Growth Dynamics Get Down

Debbie, a rep for over 30 years, has been at the helm of Supply Link Inc. since she opened it's doors in 2005. Since that time she has grown her once small agency into a multi-line and ever-growing business in the  hospitality, food service and and jan-san industries. Check out her full bio here. 

She, like so many others, were impacted by the global pandemic, but has persisted and pivoted to do all she can for her employees, the manufacturers she represents  and the customers she calls on. 

Give the episode a listen and take in one business owner's perspective on running a company during the global pandemic. 

Interested in sharing your story with Charlie, Sarah and their audience? Contact Sarah Waple to talk about the option.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT:

Sarah Waple
Hello, and thank you for tuning in to this episode of Charlie and Company. I am Sarah Waple, General Manager of Growth Dynamics and I am joined today, obviously with Charlie Hauck Owner of Growth Dynamics and with our guest Debbie Arndorfer of Supply Link. Thank you both for being on today. So Charlie, let's hear from you. And then Debbie, we'll have you do a little introduction.

Charlie Hauck
Sarah, thanks. And Debbie, thank you for agreeing to be our guest today. It's nice to get an opportunity to bring someone into the conversation that really looked at 2020 with a term that I've sort of come up with to talk about 2020, pivot. And Debbie Arndorfer, her and her team at Supply Link. They're in a tough part of the business, they work with the food service world and some jan-san stuff. And a lot of people in that business have been knocked for a loop. I love talking to people that said, it is what it is. And I'm going to do what I got to do anyway. And I don't know of too many people that did that as well as Debbie did this year. So I'm really thrilled to have her as our guest today and kind of let her talk about that. So thank you both.

Debbie Arndorfer
Thank you for having me on. I'm really excited and privileged to be able to be on your podcast. And I appreciate the invite, referencing what you just mentioned about this being a tough year, it has been a tough year, the food service industry was hit very tough. And even the jan-san market to you're talking about a lot of buildings that are empty right now. People are all working from home. What I would say there's a lot of people hurting out there. But what I've seen in not just my company, but some of my customers, everybody's pivoting, everybody's moving. And so that's been a real exciting thing to see, you know, the numbers aren't in obviously, for 2020. I guess by mid next year, we'll be able to see, but it'll be exciting to see where people came out. And I'm, I'm thinking with if you did the right things and pivoted to give people what they need masks, sanitizers wipes, you know, everything's going to be a to a new level of clean now, buildings got to be cleaner than they were before. So in some ways, it's hurt, a lot of people but in some ways, there's some people that are going to if they if they stay working and stayed stayed at it, then I think they're going to be even more successful than they were in the past.

Sarah Waple
Yeah, Debbie, can you just give us a little bit of your geographic area, because obviously, Charlie and I are in Pennsylvania, and our restrictions are very different than, say, a place in the south or some other other places in the country. So with that, obviously, maybe your ability to service your customers could be different because your customers needs could be different than possibly people in the same industry as you in our area.

Debbie Arndorfer
Right. So we're down in the Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico market. Texas in particular, and Oklahoma have stayed relatively open compared to the rest of the country, from what I understand by talking to my peers in the same in the same business. The restaurant industry, I think was pre COVID was booming down here in Texas. We have a lot of major chains, we have a lot of regional national chains. And we also have a lot of large businesses here in the Texas area, JC Penney, Frito Lay, Dell. So we've got a lot of large businesses. Toyota just moved to the Frisco, North Dallas area a couple years ago brings bringing in a lot a lot of people and a lot of opportunity. With that being said, I mean, a lot of our businesses, people are working from home, a lot of people are trying to figure out how to make it home work life balance work from home. But at the end of the day, a lot of our restaurants stayed open.

Sarah Waple
As a sales manager and you have your clients and customers that are half open, half closed, you're trying to figure out who needs red hot items, who doesn't? How did you work with your sales team to manage those expectations of them working from home versus being out? And how how did you run the warehouse? I know you have said in previous conversations with us, you guys have had to ship an enormous amount of product to get people peepee and items to keep frontline workers safe and, and all of that. So how how is the sales manager? Have you approached this? This pandemic and and how is that different than when we didn't have a pandemic? What have you changed?

