Ace Rent to Own COO Ben Leach on Black Friday Sales and family

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What happens when a second-generation leader takes the mic and the wheel? We sit with Ace Rent to Own COO Ben Leach to unpack how a family legacy becomes a modern operating system built on people, service, and smart use of technology. Ben shares how growing up in the stores, spending a decade in software and high-growth environments, and returning with fresh eyes shaped his approach: empower employees, obsess over client outcomes, and let data quietly guide the path.

We dig into the heart of rent-to-own—why it’s more than payments and products. Ben explains the real advantage: free delivery, flexible swaps, step-down options during tough times, and hands-on service that keeps essentials in homes when life hits hard. He talks through the changing customer journey as foot traffic fades and online leads rise, and how Ace meets clients where they are with responsive phone, text, and digital agreements. The result is a faster, smarter sales process that still feels like white-glove care.

Holiday strategy takes center stage with a meaningful pivot: seven months same-as-cash all November and a true Black Friday hook—a 65-inch TV priced below Amazon’s sale, Friday and Saturday only. Ben shares why loss leaders can create long-term value, how stores win with outbound calls and flexible down payments, and why special ordering toys or unique items helps families stretch budgets. We also get an inside look at Ace’s community impact and employee traditions—from local sponsorships and a holiday wish list to a Christmas party complete with The Price Is Right and tenure gifts employees actually choose.

If you care about leadership, customer experience, and making retail work in a mobile, on-demand world, this conversation delivers practical ideas and a shot of heart. Subscribe, share with a teammate, and tell us: what’s one people-first change you’ll make this season?

APRO
Association of Progressive Rental Organizations

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_02 (02:14):
Hello and welcome to the RTO show.
I'm your host, Pete Shao, andtoday we're talking to somebody
who I've been dying to talk tofor a long time.
I'm gonna tell you right now,Ben, I've been trying to talk to
you for a long time.
So I've got Ben Leach on fromAce Ren to Own in Nebraska.
And listen, they have been inthis game a very long time.
As a matter of fact, one oftheir legends, Dad Lynn Leach,

(02:35):
has been the number one episodeso far in the Legends series
that's come out.
We're doing this on Thanksgivingweek because we wanted to say,
hey guys, we appreciateeverything you do, and we want
to be thankful for you.
Ben, I'm glad that you made it.
I'm glad that you were able tocome on.
First off, let me thank you forhaving the time to do this
because you are the new COO ofAce Rent to Own.

(02:56):
Is that right?

SPEAKER_00 (02:56):
Yeah, that's true.
And I appreciate you having meon, Pete.
I was looking forward to it.
We talked back at RTO world andI've been looking forward to it
ever since.

SPEAKER_02 (03:02):
So, you know, just to make sure that we get this
right, Ben goes, hey man, yougot you got to let me step into
the role a little bit because Igot I got a lot to do.
You know, let me let me get myfeet wet.
And I'm like, I totallyunderstand that.
You know, being Ben Leach, youhave cut your own way.
You didn't make it to CEObecause you didn't deserve it,
but there is a question thatI've got to ask, and it'll come
up a little bit later.
But not only do you have thefamily legacy, not only do you

(03:27):
have now a leadership rolebecause the operations is 100%
leadership, something that youguys do very well at Ace Ren to
Own, you got Black Friday comingup.
We're entering the holidayseason full steam.
We're almost a few days awayfrom Black Friday.
We'll talk about that a littlebit too.
And uh at the end, I just I justwant you guys to know we're
gonna do a quick round ofquestions just to find out

(03:47):
what's behind Ben's hood.
We're gonna find out what'sgoing on over there in the new
COO.
So listen, I want to talk to youfirst about in the beginning.
How is it being asecond-generation rent-owned,
you know, COO behind somebodylike your father Lynn Leach?

SPEAKER_00 (04:04):
Well, I'll tell you that it's equal parts great and
equal parts nerve-wracking,right?
Like I learned from one of thebest um and and spent my whole
life growing up around him inand outside of the business.
Um, but alongside that comeswith replicating what he's done
and carrying that torch forwardand continuing to grow the
business like he grew it andtreat employees the way that he

(04:25):
treated them and treat clientsthe way that he treated them.
And you know, the the bar hasbeen set really high.
Uh, but the good news is Ilearned from the one that set
the bar high.
So, you know, it comes with bothboth sides of that.

SPEAKER_02 (04:37):
So when you're doing this, because this is what I
want to know, right?
Because you're right.
Lynn's been able to come in,he's got his take on it, right?
He comes from when when his youknow, when his father helped him
out, he gets into this.
He's been doing this a longtime.
Now comes Ben.

Now here's the question (04:50):
what is your mark when you're starting
to do this, right?
And you have this bar, you knowwhat dad does, you you've seen
it in action.
Where is the mark that Benleaves?
What is it that Ben wants tolike, hey, I'm here, and this is
what you can expect from Ben, orlet me say the COO, Ben, versus
what you've been there.
Like it's it's gonna beobviously you want it to be the

(05:11):
great, you know, what whatyou've had.
It's been good, you know, we'regonna take care of you.
There's that loyalty, there's acamaraderie, there's
collaborations together as youand the people together.
But where is that, Mark?
Where's Ben gonna be a littlebit different than dad?

SPEAKER_00 (05:24):
Well, I think not necessarily different, but one
thing that I'm highly focusedon, uh, have been since I came
back, is making sure I mean it'sit's the the core to our mission
statement, which is basicallytreat the employees right so
that they in turn will treatyour customers or your clients
correctly uh and they'll return,you know, and in both sides of

(05:45):
that, treat your employees sowell that they love working for
you uh and they want to stay foryears and years, and then in
turn they will treat yourclients so well that they want
to, you know, keep doingbusiness with you for years and
years.
And that is always the questionthat I try to ask myself is are
we doing the right thing for theemployees?
And and you know, are we givingthem the tools that allow them
to do the right things for theclients?

(06:06):
Um, so as far as what I've sortof, you know, hopefully shared
with employees that that they uhwould tell you the same thing is
that I listen to them and I wantto make sure that anything that
we can change that empowers themto do better for our clients and
to have that work-life balancethat everybody talks about, um,
well, we still get stuff done atwork, but let them, you know,
empower their families and dowhat they want to do at home,

(06:28):
that the rest will take care ofitself.
Obviously, we have to focus onrevenues and collections and
sales and you know, all thatstuff is is important to making
sure the business grows, but youcan't do any of that if you
don't have employees that carryyour mission forward.

SPEAKER_02 (06:43):
Well, you're carrying this mission forward.
Now I gotta ask, what was itlike growing up in the family
with the rent to own?
I mean, do you have stories oflike running around a store in
the beginning and kind of makingsure you didn't drop over the
lamps and stuff like that?
I mean, how was it back then?
How did it work?
How was how is growing up in afamily that meant so much to the
RTO space now?

