S t eve F l aughe r s It was Steve Flaughers’ father who taught him the most valuable sales lesson. “He said, ‘If you are going to sell stuff, you’ve got to talk to people. You don’t know what they need unless you ask.’ It’s worked ever since,” says Flaughers. His father was a master salesman. “He only went to school until the third grade. With no formal education, there were so many things that he just figured out, and I translate that into my business every day of my life,” he says. Flaughers grew up on his family’s 120-year-old farm in West Virginia. “There’s barely any internet and a lot of hard work. In this rugged, mountain area, it was like we were just bred to work hard.” Responsibilities on the farm, like checking the fence daily to protect the cows, what he calls the family’s “walking investments,” varied each day and season. “The closest hospital is 40 to 45 minutes away, and the nearest full-size grocery store is 30 to 45 minutes away; same with hardware stores. The point is, you learn to make do and if you don’t have something, you Million-Dollar Mascot Farmer Steve Flaughers, owner of Canton, Ohio, distributor Proforma 3rd Degree Marketing, doesn’t shy away from trying new things. After growing up on the family farm in Chloe, West Virginia, nothing spooks Flaughers—not wearing furry mascot costumes, flying a plane or becoming a member of Proforma’s Million Dollar Club. For Flaughers, lessons from the farm are a guide in the unknown. by Kristina Valdez 68 | JANUARY 2022 | CONNECT
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzU4OQ==