Debbie Arndorfer
So, obviously one thing we were always a very tight company like as far as everybody would come in. We had good embroidery, a good team culture. But But what happened was when COVID hit, pretty much everyone went to work at home, but myself and one other team member, and being a sales agency, we're primarily a sales agency. So everybody pretty much works from home. And we were able to just check in daily. So I did that for two reasons. One is, you know, everything was changing so quickly, everything was so fluid. And today, you could get this item for X dollars. And tomorrow it was, you know, X dollars, or the shipments held up or that shipments held up, we don't actually bring anything into our building, here, everything is either drop shipped directly to the customer, or if the distributor wants us, we drop ship it directly to the end user. So with that being said, you know, we were able to manage everything electronically. And the nice thing we did was we check in every day at 430 on a zoom call. And I did that for two reasons I mentioned earlier one is, you know, just to know what's going on, just to keep abreast of what everybody's working on. And to though just to keep the team and the camaraderie going. Because that was a pretty dark time, March, April, May, moving into June when people weren't leaving their houses. And, and as I mentioned before, Texas is pretty open. But there was a time when it was mostly closed. And during that time, I wanted people to feel connected. And we did that by zoom. And it was great seeing each other we had some good laughs and some good times.

Charlie Hauck
So with that, are you one of these people that has kind of made the adjustment to think you know what, this is the way business is going to get done? that we're not everyone would like to go back to pre COVID. But boy, there's a lot of benefit to the way we've all had your word, which I think is a great word for today and for anybody's business to pivot. We've had to pivot to this new reality. And are you one of these business owners? That's like, you know what, I'm not gonna fight it. I'm going to embrace it.

Debbie Arndorfer
That's a good question, Charlie. Yes, I definitely think we're going to embrace it. I mean, I love having everybody in. But my goal was always as a sales manager, everybody come in on a Monday, get organized for the week, we get our kickoff meeting, we talked about where we're going to accomplish, go hit it hard Monday afternoon, through Thursday night. Go see as many people as you can and Friday, you come back to the office, you you know, do your follow ups. I mean, in a perfect world. That's how it works. But we all know, it's not a perfect world out there. We have manufacturers that signed to come in on Monday instead of a Tuesday. So I mean, we always are, we were always pivoting. But I think that was our goal. The only thing that's really changed right now is we had a couple inside people, a couple sales reps that worked out of our office here, they've got a nice little satellite desk here, they work out of their house, at the end of the day, sales is guided by numbers, and everybody's making their numbers, it doesn't matter where you're working from.

Charlie Hauck
A really great attitude. In my 30 years in the consulting arena, I get so frustrated by business owners, or sales managers that seem more obsessed with where people are than what people are doing. And it's refreshing to hear you say at the end of the day, it's a numbers game, if you produce, we're not going to worry about where your butt is to do it. We're going to worry about whether or not it got done. And I love your attitude about that.

Debbie Arndorfer
I mean, Charlie, that's kind of what I've done my whole career, I've been doing this for 30 years, I worked for quite a few years before I had kids, chosen. It was very flexible. I mean, I might get up early in the morning, do emails, take the kids to school, you know, there were days that you know, were crazy busy. And then there were days where maybe I could join them on a field trip, because then I would just come home after work and get stuff done when I needed to get done. So I've always lived by that rule, it's good to get it done when you can and, you know, be efficient with your time. It's not always about how much time you put in. It's about the quality and the and the efficiency that you can put into it.

Sarah Waple
That is just so I wish I could have had a boss like you before I came to Growth Dynamics because there is such a level of stress. And I don't want to just say on moms, but I think moms get highlighted a lot in the whole parenting work life balance a little more at times than fathers do. But that stress if you can remove that piece for any parent, I think you just know you are valued more as a person. And therefore you're gonna work harder to make sure you don't exploit that work life balance opportunity and to get it done. So I, man, if things could have been different, right?