SPEAKER_00 (07:03):
Yeah, I mean, it there's so many stories that I
could tell you about it, but I'mI think the thing that some of
the employees that have beenwith us for a long time remember
are opening up new stores.
You know, I would be the storyis that I was, you know, eight
years old or maybe younger whenI was first building coffee ends
as we opened up, you know, gotready to open up a new store and

(07:23):
and going to stores with myparents.
And, you know, while I wasthere, if I had told them I was
bored, I would get handed abottle of Windex and a paper
towel ring and like, okay, well,you know, go go do some
cleaning.
So I was always in the businesssince I can ever remember, you
know, and then eventually gotadded to the payroll when I was
16 and could drive to work andyou know, go out and visit

(07:44):
clients and and do all thatstuff.
So I formally joined thebusiness when I was 16 and could
get there myself, but I wasdoing stuff for the company long
before that.

SPEAKER_02 (07:52):
So you know, when I was young, right?
I first started my first jobwhen I was 16.
And the first the one thing thatthat manager told me that I will
never forget, my first job wasat Burger King.
And I walked in, and like fiveminutes into it, she was like,
Yeah, I just want you to know.
If you have time to lean, yougot time to clean.
And I was like, what does thatmean?
Let me show you.

(08:13):
So, you know, putting togetherthings.
I mean, how many?
I just want to ask a sidequestion.
How many Allah renters did youend up with in your lifetime?

SPEAKER_00 (08:21):
Oh boy.

SPEAKER_01 (08:22):
Uh dude, I used to come home with those things in
my pockets and everything,putting tables together, and all
of a sudden I got like 10 ofthem.
I'm like, what is this?
So what made you decide?

SPEAKER_02 (08:34):
You know, dad's in the business, you're running
around, you're building tables,you're kind of learning this
literally from bottom to top,from growth and everything.
But what made you decide youwanted to follow in those
footsteps?
I mean, just because you didthat didn't mean that you had
to, right?
You you at some point inside thehead had to say, you know what,
dad, myself, Ben, you know,like, hey, I think I want to do

(08:55):
this.
I think I want to go down thisroad, you know, and and kind of
be my own.
This is gonna be my career.
What made you decide that afterall this?

SPEAKER_00 (09:03):
Well, um, it was kind of a long decision, I'll
tell you that.
So when I graduated college, Iactually left the business and I
was gone for a little over 10years.
Um and traitor.
You're a traitor, you left us.
The whole time I was gone, therewas, you know, when I left, I
didn't have intentions not toreturn, and I didn't have
intentions to return.
I didn't know what I was goingto do, but I knew that I wanted

(09:25):
to go out and see what else wasout there and and sort of make
my own way in the world.
I didn't want to just have Acebe, you know, it was my first
job at 16, and I didn't wantthat to be my whole career
without ever seeing anythingelse.
Um and I'm very glad that Ileft.
And likewise, I'm I'm even moreglad that I returned.
So along along the way, I hadalways kind of thought as I got,

(09:47):
you know, as the years went bythat I was outside of the
company, that thought was alwaysin the back of my mind, should I
go back, uh, and what would thatlook like?
Um, you know, going back.
And so we started to, you know,have more serious conversations
probably around three years agoabout me returning back to the
company and what that would looklike.
And I was able to bring backwhat I learned from leaving the

(10:58):
company.
Most of the time that I wasgone, you could summarize to
that I was in the the softwarespace.
I was recruiting softwaredevelopers, my first job out of
college for about three or fouryears.
Um, and then I sold software andthen supported the software and
took over, you know, managing ateam of coaches for software.
And so I I came back with thatexperience of what software

(11:20):
looks like in the workplace, andI for a while even coached
construction business owners howto make software run their
businesses better.
So I got a lot of experience inboth how to run a business from
you know being the kid on theother side of the phone teaching
this 50-year-old contractorthat's been running a business
forever how he can make hisbusiness better.

(11:40):
Just using the software.

SPEAKER_01 (11:41):
Are we gonna have like a meta are we gonna have
like a meta X RTO now?
Because you have all this uhsoftware ideas and building and
stuff.

SPEAKER_00 (11:48):
What's gonna happen to these?
No, I can tell you I haven'treally brought too much software
into the company.
I have, you know, leaned furtherinto the software that we
already have.
You know, let's use emails alittle bit more than phone calls
and let's uh let's use Excel tomanage some, you know, some

(12:53):
projections of the business andthings like that.
You know, that that was alreadyhappening when I came back, but
I think I've helped the companylean into what we can do to just
work faster and smarter while wework harder.
You know, that's not going awayanytime.
But yeah, um all that experienceI came back with, and I worked
for a giant internationalcompany, and then I worked for
a, you know, it you could say astartup.

(13:15):
It was around 300 employees whenI started, and when I left, it
was well over a thousand.
So I watched that companycompletely boom and grow so fast
that it, you know, that thosepain struggles of growth uh gave
me some insight too to bringback to the company.
So all those things together iswhy I'm glad that I left, but
I'm so glad to be back and workwith people that I worked with

(13:35):
when I was here before.
I mean, a lot of those employeesare still around and catching up
with them over the last coupleof years that I've been back.
Um, and then, you know, figuringout, like you said, what can I
do to make my mark and how do Icarry the torch forward to make
sure that Ace Rent to Own keepsgrowing the way that it has uh
under my dad's leadership?

SPEAKER_02 (13:54):
I'll tell you what.
Um it sounds it you are part ofa very select group.
There is a second generationcoming up through the ranks, and
we're gonna talk about that alittle bit later.
But I mean, you have the abilityto not only have this core value
that's come with you for so manyyears, but as dad comes and
takes a little bit of a stepback and you have that ability

(14:15):
to step forward.
I mean, uh one thing I've alwayssaid about Rentone, I love
Rentone, I love it to my core.
We always seem to be on the backend of the bell curve when it
comes to forward thinking ontechnology and some of the
things that we're doing.
I just think that we should havemaybe a little bit better
software, a little bit betterintegrated internet.
Uh uh as far as like, you know,how our our essence is online, I

(14:37):
think we could just do betterthan that.
And I think with you and youknow, the Chris Krail Jr.
and the Mike Tissetts and youknow um Gary Fairman's son, I
think you guys are gonna usherthat in.
I'd love to see that.
We'll talk about it a little bitmore, but as you're doing it,
you're seeing this, and then youget to go out, you get you get
to spend 10 years away, which isawesome because I I really do

(14:58):
believe that being away, youalso get to look back
reflectively and go, it's thisis good or this is not good, or
I want to change that, or thiscould be better, or you know
what, I really missed thatbecause this was like amazing
and I'm not getting thatsomewhere else, which is usually
the relationship piece.
But like what's some of thelessons that you learned growing
up to like that 16-year-old Markand then the Ben who ends up

(15:19):
leaving home and going out for10 years?
What's some of that you know,you you look at it from 10
years, that 10 years thing andgo, you know what?
This was something that Imissed.
This was something that wasgreat that we did as a family
that we did as Ace Rent to ownthat I'm not seeing here.

