141: Tom Wardach – Building a Sales Team from Zero

Guest: Tom Wardach

 

Guest Bio:

​After serving for a few years as an officer in the US Army, I ventured into the business world, and that wasn't even my original plan! After almost 35 years in my current industry, I never thought that I would be in it for that long. And yet after more than 3 decades, here I still am. I have had the capacity to work for some great companies and wonderful teams in sales, personnel, customer service, product, and information management.

 

Key Points:

Background and Career Path

· Tom attended a military college in South Carolina and served in the Army. Leadership and discipline learned there laid the groundwork for his career.

· Transitioned to sales through a connection his wife had with Georgia-Pacific, where he began as an inside salesperson.

· Emphasizes the importance of connections, not burning bridges, and seizing opportunities.

 

Military Lessons Applied to Sales

· Experience in leading teams in the military helped him lead sales teams.

· Military discipline translates well to self-motivation and accountability in sales roles, especially in remote work settings.

 

Egger Wood Products Role

· Initially hired for a key account manager role, was later promoted to lead the U.S. sales team as part of a succession plan.

· Tasked with building the U.S. sales team essentially from scratch.

 

Building a Sales Team

· Before hiring, he and the company identified what traits they were looking for in candidates.

· Uses a collaborative approach to hiring, incorporating feedback from other team members and HR.

· Emphasizes collaboration, input from colleagues, and a structured onboarding process.

 

Hiring Philosophy

· Candidates must have a proven sales background.

· Prefers candidates with a short learning curve on the product side due to immediate business needs.

· Ideal hires have both sales and some industry familiarity (e.g., OEM experience).

· Doesn’t hesitate to make quick decisions when it’s clear a hire isn’t a good fit, unlike companies that wait too long.

· Acknowledges the emotional difficulty of letting people go, even when necessary.

 

Sales Team Expectations

· Key account managers are expected to both acquire new business and grow existing accounts.

· Sales at Egger involve long sales cycles and complex conversions (e.g., product switching or manufacturing changes).

· A key priority is expanding Egger’s brand presence in the U.S. since its local manufacturing started in 2020.

 

Guest Links:

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