Debbie Arndorfer
Yeah. When we first started when I first started stockpiling, there was myself and one other person and a part time inside person. As we speak right now we have five outside people we just hired sales manager who started this week, I'm really excited about that. We've got four inside people. And the one thing I'll say about this pandemic is they really, really stepped up to the plate. Everybody that in particular, my inside salespeople, customer service, there was so many issues at first, everybody was canceling orders and postponing them and shutting things down. And then when the decision, especially the decision to open up restaurants, then the restaurants were scrambling to find menu covers and all sorts of sanitizing, silverware bags, you know. Table tents to say this table is, you know, reserved. You can't sit at this table, there were so many things that we would have never thought we would have needed. Right now, things like cutlery kits, you know, disposable cutlery, kits are in way high demand, takeout bags, paper bags, so yeah, we were we're pretty crazy busy slowing things down in March, April, May. And then June, July, August we were really busy ramping up. And, and still to this day take out and is way up. So while this year may not be our best year, yet, I know we're gonna end up slightly down next year, I think because of all the work we've done this year will really pay off because a lot of people are really just doing that new normal, which is getting their food to go and taking it home. And I think it'll be like wait for another six to nine months, I would guess.

Charlie Hauck
When you and I connected, you really seem to like the idea of cutting time out of processes. And that's something I think that in this pandemic,there were plenty of opportunities to spend time with people that were looking at it wasn't they weren't doing it maliciously. They were kicking the tires on what was available. How did your people learn to process a qualified opportunity as opposed to a this is going to be great, but it turns into nothing opportunity?

Debbie Arndorfer
Well, I think you have to look at every opportunity and try to gather all the facts. I always tell my salespeople gather the who, what, when, where and why. To try to find out what customers need. I mean, who would have thought we would all need blue face masks this time last year? Yes, there's been a crazy ride. And I think just asking good questions and, and picking up the phone and calling their customer base. I know I've learned and every conversation. And I and I thought I was pretty good at it before. But I'm making a point to call my customers during this pandemic and say, What can I do for you? Is there anything you're looking for? How can I help you? You know, what's your pain point? And how can I how can I alleviate that for you? And I did that, you know, obviously I'm in business to make money and take some money home to my family. But I'm also in business to help people and that whether that be my customer base that I want to help, you know, I want to see my customers that I've done business with for 30 years be successful. You know, I don't want to see them go under, right? Yeah, what can I do to help you. And I also want to keep my salespeople employed and my inside people employed and I want them to make a good living. So they can, you know, provide good education and health care and everything for their families. So that's my main goal for working is you know what I enjoy what I do, I'm not ready to stop doing it. But I also feel like I want to help people, whether that be my customers or mine, my employees.

Charlie Hauck
Well, and one of the things that I I think you do really well, which was all kind of you left one constituent out of that, you're really good to your principles as well. You're not in the business of making them do work just because they'll do work, and then not turning the deal in. You're really you have a lot of integrity about, I'm not going to just throw stuff at you and then go Oh, by the way, that was nothing. You're pretty disciplined about -If we're going to pursue something that's real, we're not going to pursue it, and then watch it disappear. You have a lot of commitment to that with your partnerships with your manufacturers.

Debbie Arndorfer
Well, the way I look at it, it's not always easy being a manufacturer's rep, I don't work for just one company, I work for a variety of companies. And at the end of the day, if I don't make the customer happy, there's no sale, right? So I have to balance you know, the work balance is where is the balance between the principal, the manufacturer, and the customer, whether it be the distributor, the end user who's going to eventually take the product, and you've got to make everybody happy. So, I always joke how much I love this job and how anybody can do it. But the reality of it is I don't think anybody can, it's can be very difficult. And maybe I've been doing it so long. I just I just think it's easy, but it has been difficult for a few and that's just because you have to learn how to to balance the manufacturer and the customer making them both happy. But one thing I will say is at the end of the day, I've been real picky about the manufacturers we work for, because I'm only as good as they are. And so if I take on a manufacturer, that can't deliver, that turns out bad product that says we'll get something to point A or B by a timeline. And if they don't do it, that really reflects on me, and then it reflects on truly my other manufacturers I sell for. So I really pride myself and the employees here at Supply Link on our reputation. And we're only as good as the manufacturers we represent. So we've got to be real picky about who we work for, and who we take out into the market. And luckily, we've got some great ones, we've done a really good job, I think we've got some great partners. And to your question Charlie, you asked me, you know, it seems like have good relationships with that. And that's because I just want to, you know, lay all the cards on the table and just try to do the best job we can for them and in a timely manner.