SPEAKER_00 (15:34):
I'll tell you, I think one of the things that I
missed the most, I enjoyed, youknow, the thrill of climbing a
corporate ladder.
Um, but along with that comesall the politics of, you know,
making sure that you have theright friends in the right areas
and making the right bets on whoyou should, you know, network
with within the company.
And like there's all that nuancethat just is, you know, it's

(15:59):
thrilling, but it's also a wasteof time.
Um, and at a family business andat a smaller business, you s you
always have some of that, butit's not the same.
You know, you you know who theleaders of the company are, you
know them personally.
And so I, you know, now beingone of the leaders of the
company, enjoy meeting withthose employees and figuring out
what their goals are.

(16:19):
Some of their goals are I wantto be an assistant manager,
right?
Like I don't really want to runa store.
I like making sales, I likedoing collections, but I don't
want the rest of it.
Some of them, day one, they'resaying, How fast can I get into
management?
When can I take over my ownstore?
And, you know, the managers,some of them are happy, some of
them want to become districtmanagers, some of the district
managers want to know, well,what's next?
What positions are gettingcreated in the company that I

(16:41):
could take over that don't existyet?
And I think that is what Ireally missed.
And alongside of that, the therelationship with the customers.
I had it deeply when I was inthe store full time before I
left the company.
But even though those customersare still around, right?
When I go back to the store thatI worked at all through college,
um, a lot of the same names areon those lists of, you know, the

(17:03):
the potential leads and and thecollection report.
And like it a lot of those namesstill uh you know go down memory
lane for me.
And you just don't get that in abig corporate world.
You don't have the 30-yearemployee that, you know, some of
them I've known for probably mywhole life, right?
Like they watched me buildcoffee and sets at eight years

(17:24):
old.
Um, and so you just don't thatfull family feel, you know, we
we call it the ace rent-townfamily, and I that's not unique
to us in the rent-to-owned spacebecause we are such a tight-knit
group, um, both within our owncompanies, like every company
that I meet with at RTO World,meeting of the minds, et cetera,
they all have that same feelwhere their their employee base

(17:47):
is their family.
And then when you go to RTOWorld and you go and you you
talk to other trib vendors andyou talk to people in April,
that's another family.
And and we were able to bring alot more people to RTO World
this year because it was inOmaha, it was in our backyard.
And so watching some of thosedistrict managers and store
managers see that widenedperspective in their eyes for

(18:08):
the first time of like, oh mygod, like there's so many people
that do the same things that wedo, and they have the same
problems we have, and it's it'sit's all like we're all in it
together and we're all rowingthe same boat.

SPEAKER_01 (18:19):
Ben, you get to go to this every day and all the
time, and I miss this.
You didn't take me.

SPEAKER_02 (18:23):
No, yeah, I I I would tell you, when I first
went, it opened my eyes to awhole different side.
I had been it for many, manyyears, and I had I really had no
idea who April was.
I had no idea who Tripp was, Ihad no idea who all these people
were.
And like, I my buy-in really didcome in the first time I went.
And I was just like, oh my God,who are these people?
What's going on?

(18:44):
Like that guy is like, he knowseverybody, and he and who is
this?
And you know, I gotta say, thefirst one of the first people
that I did meet meet was wasMike Tissett.
If I don't tell you anythingabout how everything else
followed that.
Um hard act to follow, but itwas great to meet him first.
But it was just one of thosethings, you know.
Um, and I remember my first hotshow, and your dad was up there,
you know, so so and I was justlike, man, I missed all this.

(19:05):
You know, it's it's gotta begreat, you know, to be in the
position you are now to bringthose people to that and kind of
pull them forward and show themwhat you get to, you know, see
and be a part of now.
In the within that 10 yearsthough, you know, flipping in a
little bit, within that 10years, you know that you grew up
in rent to own, you know thepositivity and all the
relationships and all the peoplethat you've built and seen and

(19:27):
grown with during that timeframe.
Did you also get to see thatmoniker that sometimes people
feel rent-to-owned in in in itsmany different ways?
It's like, you know, but that'srent-to-owned.
It's you know, it's like youdon't know anything about rent
to own, but they they have thisnegative idea about it because
they feel like, you know, it'snot credit-based.
That's not the transaction thatwe like.
Did you see any of that in your10 years out?

SPEAKER_00 (19:48):
Yeah, I did.
Um, no, I don't I didn't talk toa lot of people about
rent-to-owned while I was gone.
It just didn't come up.
Uh, but for sure that you know,when when they found out who my
dad was and they're like, oh,well, I've seen him in
commercials.
I, you know, I see your guys' uhbusinesses or stores all around.
Uh, and it would come up then,right?
And and that is something that Ithink that for you know, me and

(20:09):
and the rest of secondgeneration folks and anybody
that's in the business today,it's the same struggle that
we're fighting that my parentsfought before me and and
everybody else, you know, thatthat started the industry fought
before me is that rent to ownhas this connotation of, oh,
well, you know, it's it's smallpayments, but they pay way more
for it along the way.
And they don't know all thethings that we do where we're

(20:31):
servicing that stuff, we'regiving free delivery, we're
letting clients switch stuff outif either they need to step down
into a cheaper product becausethey you know lost a job or had
a new baby in the family andthey can't afford what they
could afford before.
Or the more exciting flip ofthat coin is I've had a 50-inch
TV and now I want to upgrade itto a 98-inch TV.
Exactly.
You can do that in our industry,and you can't do that anywhere

(20:53):
else.
And it, you know, service issuesare never fun, but we treat
clients way better than if Icalled, you know, Best Buy and
said my my washer and dryer wentout that I bought from you a
year ago.
They're gonna say, Well, here'sa 1-800 number to Whirlpool, you
know.
Good luck.
I wish you all the best.

SPEAKER_01 (21:10):
I'm sorry to hear that, Ben.
You're gonna have to figure thatone out.
And we also sell new ones.
So if you if Whirlpool can'ttake care of you, we are still
selling washers.
If you don't need service, youneed another expensive set.

SPEAKER_02 (21:21):
That's what you need.
Hi, I'm Pete Chow.
You may know me from the R2 Showpodcast, but today I'm doing
something a little bitdifferent.
Apro and Wow Brands havelaunched a special project to
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They've asked me to sit downwith some of the true legends of
Red To Own, capture theirstories, their impact, and their
vision for the future.
And now, I get to share thoseconversations with you.

