat-pressing jackets because a customer needs something in a rush,” says Chris Ferriter, VP of business development at Sobe.
Leighton says he easily connects with his clients because of two common traits he shares with them: a millennial who speaks Spanish fluently. “I think I’m easy for them to relate to,” he says. “We can communicate back and forth in Spanish if needed, and I understand what their target markets are looking for in terms of giveaway items.”
Leighton’s hustle and communication skills were very necessary when Sobe was tapped for a last-minute order that required 22,000 T-shirts to be turned around in just 12 hours. “We found out Thursday afternoon that we’d won the opportunity to make them, and then had to deliver them Friday morning,” he says. “In the end, it was an insane night of facilitating a bunch of moving pieces, but we delivered a really cool T-shirt.”
Even with 60% sales revenue growth in 2018, Leighton doesn’t lose sight of the importance of going the extra mile for his customers. “Never view yourself as bigger than any client or client need,” he advises. “I always go out of my way to come through on crazy deadlines or hand deliver products to clients to save them $40. You just never know who that person might be able to connect you to in the future or who you might meet on that visit to their office.”
That ability to connect with anyone and the boldness to get in with such big buyers amazes Ferriter, considering when he hired Leighton four years ago, “the kid hardly even spoke.”
As Leighton continues to connect with clients of all sizes, staying on top of the hottest trends and developing unique campaigns, his biggest fear is leaving money on the table.
“The promotional products industry requires a lot of touch points and handholding by salespeople, which means time is my most precious resource,” he says. “I’m always working to find systems and technologies that can assist me in freeing up more of my time.”
Getting to Know You
What’s your greatest challenge?
Scaling myself. The promotional products industry requires a lot of touch points and hand-holding by its salespeople, which means time is my most precious resource. (It sounds very cliché, but it’s true.) I am always working to find systems and technologies that can assist me in freeing up more of my time, but scaling my own business has been the biggest challenge for me as a salesperson. I feel as if I have done a good job at this, but it’s always hard not to think you might be leaving more money on the table because you just don’t have the time to get to certain client needs.
What’s your best advice for other sales reps?
Never view yourself as bigger than any client or client need. I always go out of my way to come through on crazy deadlines or hand deliver products to clients to save them $40. You just never know who that person might be able to connect you to in the future or who you might meet on that visit to their office.