Charlie Hauck
Well, you know, you bring up something and this element of time is something that seems to be in front of my conversations with almost all my clients right now. And with all the reps that I've worked with the conversation that I don't think they ever want to have with a principal is they don't think we're spending enough time on their line. And in every manufacturer would like more of your time as a rep. But when you're as disciplined as as you are about, I'm not interested in every line, I'm interested in the right lines, it's easy to to want to give all those principles all that manufacturing side, the time and attention that they truly deserve. And stay out of that uncomfortable conversation. Hey, we signed you to a contract. Why aren't you prospecting more for us? Why aren't we seeing more revenue from you? How come we're, you know, all you do is ask for samples, but we never see orders? What's going on? And I think you've you, your disciplines, and your accumulated learning has kind of kept you out of that that's a big part of the success, isn't it?

Debbie Arndorfer
Yeah, yeah, there's a term that I like to use that my Operations Manager kind of teases me about, because she said it's a little bit outdated. But it's a word called synergy. And being a manufacturer's rep, you have to have a lot of synergy. So when I go call on a particular customer, my job is to go in and talk to them about not just about one thing, but about a multiple things. You know, maybe we focus on the one thing, that's their pain point right then, but that you're always building your stepping stones to the next product to get the next product in there. So what I try to tell my manufacturer, course you want more time, but I've put in five years of time, you know, and we're constantly building that opportunity for them.

Charlie Hauck
It's certainly one of the toughest things to balance as a rep I've kind of always looked at the reps I work with is sort of the crossroads of commerce, you've got to work for the upside and the downside, and make them both think that you're doing it just for them. And then you've got your salespeople that are always trying to figure out who they're supposed to be most loyal to. And other than the ones that pay the most commission, for example. So it really is, it's, it's, you've got a lot of different what's in it, for me, perspectives to manage when you sit in the seat that you occupy every day.

Debbie Arndorfer
right. And I guess just to recap that Charlie, what I was gonna say is, it's not just the time we've put in this week, or this month, it's the time we put in building the relationship with that customer since we started in business. Whether that be me my 30 years in business, or maybe one of my younger employees that's been in business for five years, I mean, they still put in five years of time and dedication and showing the customer that if I show you this product, I'm going to be back to help you sell it if you buy it. And so that's what I try to tell the manufacturer when they're when they hit me up or how much time did you give me this week? It's I've given you all my time because my reputation is what's getting you in the door and they have great products don't get me wrong I'm not saying that they don't have what it takes but when they hire my company to go out and market their products they've got the time that I've put in in the past that got me to where I am today which partnered us up to get us in the door at that distributor, that chain account that we were looking at close.

Charlie Hauck
Yeah, Sarah, anything you want to ask in that arena?

Sarah Waple
Yeah, from that, what do you think is your biggest success with working with different manufacturers. Why you know so many times it's a 30 day contract from whatever to if they're going to keep you on and change commissions and do all that. So what is it that you think along with your reputation that you guys are doing that helps you bring those manufacturers to you

Debbie Arndorfer
One thing is, again, the time you put in, because I've been doing this for a long time, the more you, you get out there and put your name out there and, and make calls and just one thing leads to another. So when I first started supply link in 2005, you know, I had one line, and I thought we were going to be just, you know, a small brokerage firm. And I'm not saying we're huge right now. But you know, we do have nine employees and we're covering a pretty large market, which has its own challenges. And it's really just getting out there doing what you're telling people you're going to do. And you follow up, and somebody tells somebody, and then somebody, maybe maybe one of your clients move somewhere else, and then you go there with them. And that's something that just gets easier with time, because because the more you work, the more people you know, and it just was able to grow exponentially.