(21:44):
Right from the legendsthemselves.
Also, something groundbreaking.
A new book.
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Brand Studio by Graft.
The book explores the grassrootsof RTO, the advocacy that is
defined, and the future thatwe're building together.

(22:04):
Here's where you come.
We're giving away free copiesonce the book is released.
Just head over tortorevolution.com and sign up
for a chance to receive a copyin early 2026.
Don't miss the chance to beamong the first to hold this
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That's rtoorevolution.com.
Check it out and become a partof RTO History.
So I gotta know.

(22:26):
You're 16, they officially putyou on.
So you're not gonna ask me to dobeforehand because we know that
you could put some tablestogether.
I just wonder if everyone Benwalks into the showroom members
like, get the tables good.
He knows how to do that.
Um no, but like as as as youturn 16 and you get that first
job, what was your what was thefirst job?

SPEAKER_00 (22:42):
Uh I was what we called at the time a rental
clerk, you know, customerservice associate, uh delivery
driver, hybrid, like what itbasically do whatever the store
needs to be done.
But most of that is, you know,it was still clean that washer
that came back, clean thatrefrigerator, go, you know,
knock on some doors for thecollections managers so that

(23:02):
they can make phone calls, do adelivery, you know, a little bit
of everything, but it was whatit was the behind the scenes
work that kept that keeps thestores running.
Um, and it wasn't it reallywasn't until I was, gosh, I
don't remember now.
Maybe I was in high school, butI think I was in college when I
first stepped into more of anaccount manager role and took on

(23:23):
like, okay, I'm gonna have myown route of clients and I'm
gonna make my own sales and I'mgonna go up through the
management training program justlike everybody else does.
Um, you know, but I had thebenefit of working in the store
for my entire life before Ijoined all of that.
So I saw people doing that workfor you know 10 years while I
was a little kid before I was 16and and you know started to do

(23:45):
it all for myself.
Um but I'm glad that I did thatand and came up through the
company so that I know, youknow, when I talk to an account
manager, I know their strugglesvery well.
I've had the same struggles, andI I'll still call a past to a
client, I'll still go knock on adoor, I'll, you know, whatever
we need to do to to all row theboat together.
Um, and I think that's what'simportant to employees, and it's

(24:05):
important to clients that it'snot just oh, well, who's the
owner of this place?
I don't know.
I think it's this guy that I'venever talked to, I've never met.
Like, you know, they they allknow us, both the clients and
the employees, you know, there'sno there's no secrets anywhere.

SPEAKER_01 (24:18):
So yeah, this 16-year-old kid, he's like a
10-year vet.
He knows the business betterthan we all do.

SPEAKER_00 (24:25):
I will say I think that was a unique struggle.
You know, if you're a 16,18-year-old kid that's knocking
on somebody's door saying, hey,you owe$152 for your past due
washer dryer, hearing that outof the lips of a 16-year-old,
you know, it's it's a little bitdifferent.
And that was a struggle to getpeople to take me seriously when
I'm knocking on their door ortrying to sell a washer dryer in

(24:47):
the store.
You know, do you even know whatyou're doing?
You're just a young kid, andit's like, well, yeah, you know,
I've I've been around a littlebit.

SPEAKER_01 (24:54):
I I really know what I'm doing.
I might have more experience inmy business than you do.

SPEAKER_02 (24:58):
So talking about that or the early memories, and
because I mean, how valuable isthat to really learn as you're
growing through the business, tobe a part of it and to really
see this upfront and personal asyou're growing, as you're
grinning.
You know, I mean, a lot ofpeople I my first job was at 16.
I think you know, you're havingyour job earlier and then and
being able to be a part of thefamily, but that's gotta give

(25:20):
you a leg up like nobody'sbusiness.
And it's great to see thatyou've made it, you you've come
back and put all of thisexperience to good use.
Tell me, what's something Igotta know?
What's something you have at 16?
You already got years ofexperience.
You're gonna be there for alittle while longer, then you go
out to college.
But what's something thathappened in those early years
that you're like, man, that wasan experience that helped kind

(25:41):
of shape me, guide me.
Somebody said something to you,and you're like, that never left
me.
Like, what what's something thatyou would say, God, that was a
good moment, that was a goodpart, a good memory?

SPEAKER_00 (25:50):
Um well, I think it was the the I the the saddest I
was to leave was to leave theclients.
Like I had great employees thatI had worked with forever, but
everybody has that in every job,like a best friend, coworker,
that kind of stuff.
So I was sad to leave thosepeople when I left the business,
but I was even more sad to leavethe clients because it's people

(26:11):
that I had worked with for yearsand and saw them grow their
families and saw them, you know,get married or move into a house
out of an apartment for thefirst time, and you know,
struggled with them the timethat they lost their job.
And how do we keep this stuff inyour house and you know keep
keep you moving forward with usto where you're not you know
having to return things?
So, how do we do that?
And so it it's so unique to therent-to-own space that we are

(26:34):
salespeople, we're collectionsmanagers, we're all these
things, but we're deeplyingrained in their lives because
we they're with us for years,and so we see all these growth
moments that happen in theirlives and we're with them for
it.
And so to then leave and go likeout on my own path, that was the
sad part is to leave them andlike you know, I won't be there
for the next kid or the youknow, whatever whatever's next

(26:57):
in their life, and that was sadfor me.
And it's the thing that's that'sthe most powerful part of art
rent to own.
I I think probably everybodyshares that opinion somewhere
along, you know, in their topthree.
Um, but how much we help ourcustomers, and to go back to
your point, rent to own has thisperception of like, oh, well,

(27:18):
you're just there to takeadvantage of your clients.
No, quite the opposite.
Like to I mentioned service,we're there for that, but we're
there when they lose their joband then they can't pay.
A credit card company is notdoing that.
They're saying, well, you eitherpay the minimum balance or you
don't, and believe me, you don'twant to do the you know, option.
You don't want to miss you don'twant to miss that bill, you
know.
And so that that part of how wehelp clients is what people

(27:41):
don't see out of rent to ownthat have never, you know, been
a client, never worked in theindustry.
Um, and it's what it's themillion-dollar question for all
of us.
How do we get the person thatmaybe is thinking about using
rent to own for the first timeor has a credit card that's dang
near maxed out, but they don'teven look at rent to own as an
option because it uh well, Idon't do that.

(28:02):
Like I I'll go to Best Buy andmax out my credit card, but I'm
not gonna go to rent to ownbecause I won't get a good deal
there.
And how do we get them tounderstand that that's just so
far from the truth?
Um, that you know, comeexperience what we have, and if
you don't like it, return it.
And then, you know, you'reyou're out, you're not in debt
at all, so return it when youwant.

(28:23):
Uh, if if we don't treat youright, you can leave at any
time.
And I think that's somethingthat we we the next generation
and just everybody in theindustry, how do we get that
perception that people areexcited to go, you know, use
rent owned for the first timeand then see all the benefits of
it once they're in the door.

