PPB September 2018

Rising Stars | FEATURE Best Advice It’s okay to not have an answer right away. I struggle with always feeling like I need to have the answer immediately and it always comes back to bite me. If you don’t understand something or don’t feel confident providing someone with information, ask for help. This will help you seem more educated and confident, and the people who you are working with will appreciate it so much more. Next 24Months I hope to help those working under me to have fully developed books of business and move into management-type of roles. Change She’d Like To See As decision makers, we are all trying to target the Millennial generation, and we have a responsibility to adjust our products and selling strategies to appeal to this audience. I can’t wait to see the industry evolve with some fresh faces and ideas. Hopefully I’m still relevant! Sarah Smith, 26 Senior Account Executive Pop! Promos S arah Smith’s take-charge resourcefulness and go-getter style have made her a standout at supplier Pop! Promos since she joined the company in 2015. Those characteristics combined with a perpetually upbeat attitude have won her numerous fans among clients and coworkers. But it was a life-altering car accident on Christmas Eve in 2014 that prompted her to focus on what was really important in life—including working at a job she loved. At the time, Smith was selling copy machines in Westchester, New York, after graduating the previous May. It paid the bills, but she wasn’t happy there. After the accident, she moved back to the family home in New Jersey for several months to heal and undergo therapy. Once back on her feet, returning to copier sales was out of the question. Her brother’s friend told her about a sales support position at Pop! Promos in Philadelphia, and with a degree in marketing, she interviewed and got the job. “Sometimes it takes a tough moment to realize what matters in life and I am so thankful for it,” Smith says. “She gets it and she delivers,” says Ashley Salvi, a client at Ward Promotional Marketing and one of four nominators. Another client and nominator, Kate Poulson, account director at Canary Marketing LLC, remembers a time when a large order of sunglasses was delayed in customs. “She kept me updated on the situation and did everything in her power to get them released--which they were,” she says. “They made my customer’s in-hands date with a day to spare. She is a rock star!” Another nominator, company president Sterling Wilson adds, “She’s 26 years old and wrote over $1.5 million in sales last year—a spectacular start.” | SEPTEMBER 2018 | 47