Charlie Hauck
So this is kind of the universal challenge of success. The more successful you come, the more work it creates. So how have you been able to balance that continued growth and continued success? A lot of sales people or a lot of sales organizations, they almost start to dread growth, because it's, you know, now I've got more people to take care of, now I've got more customers that want more from me, what have you done to try to stay ahead of that curve?

Debbie Arndorfer
Well, as I mentioned to you just a little bit ago, Charlie, we just hired a sales manager. And a lot of firms don't have sales managers, I just realized that I can't do everything myself. I have a great operations manager, I have a great customer service team, I have some great salespeople. But everybody needs a little bit of help. And so I've hired in, I just keep reinvesting in the company, you know, reinvesting in people. And if you empower people to do their jobs, you know, I'm smart enough to know, I can't do everything I have to to give people the leeway they need and empower them to get out there and make more calls. And luckily, we're in a good market, Texas is a very good market. I was in a training class with you just the other day, Charlie, when you asked, how many prospects are out there? There's a ton of prospects. I could work 24/7seven, and you know, not really wanting to do that at this stage in my life. So I'm going to help get, get some people and let them get engaged and get out there. And so we're just going to keep growing. You're right, growing means more more work. But if you get the right people, I think it's going to make my life a lot easier. So that's what I'm banking on.

Charlie Hauck
Well, I think you've, you know, you and I have spent a lot of time over the last 10/11 months talking one-on-one, talking business, not necessarily sales, but talking business and the types of things that owner, the owner, we can talk about, and you've been really comfortable in understanding that you don't have all the answers. And that there is the value of outsourcing, whether it's to somebody like Growth Dynamics, and the work that we do with your team, adding a sales manager. You've been really comfortable, not knowing everything, and being open to you know, what, I can't keep putting on a Superman's cape to really get where I want to go. And I really admire the the sense of, of confidence that you give, not just I think your your, your principles and your customers get it. But I think you transmit that to your employees. And we certainly see it here at Growth Dynamics.

Sarah Waple
Oh, yeah, for sure. On all of our training calls, they definitely your team just looks confident, they look like they're, they understand they're not in training because you think they were bad, but it's a tool to help them continue to be better, and they engage in the conversations and, and seem to really take to it all. And you know, that's not something that happens with every client and every person in our training class. But it definitely happens with everyone from your staff.

Charlie Hauck
So where did that sense of there's someone smarter at something than I am? How did you kind of make that part of your business practice?

Debbie Arndorfer
Well, I started in the business about 30 years ago with really, right out of one year out of college. I had a job right out of college in the corporate America, wasn't crazy about that. Got an opportunity to start with a small brokerage startup firm, and did that and I really enjoyed it. But there was no formal training. I think the training was here's your maps go here's your sales book, come back at the end of the day with an order, right? So I was all over the Dallas Fort Worth market and most of Texas trying to write orders and I really enjoyed the formal training I've taken recently. I have invested in my salespeople. I been doing this 30 years, I just take the training with them for fun, and I've really, really enjoyed it. It's been, every single lesson we take, we learn a little something new, I'm really open to learning new, new ways and new ideas. And, and I'll say, I wish I would have done it 30 years ago would be probably sky's the limit if I would have done it 30 years ago. So I really enjoy the classes too, because I like listen to the younger people, and what they're learning. And I'm thinking, wow, if I would have just known all this when I was in my early 20s, you know, how successful can have been now. But with that being said, I mean, I think it's definitely worth the investment. And I've really enjoyed it.

Charlie Hauck
Well, that's good, we really appreciate your commitment to the process and to the full range of our services with the coaching and the Monday morning manager responses and all that kind of stuff and you sending your people to us for the one on one coaching and additional support that we we try to offer that, in a way pays insurance on what you're spending money on. So, thank you for that we've, you've been a real delight as a client. And, and I know that, you know, it's more to do with the people that show up, were, you know, Growth Dynamics were pretty simple. We do the same stuff over and over and over again. What makes it really fun for us is when we get to meet people like you and as Sarah said a minute ago, your people have all been really pretty special to work with and interact with. Your instincts in that part of the business are pretty good as well. I'll give you a chance, is there anything you'd like to close with and just offer a piece of advice, or just as we turn the corner, and we're still in this COVID thing, but the future is out in front of us? Anything at all you'd like to share before we go?