SPEAKER_02 (28:42):
Absolutely.
You know, I have a lot of peoplethat have been on the show, but
there's one person that standsout to me.
Uh Jason Winters does operationsa lot.
You know, he's he's a rat guy,he's done a long time.
And one of the things that hesaid was, you know, you don't
perform, you get fired.
And I've had other people saythat too.
You don't treat your clientright, they can fire you.
They can go somewhere else.
They can hire somebody else.

(29:02):
Treat them right, give them theright relationship, give them
the right respect.
I love that you call themclients.
I really do.
I got to get better at that.
You you're you're teaching mehere, man.
I need to learn this.
What's your favorite part aboutrental?
Is it is it relationships?
Is it helping customers?
Because you say a lot abouthelping customers, and it seems
like that's a passion of yourscoming out of you when you say,
you know, we we provide thatservice, we help them when

(29:23):
things get bad.
I know these people.
Actually, I got to cut off justone second.
What is one of your favoritecustomers' names that you
remember?

SPEAKER_00 (29:29):
Oh God, that's a really good question.
Uh, I would tell you that it'sprobably Donna Reichschneider.

SPEAKER_01 (29:35):
Um, I worked for Donna, if you're if you're
watching this, Ben remembersyou.
Okay, I'm just for years andyears.

SPEAKER_00 (29:41):
She was one of the only clients that I, you know,
that we were Facebook friends,and I was Facebook friends with
her daughter, who was also aclient of ours.
And, you know, it I just alwaysgot along deeply with her.
But there's other clients that,you know, were were more of the
always have a unique struggleand and always were maxed out at
how many accounts we would letthem hold, and then would have

(30:01):
struggles of like, oh well,bills are short this month, and
therefore bill was one of thehighest weekly, you know, totals
that we had in the store.
And so I'll go sit at a dinettewith one of them and let's get
all your agreements out on thetable here and figure out what
can we swap, what can we put onhold, what can we, you know, and
and being that deeply ingrained.
But um, yeah, I I I have a listof of clients, and then that's

(30:23):
growing too as I go to storesthat you know, just just to pop
in and talk to the team there.
And I've met some of thoseclients now in in out outside
markets that I never reallyworked in when I was at the
company before.
Now that list of clients isgrowing that you know, I know
their names, and and when theycome in, they're excited to see
that I'm there.
You know, it's it's that'sreally fun.

SPEAKER_02 (30:43):
Uh, it's it's Donna, Donna, we haven't forgotten
about you.
We haven't forgotten.
So getting back to it, is it isit the relationship building?
Is it helping customers?
Is it problem solving?
What is it that kind of reallydraws your attention?
What's your favorite part ofwhat you do on a daily basis?
Because operations, you have youwear a lot of hats, but what is
your favorite part?

SPEAKER_00 (31:03):
Well, I think it's I think it's dealing with the
clients and and building thoserelationships.
But to that point, unique to ourindustry, working with clients
and and building thatrelationship with them is mostly
problem solving.
Whether it's problem solving,you know, is it the right time
for me to get a washer dryer?
I don't know if I'll be able toafford it, or hey, I my my child

(31:24):
just had surgery and now I don'tknow what to do because my bills
are really all my bills arestacking up, and I have these
hospital bills that I don't knowif I can afford, you know, the
bunk bed and the washer dryerand the refrigerator, and you're
sitting there looking at thelist of stuff that they have
with you, going, none of theseare wants.
Every single one of these thingson their list is a need.
And so how do I solve theproblem to keep all this stuff

(31:47):
in their house?
I don't, I cannot let the answerbe, okay, you just had a really
hard, you know, your your kidjust got diagnosed with cancer,
and so you have all thesesurgeries, and I need to be the
guy that's not saying, Well, I'mgonna have my delivery crew come
out there and pick up that washor dryer and take it out of your
house.
And now I'm gonna make your lifeworse because you don't have a

(32:08):
wash or dryer and you have allthese family problems that are
stacking up against you.
I'm gonna be the guy that says,We'll figure it out.
I don't we'll have we'll redothe terms, we'll swatch out,
we'll swap out your washerdryer, we'll do something, but I
promise you that when you gethome from the hospital every
night, you're gonna have a spotto wash your clothes and get
ready for the next day.
Like that it's problem solvingin a way that is so unique to

(32:31):
rent to own because there's justnot that many industries that
can help people with that deepof issues in their life and and
go, okay, that guy was actuallythere for me.
And then in turn, when they'reat a barbecue with their friends
and somebody says, My washerdryer just went out, I don't
know what I'm gonna do, I can'tafford to go get one.
Who's the first name thatthey're gonna say?

(32:52):
It's us, but that's thebyproduct of just treating
clients well.
That's not why we do it, but itis really fun when when that
client walks in and their sisterfor the first time and says,
Hey, I brought my sister in andI told her how awesome you are,
and then you know, there'sthere's that same bar that you
set so high, and you're like,Well, I better not let your
sister down because you justsaid all these good things about

(33:14):
me.

SPEAKER_01 (33:14):
How do I keep Ben's face off the center of the
dartboard?
Well, you gotta change your liftbar.
So, what would you say has beenthe biggest change?

SPEAKER_02 (33:23):
You had this tenure gap, you were there, you you you
spent a lot of time theregrowing up, and then you have
this tenure gap where you get toexperience life, do your own
thing, have all this otherexperience that kind of helps
build who you are, and then youcome back.
What would you say changed inthat time frame, in that 10 year
time frame from the beginning tonow?

SPEAKER_00 (33:41):
It's the fact.
That people don't walk in thedoor as often.
Um, when I left, we weren'tdoing a whole bunch of sales
calls and cold calling.
I mean, it was a lot of peoplethat just walked through the
door and were pointing at thingsof I want this, this, and this.
And that was great.
That's really easy to sell.
If somebody comes in and says, Iwould like one washer dryer,

(34:01):
please, you know, you betterclose that sale because they
just walked in and told you whatthey want.
But that's not happening as muchanymore.
It definitely still does, andit's because of the
relationships that we have withclients that they want to come
in and pay their bill in personinstead of pay it online or pay
it over the phone.
You know, those clients arestill coming in that have been
with us for years.

