PPB November 2020

MARCUS SWEENEY, MAS Hit Promotional Products Vice President Business Development Years at this company: 2.5 M arcus Sweeney sold group benefits in the financial industry and worked for other companies in the promotional products industry for 27 years before taking his current position at Hit Promotional Products two-and-a-half years ago in his Norwalk, Connecticut, home office. In that short time, his responsiveness and problem-solving skills have made a huge impression with customers, especially at distributor Jack Nadel International. Thirteen individuals at JNI nominated Sweeney for the honor, most describing him the same way: personable, patient and always available, answering client calls anytime day or night. “I consider Marcus a Service Superhero because his availability, attention to detail, follow-through and personal touchmakeme feel like I’m the only person he is working with when I know he has many people to help throughout the day,” says one of his nominators, Scott Colton. “One example that comes tomind was a recent large order for a new client. Something went wrong with a shipment out of China (no fault of Hit’s) andMarcus was on top of it right away, offeredmultiple solutions and went well beyond tomake suremy client was satisfied. How he handled it truly paid off as the order was delivered and the customer serviceMarcus provided helpedme get a quick re-order.” Nominator Ali Stone says, “He will see a quote go into our internal rep and then writeme back and come up with a better way to run it or a longer production time with a lower price. He also stays on top of projects, makes sure the right samples get to the right places and will often throw something in that the client wasn’t even considering but will later love.” In example after example, Sweeney’s nominators shared their stories. “He helps you get things done. He put together decks of PPEmerchandise for us without even asking. Nomatter what you need, he is always willing to help,” says JNI’s Ilene Chait. Another nominator, SamMinster, says, “He never lets me down. If a problemoccurs, he just fixes it. He’s also very creative, and never lets money get in the way. He’s also very proactive, and just a genuine guy.” One-On-One With Marcus Sweeney, MAS How the pandemic has affected his approach: One of the things that I love most about working in this industry is having face time with customers. I attend meetings and shows year-round. I remember flying home from San Diego on March 13. I never would have imagined that I’d still be home at this point. Working from home certainly meant changes for me—lots of Zoom meetings, tons of emails and phone calls. One thing that I learned long ago as a supplier is that it’s not so much about selling promotional products to your distributor customers, it’s about understanding their business needs. I’ve always asked lots of questions but, these days, the answers are quite different. It’s about changing how we service our customers based on how their needs have changed since the start of the pandemic. It’s all about creativity these days. Lots of what we do is in support of events, many of which are not taking place these days. With this, I’ve found that the product itself is not a solution, it’s more than this. Nowadays projects are much more involved. We’re kitting, fulfilling and drop-shipping more orders that we ever have. I’m proud to be part of Hit where we are quick to adapt. We’ve helped to keep folks employed at our company while helping many distributors with the answers to the challenging requests that we’re all facing these days. His inspiration to deliver great service: For me it’s all about the relationships. I love the people whom I work with, and their happiness means a lot to me. No. 1 tip to share with others: Be a good listener. People have lots to share. It’s about asking the right questions and doing something with the answers. You can choose to be a product pusher or a valued consultant to your customers. Best personal customer service experience: As a frequent flyer, I am pretty much exclusively with Delta Airlines. I was flying home from a trip one day when I realized that I somehow misplaced my driver’s license. I can remember thinking about how I’d never get it back and how frustrating getting a replacement would be. As I was on my way home from the airport that evening, I received a phone call from the Delta Lounge at the Ft. Lauderdale airport. They mentioned that a guest had turned in my driver’s license, they had immediately put it in a FedEx envelope addressed to my home, and I had it the very next day. Service Superheroes | FEATURE | NOVEMBER 2020 | 27