Debbie Arndorfer
Well, and I was thinking about what we're going to talk about on the podcast, I've never been on a podcast. So thank you for my first experience with this.

Unknown Speaker
I was thinking about what's something I can share with people and I have a little story about my favorite my favorite sales that I my favorite sales story yet to date, who knows, I may have another one in a year or so who knows. But I was working the Texas rep restaurant show and a gentleman that had a two location restaurant came up and started talking to me and he was telling me what he needed. He needed disposable packaging logo so that you know, he could go out and start selling franchises. And, you know, I mean, I've heard this before, you got to ask the who, what, when, where, why the guy seemed pretty intelligent. He seemed like he knew what he was doing. And I said, Hey, you know what, let's take a chance. And he was pretty small at the time, none of the distributors really wanted to work with him. So I worked with him on artwork on some different items, you know, disposable takeout packaging. And he said and I'm like, Okay, that sounds reasonable me. So at the time since nobody would bring his product in the stock because the movement was so slow. I found a small independent foodservice distributor that would take the billing, and we dropped, shipped the printed products to his garage. And when I say his garage he lived in he had a little bit of property, so you'd like to shed. So we dropped shipped it there. And we did a couple orders in the first year and the distributor was happy. She made her made their money and didn't have to touch the product. And about a year later, on a large broadline foodservice distributor called me and said, Hey, I need all the setup information. They're successful. they've sold 20 franchisees and we're bringing this in and I needed it in a month. And I was like, Are you crazy? This moves really slow. And he said, Nope, I want it. So they brought it in. And anyway had that I've had that business for well over 20 years. And that chain now has 1500 locations. So Wow, I guess you got to use your intuition when you're talking to someone. Try to get all the pertinent questions answered. who, what, when, where, why, and see what you can do to help people I mean, every once in a while that pays off. Right? Was that was one of my fun stories. And I still I still want that one. I love though you never know who you're talking to.

Charlie Hauck
Yeah, I love stories. And not everything's a homerun and not everything's a double. there's a there's a lot of singles out there that are gonna turn into productive at-bats for all of us. And if you if going to live your life as a whale Hunter, you better make sure you get enough whales. And a story like yours is a good reminder to people that we've all got to, we've got to be prepared for the opportunity that may not be as obvious as others. So thanks for closing us with that. That was a great story. Deb, thank you so much for your time Sarah, and I really appreciate it. You've been a wonderful client along the way. We wish you nothing but the best as we move forward. Thank you so much.

Debbie Arndorfer
Thanks so much, guys. I really appreciate it. You guys have a good, good year. . Thank you. All right.

Sarah Waple
Thank you for tuning in to this episode of Charlie and company and we can't wait for you to listen to next month's episode. Go out there and make this week the best one yet.

Thank you for tuning in to this episode of Charlie and company. For more information about Charlie, Sarah and Growth Dynamics you can find information online at www.growthdynamicsonline.com. or find us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and now Instagram

Debbie's Bio:

Debbie Arndorfer was grew up in the Plano, Texas area. She graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in Marketing. Debbie got her start in the industry at a start up manufacturer rep firm, Southwest Disposable Concepts,  headquartered in the DFW area in March of 1989.  Debbie worked at Southwest Disposable Concepts for 16 years calling on end users, and distributors throughout Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. 

Debbie founded Supply Link in February of 2005. She started the company with 2 outside sales reps and 1 part-time inside customer service representative.  Currently Supply Link has 5 outside sales representatives and 4 inside customer service representatives. Supply Link reps cover all of Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and the eastern part of Louisiana for the foodservice and jan/san manufacturers they represent.  

Debbie has been active on many school based and community-based boards, including Young Mens Service League (YMSL). She is currently on the Board of Directors for the Manufacturers Rep Association(MRA)and is proud to be certified member of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

Debbie has been married for 30 years to her husband Tim.  She also has a daughter, Alexandria, and a son, Matthew and a Yorkie dog named Sydney. Her hobbies include boating, RVing, traveling, watching football games as well as spending time with family and friends!