(34:21):
But how do we get the clientsthat are sitting on their couch
at night, their washer justdidn't run a load of laundry or
something, and so they submit alead online.
We've never met them.
How do I close that deal whereit's not as simple as, okay, I'm
I'm online, I'm gonna add mycredit card and it's gonna show
up on my doorstep tomorrow.
How do we replicate thatexperience in the rent-to-own

(34:43):
industry?
Is is one of the other milliondollar problems to solve.
And I'll tell you, it's the it'sthe biggest thing that I'm
trying to grab a hold of ofsince coming back of how do we
step into the new age?
Clients aren't coming to usanymore, so how do we come to
them?
And how do we get those onlineclients that want that white
glove experience of well, I'mjust gonna click some buttons on

(35:03):
my phone, and then a sofa loveis just gonna be in my living
room.
Like you'll you'll bring it tome.
How do we close that gapcompared to people walking
through the door and pointingout things that they want?
Um and in in that regard too.
I mean, when I left, we werestill doing handwritten paper
agreements.
It's like doing all the math andwriting it, and you had the
carbon copies of here's youryellow sheet, I keep the pink

(35:24):
one, you know.
Like that that was differentcoming back.
We have digital agreements, nowthe computer does all the work
for you.
I can email you your contractand never have to see you.
You sign it without me beingthere.
Like that's a that's adifference, but it's a good
difference because it would beso much harder to solve that
problem of clients don't swingthrough the door anymore.
If I have to handwrite anagreement and bring it out to

(35:45):
you to sign it with a pen,that's gonna slow me down way
more than anything else.
So, you know, it we definitelyneeded it, but seeing technology
come into the rent-to-own spaceeven more than I left now
empowers us to be able to uh,you know, find those clients
that aren't walking through thedoor and pointing out six things
they want.

SPEAKER_01 (36:04):
You know, it's crazy, Ben.
You just stepped back in a timeportal.
You don't look old enough to besaving those things, man.
You just dated me a little bit.
You know, you go back, you gotlike the triple carbon copies
and stuff.

SPEAKER_02 (36:13):
But uh it's great that you were able to be a part
of that so that you can see thatdifference.
You know, seeing thosedifferences and having that
tenure gap and and just seeinghow we've come along and
obviously you want to take it alittle bit further, which I
really do.
I call it the Amazon effect.
Everybody's gotten to the Amazoneffect.
They want to get on their phone,boop, hit it, and I want it here
in a couple of minutes, youknow.
I mean, you can literally get itthe same day, and you're like

(36:34):
between like 8 a.m.
and 5 a.m.
Like, oh my god, or 8 p.m.
and 5 a.m.
Like, who does that?
But then it ends up at yourdoor, and you're like, yeah, I
like that.
We we're we're we've got a lotof we got a lot to do.
But like, so how did you preparefor this COO role?
Now that you've got all thisexperience and you're seeing the
differences, you've seen whatyou want to bring to the table,
how did you prepare for thiswhen you know, and I would
imagine that there was a therewas a seating, everybody sat

(36:57):
down and said, hey, we're gonnapoint at that guy and make him
the COO, and now he's got to doit.
So how did that how did thathappen?
How did you prepare for it?
And what do you think you'vedone to prepare yourself even
before that?
That they came to you and said,Ben, we think you're the you're
the right guy.

SPEAKER_00 (37:12):
I think that there's two ways that I'll answer that.
One of the ways that I continueto prepare for it is, you know,
read, listen to podcasts, um,you know, go watch you know, uh
YouTube videos or you know, ofof people doing in it in
different industries, uh peoplethat are are you know operating

(37:32):
the same way, or how do youclean up operations, or how do
you fix what's not working, howdo you relate to people?
Like it it I try to read moreand more every day and find time
for that, which is incrediblyhard.
As far as inside the business,how did I get ready for the
role?
Some of it was when I was comingback, we kind of were starting
to talk about what stair stepsdo we want, what will this look

(37:53):
like when I come back to thecompany.
And when I came back, I was theregional manager, is is the
title that uh I had.
And basically that was sittingjust above the district managers
to help them run theirdistricts.
And and a lot of that hasn'tchanged.
I'll tell you one of the biggeststruggles I've had since trying
to step out of that and be atcorporate more and do more

(38:15):
planning for what we need tochange and bring in new ideas
and and different ways of doingthings.
Finding the time to do that andstep out of stores has been hard
because I mean, I've talkedabout it a lot this whole time
that you and I have beenspeaking.
I love the clients and I love,you know, the employees and and
rolling up your sleeves andbeing with them and doing that.
That's something that I miss asI step more into the corporate

(38:37):
leadership, you know, side ofthe business.
Um, but coming back, that was mymain goal for the first two
years is go out to the stores,meet all the employees and and
kind of do all the jobs again,get that 10 years of dust
knocked off.
That uh, you know, what what iscollections like in some of that
was different.
Like when I left, we were doingpaper chase cards, you know, you

(38:59):
would write down the date andphone number, voicemail, right?
Like, but now we have a computerthat does all that.
So um, you know, learning thenew way that we're doing all the
same things that we've beendoing for years and years, um,
but meeting all the employees.
And I think that was reallyimportant to go out and so that
it wasn't just, oh, this kidcame back, yeah.
His last name matches the onethat leads the company, and so

(39:21):
he's just gonna come back andrun it.
And who is this guy?
And I don't think I want to workfor this kid that, you know,
just stepping into the role.
And so that was the biggest leadup to it is making sure that
employees trusted me and knewthat I was gonna do what was
right for them, um, and andstill do that today and now step
out of it a little bit more.
I still go to stores, you know,not quite every day, but I it's

(39:44):
hard for me not to go to one.
Um and also do annual reviewswith employees, and we have a
management and training programthat I handle the final test
when they're testing out of theprogram to become what we call
an associate manager, who's justbasically then waiting in the
pipeline for uh the next storemanager role if that's what they
want to take.
Um, and I really enjoy going outand doing those things.

(40:06):
And I'm pretty data-driven.
I have a lot of spreadsheetsthat I track and try to project
where we're going and uh youknow what we how we are tracking
this year versus last year andwhatnot.
And so stepping into thoseannual reviews with store
managers and with associatemanagers and just showing them
all the data and showing themhere's where you've come and how
do we grow from here and how dowe make it better?

(40:28):
Maybe you're you need to improvethe store's not doing well, so
how do we do that?
Or me more asking them, like,okay, you're one of the best
stores we have, you tell me howyou're doing it.
Like, I see the numbers on thesheet, but how are you doing
this?
I need to take this, bottle itup, and take it to the next
store.
And that's been probably fun forme as I I step more on that side
of things and less on the youknow, selling Mrs.

(40:50):
Smith old watch or dryer in thestore.

