As our Senior Vice President of Sales, Dan Landman, closes out his first 6 months with Friant, our Marketing department sat down with him to get a window into his history and vision for Friant’s sales future.

Q. You’ve had quite a distinguished career in the furniture industry.  Give us an overview of your experience, and what attracted you to Friant.

A. My entire career has been within the furniture industry.  I’ve worked for many of the largest companies in this industry. Everything I’ve learned, built and created is relevant to my new role at Friant.  I’m bringing everything to the table in this position – my knowledge of sales, product launches, distribution strategy and more.

Q. Which manufacturers have you worked for in the past?

A. I’ve worked in sales, design, product development, distribution and general management capacities at companies ranging from HON to Steelcase to Herman Miller and Global Industries. I’ve touched every aspect of furniture at a senior level, and now I’m bringing that depth of awareness to ensure success for Friant in meeting their strategic and growth goals.

Q. How did you meet Paul Friant?

A. Paul and I worked together on some projects through my independent consulting business, and it was immediately clear that our ideas and goals resonated.

Q. Why did you take the job as Friant’s SVP of Sales?

A. Looking at the company in terms of where they stood and the potential they had, the opportunities were clear and I saw the immense growth potential.  The company needed someone to elevate distribution and to train and lead the sales organization in providing a consistent message about the brand to the market.  There was a perfect fit between the company’s needs and my skill set and, ultimately, I joined because I believe in Friant and wanted to help write the story with Paul and our team.

Q. What’s your primary focus right now?

A. My task is clear: I am here to help grow Friant’s sales volume.

Q. How are you planning to achieve that?

A. Right now I’m focused on strengthening our partner relationships. I want to transform how we talk about ourselves and how the market views us.  Our main opportunities are clear – Profits, Products and People.

Traditionally, Friant has always offered low prices — but there’s more to the story.  We’re interested in helping dealers succeed, and we want to revise our brand message from the “low price guy” to the company that helps dealers earn greater profit margins.  And, when I say much better profits, I mean a significant jump from the name brand manufacturers which usually offer dealers around 7% – 8 % on their systems products.  With Friant, dealers have the chance to earn 25% – 30% profit.  This is something we need to highlight and underscore at every sales opportunity.

As for the Products – our product scope is developing into a “go to” line up. We’ve got two system today and will be launching our newest system, Interra, in 2011/12.   Interra will be a restricted line, available only to our top 250 dealers who sign up for our Friant Advantage program.  So far, the feedback on Interra has been phenomenal, and we know people are going to love it. We’re also in the middle of a major seating expansion and sales push.  We just launched Celesse – an elegantly designed chair with ‘xtreme’ ratchet back support – and amidst media mentions and intense dealer interest, we can’t keep it on the shelf. The best news is that dealers can make a real chunk of change by selling Friant’s seating.  In these lean times, when dealers start realizing the upside of doing business with Friant, we’ll be turning a lot more heads.

The last “P “is for People and it’s the main reason I joined Friant.  Paul Friant has amassed a team of seasoned professionals that really care about the customer.  Caring about the customer is the only way to sustain long-term growth in this industry. When customers are happy, we succeed – it’s that simple. Our inside support team and sales force are strong. Throughout the entire sales cycle, people here know what they are doing and how to support the customer best; as a result, we’re beginning to unleash the company’s true potential.

Q. Where do you see the greatest opportunities?

A. Friant has experienced rapid growth.  I want to manage that growth and make sure we exceed customer expectations. I plan to build on what we have today by working closely with our customer service, marketing and design support teams to deliver that gold-star experience.

Q. What are some of the sales strategies you’ll implement that focus on the customers?

A. Soon we’ll be rolling out the Friant Advantage program.  While all dealers will be able to sell Friant’s products, a Friant Advantage dealer will have full access to exclusive products, such as our new Interra system.  These products will be in demand and will offer great profit margins. The program will initially roll out in Chicago, Atlanta and Washington D.C. and as the program gains traction, we’ll expand it across the U.S. until all markets have access.  We believe that this type of strategy will significantly change the dynamic of our relationships.

Q. What does Friant’s future look like right now?

A. Right now, dealers turn to Friant too infrequently – most often when they are looking for a low-cost provider.  I see a future where dealers turn to us all the time, knowing they’ll earn higher profits with, making Friant their first and most consistent choice. That’s why we’re working hard to develop the Friant Advantage relationships right now.

Q.  Can you share any initial successes?

A. NeoCon was a tremendous opportunity for us. We had the chance to show off a prototype of our Interra system and new seating choices. We held a very well attended, informative and inspiring sales meeting.  All in all, we showcased our products and communicated our plans to some of the top dealers in the country. The good news is that everyone really loved it.  We were proud about what we accomplished, and we’re continuing with that momentum now.

Q.  Do you have a guiding principle when it comes to leading a sales team?

A. It always comes back to the customers and meeting or exceeding their expectations. If we can’t do this, someone else will.  Too many companies look internally, but I always look to the customer. Then, I tell the customer what we can do, and make sure we do it.

 Q. What do you think the current state of the industry means for Friant?

A. The industry is still downsized from its heyday.  And, while there is some growth, it’s modest.  At this point, our competitors aren’t going away but they are under considerable pressure and the margin of profit they can offer dealers is slimmer – too slim. Dealers are being forced to get by on less. Friant can do a lot better on margins because we operate a streamlined business model, owning our own facilities both domestically and abroad. As I mentioned before, we can offer 25% – 30% margins on a systems product.  Not many other manufactures are even in this ballpark.

The future is truly bright for the Friant team and our customers.  While there are challenges, we are perfectly positioned to continue our growth.