SPEAKER_02 (40:52):
It's gotta be crazy when you start talking to
somebody and they're like, youknow, this guy's the new guy in
the room.
You're like, look, I was doingthis in my diapers, okay?
You need to calm down.
Talking about, you know, gettinginto all this and all the
tradition, all the stuff thatyou've you've done and going to
do, I love it.
I love the nuance.
I love bringing the technologyinto it because one of the big

(41:13):
things that the technologybrings is the advent of
information like we've never hadbefore.
It was just so hard to gatherthat information as it used to
be versus it is now.
You can kind of consolidate, putit all together and go, I can
show you trends from the lastthree years, I can show you when
you sell more, when you sellless, what products are sticking
longer than you might think thatthey do now.
Oh, that doesn't sell, oh yeah,well, it's it's got a stick rate
of six months minimum versussomething that can come back in

(41:35):
every two weeks.
You know, the COD affectsthings, the longevity of it
affects things, what's thepayout rate on these things?
Well, let's figure it out.
All those things really make adifference.
So it's it's it's really awesometo to hear about all that.
But now that we go into thisThanksgiving era, now we're here
in that month, what's Ace doing?
What's what is Ben doing andwhat's Ace doing for the Black
Friday holidays?

(41:56):
What's your sales pitch on allthis?

SPEAKER_00 (41:57):
We did two new things this year um that I I
won't take credit for thementirely, but they were I helped
carry him across the finish lineto to say, I let's try it.
Uh I've been working with MikeTissett a lot as I've been you
know stepping into this role andsince I've been back, and you
he's a guy that you can't talkto enough.

(42:18):
You can't learn enough from himin the conversation you have.
Um and one of the things that hesaid uh one of the last times I
I talked to him was, you know,one of the questions that people
ask themselves is, oh well, thewhat if you know, what if
somebody pawns that?
What if we step into the jewelryspace and they steal it or they
pawn it or they like what if allthese bad things happen?

(42:38):
And since I had that lastconversation with him, the
question that he asks at the endof all that is what if it works?
What if what if it works?
Like what what if it's one ofyour new core business?
You know, what what if jewelrybecomes one of the things that
you go, how did we ever not dothat?
And for Ace, they made thedecision before I came back.
But I think one of the thingsfor us that is that what if it

(42:58):
worked moment was tires.
You know, it was okay, well,what tires are scary, we're not
gonna get into it.
How do you repo tires?
And then it worked.
And tires is a huge piece of ourbusiness.
And what if we wouldn't havedone it because it worked so
well?
Um, so to get back to yourquestion, what are we doing this
this Black Friday?
The two new things that we did,one of which was seven months

(43:19):
same as cash that we used tooffer on Black Friday for
anything in in the building.
This year, you look at Target,you look at Walmart, you look at
these big you know box stores,their Black Friday doesn't look
like Black Friday anymore.
It's Black November.
Like it's the whole month long,and they're doing this sale
these years.

SPEAKER_01 (43:38):
That's so true.

SPEAKER_00 (43:39):
Uh and so we did seven months same as cash all
month long.
There's no the the onlyparameter we had was a there was
a bottom dollar to it, but itwas way lower than it typically
is.
Um, and so everybody gets sevenmonths same as cash on
practically every agreement thatwe're writing this month.
The other thing that we did, howdo we keep a Black Friday?
Like, okay, so does that meanthat we're just leaning away
from Black Friday and we don'twant Friday and Saturday to be

(44:01):
one of the biggest weekends ofthe year?
So what we did is we brought ina 65-inch TV that we're gonna
make nothing on um and sell thatpractically at cost to our
client.
Um, so that we can we I mean, Ieven looked it up on what
Amazon's selling it for, they'reselling it for$150 more than us.
Um, and so that's our BlackFriday sale.

(44:23):
We won't make a dime on the TVsthat we sell, but that's what
you know I I I made the youknow, as we were having these
conversations between my dad andFrank, uh who's our chief
strategy officer, but we weretalking about it, and I I want
that experience to be where theygot the best deal that like they
got a better deal than theycould have if they would have

(44:44):
sat on their couch and orderedit from Amazon.
So I want that experience tothen be what carries them
forward and go, I got a reallygood deal on that.
I got a 65-inch TV for eightdollars and ninety-nine cents a
week.
Like I I paid it off for$409,right?
Like I can't get that dealanywhere else.
And so then the bet behind thatis when their refrigerator stops

(45:06):
making ice or stops cooling andthey come in to get us, they're
they know that they're gonna geta similar deal on that
refrigerator.
It's not gonna be a Black Fridayblowout where we sell it at
cost, but it's gonna be the samething.
They know that we want to takecare of them and have that
exciting special that getsclients to come in after
Thanksgiving and buy that TVbecause we're only available,

(45:28):
we're only making that TVavailable Friday and Saturday.
Um, if you don't get it thosedays, you're not getting it at
that price.

SPEAKER_02 (45:34):
So those are Ben, I just want you to know.
Let's see, the time now.
So I just want you to know Ilive in Florida, so you're gonna
have to deliver that TV becauseI'll be there to pick one up on
Saturday morning.
That's a great deal.
Don't forget to get it.

SPEAKER_01 (45:46):
Come on, that's not a great deal.
That's a great deal.

SPEAKER_00 (45:49):
It's gonna be a little higher, though.

SPEAKER_01 (45:52):
Pete, you're a couple states away.
You can expect it December.

SPEAKER_02 (45:56):
Uh hey everyone, it's Pete Chow here from the
Arts Go Show Podcast, and I wantto tell you about a company
that's making a real differencein the rent-owned space.
WoW Brands.
I've seen firsthand how theyapproach marketing.
Let me tell you, it's not justabout ads.
WoW Brands built a completedigital ecosystem designed

(46:16):
specifically for the rent-ownedindustry.
Their e-commerce and leadgeneration strategies are built
to bring qualified leaders.
Did I mention that they areactively working with the rent
owned industry while also beingmembers of April and Crib?
These folks are passionateproblem solving.
They don't just slap somethingtogether, they design, build,
and scale the kind of digitalretail tools your business

(46:37):
needs.
Your customers actually want.
So if you're serious aboutgrowing, reach out to Wild
Brands at WoWBrands.com.
I trust it, and I think you willtoo.
You know, we were going to talkabout that, and you you kind of
covered a whole a whole lot ofit.
I mean, yeah, there's a lot lessgoing on, I think, on the actual
day of.
You know, I we still call itBlack Friday for a lot of
different reasons, but I don't II think we started it uh the

(47:01):
same time as a lot of otherpeople, and they were like,
yeah, we can't save this all forone day.
Because I've seen the traffic onon that Friday, and I think it
came from that is like thetraffic on the cycle that we've
seen in the last few years isthat the Friday is not really
pulling in as much as we did.
It's really a month-long thing.
And honestly, it drags intoDecember because we we always
have to kind of like tweak itgoing into December, so it's not

(47:21):
the same thing.
But I mean, it it just doesn'tshow the same.
You know, it used to be the doorswings are crazy.
Now it's you know, what's comingup online?
And are you ready for the nextemail?
Are you ready for the next hitthat that you know that that
thing that we have to do isreally, and I don't want to say
sit around and waiting for itbecause we always gotta
advertise for it, but like wehave to be ready when the
internet, when that email goesoff and says, hey, you have a

(47:43):
lead here.
Somebody just post, you gottajump on it.
You've got to be able to takethem off the market right off
the bat.
I don't think it'll be that hardwith an 899 TV, but you know, I
can tell you right now, you gotyou probably got a foothold on
that one.
So that's awesome.
But you guys are doing this forthe month.
You have a great deal.
You you've obviously done someinventory planning and some

(48:03):
other things to make yourweekend very good as opposed to
the entire month as well.
What are some of the otherthings that because you know,
one thing that I noticed is thatAce is involved in the
community.
What are some of the communitythings that happen during the
holidays with Ace Rent Own?

SPEAKER_00 (48:17):
We do every year we do a uh wish list um so that
clients can say, like, you know,if if whatever whatever is a
need in their life.
So, you know, my my mother justhad surgery and so now she's
gonna need a mobility scooter orshe's gonna need a walker or a,
you know, like what's a needthat's in your life that that
you haven't figured out howyou're going to fulfill yet.

(48:40):
Um and so they're able to submitthose leads or those those uh
needs, uh I should say, uh orwants, and then we'll pick one
of those clients and give itaway um whatever it is that they
want us to order, even if it'ssomething we don't sell
typically, like a walker.
You know, we don't you you'renot coming in seeing a walker on
our show floors, but we'll goout and buy whatever it is that

(49:00):
you need and fulfill that youknow Christmas wish for our
clients.
And I think it's one thing thatI've thought of as we're coming
into this Christmas season andI'm more involved in that
planning.
How can we expand that to bewhere we can help more people
and touch more people's lives?
Um, because you know, pickingone is great.
What if we could pick 10?

(49:20):
You know, it starts to run intothe you know, the PTL still
matters, and you need to makesure that you're taking care of
the business and the clients allat the same time.
But expanding that on what canwe give back to the community uh
is really important.
And one thing that we do for ourstores and and continue to do
more, I try to empower storemanagers and and their staff.
You tell me, like, is there alittle league team that you want

(49:42):
to sponsor?
Is there a uh you know, acommunity event that you want to
get involved in, a donation thatyou want to make for somebody's
silent auction to help pay fortheir uncle's surgery?
Like, tell me what yourcommunity needs, and then we'll
see if we can make it happen.
And so that comes from in ourindustry, you know, we have
quite a few stores in the twometro areas in Nebraska, but we

(50:06):
serve small town communities.
That's the bulk of our businessof small town communities.
And so when you take care ofsomebody's neighbor in a small
town, it has a huge impact onthat community.
And I don't know what somebodyin McCoop, Nebraska needs unless
the staff out there tells me,hey, our client said that their
uncle just had surgery and nowthey're doing a fundraiser to

(50:27):
try to get you know thoseexpenses paid for.
I would never know that fromsitting in corporate in
Lincoln's.
So having the staff tell me,well, you tell me how we need to
get it back to your community,and then we'll do as much as we
can to make it happen.

SPEAKER_02 (50:39):
Is there going to be a Ben Clause riding around?
Are you gonna be riding aroundlike some kind of red Camaro
with a sack full of goodies?
Come on, tell me about it.
We can talk about that off air,I'm just saying.
So it, I mean, it sounds likeyou're very dialed into a lot of
what's going on in the communityand and what and uh and I love
those things.
Um, is there anything, anytraditional things that you do

(51:00):
for maybe the employees?
Is there something that theythey get out of this the
Christmas season?
Do we walk around with a sockfull of coal?
How does it work?

SPEAKER_00 (51:06):
Yeah, we do uh we do our Christmas party um right
around Christmas.
It's uh I think on the 20th thisyear.
Um and so we do that Christmasparty, and along with that, we
do giveaways at the Christmasparty.
So you show up, you get somedoor prizes that are, you know,
t-shirts and and little thingsthat they, you know, a polo to
wear to work every day, stuffthat people need and and want.
But we also do uh the big thingthat we've done for years and

(51:30):
years and years is my dad willdo the prices right.
Uh, and so we call up you knowemployees or spouses, everybody
puts their name in when theycome.
And so we draw out of a hat andsay who's gonna come up on
stage, and then we play theprices right, and we'll wheel a
65-inch TV or a you know a uhelectric scooter or like
something fun.
Um, we'll pull that up and do aprices right with it, closest to

(51:52):
retail, but not over.
Uh and whoever guesses that getsto take it home.
And so they get Oh my god,that's awesome.
Uh and we also at that same timewe do we do give backs for
tenure of employees, andbasically the longer they've
spent with us, the more moneythat they have as their gift.
But we don't do uh, you know,you've been with us 10 years and
so you're gonna get a watch, oryou've been with us 20 years and

(52:12):
so you're gonna get a anecklace, you know, and like the
commemorative plaque orsomething.
Um we let them choose.
We say you've been with us Xamount of years, and so you have
X amount of dollars to spend.
And it's pretty cool to see thata lot of employees will fill
that.
Let's say they have$200 to spendfor their tenure.
They say, Well, I want a Legoset and I want uh, you know,

(52:33):
play kitchen, and I want atoddler bike.
And it's like, well, you don'twant that, you know, Mr.
District Manager.
You're filling all your kids'needs with your tenure gift that
you're getting.
And so that's pretty cool to seethat they what they put on their
wish list of what they want fortheir tenure, uh, you know,
prize or or whatever you want tocall it, um, is pretty cool to
see what they choose.

(52:54):
Um, and we do awards too, like,you know, collections manager of
the year, store of the year,store manager of the year, all
those things to do to recognizethe employees that are going
above and beyond.
So I I think that our employeesreally look forward to the
Christmas party and have a goodtime with it because it's equal
parts of I might go home with a65-inch TV and I I might win
store manager of the year.

(53:15):
You know, I'm a finalist for it.
So we try to make that a reallyfun event.

SPEAKER_02 (53:19):
And I get my kids' Lego set.
Um, I love it.
I love that is amazing.
That's good.
That's really good.
So, like, give me some tips,okay?
What is some tips to make BlackFriday worth it?
Like, what should a store focuson if I'm trying to make it
worthwhile?
What is the balance betweenremembering that there are still
collections to do at that pointin time, but you don't want to

(53:42):
not focus on sales because thisis one of the biggest sales
holidays of the year?
What are some of the things thatwe can focus on or that you
focus on, or that you say, youknow what, these this is a three
or four things that we justcannot forget and we have to do
on Black Friday?

SPEAKER_00 (53:54):
Well, I think one of it is leading up to Black
Friday.
We have this TV special that youknow we've mostly kept under
wraps because we don't want tosacrifice a TV sale today for
you know them waiting for BlackFriday for it.
So that's a really fine balanceto walk.
But then once it's once it's gotime, how do you get those
clients?
They're not swinging through thedoor, they're not waking up at 1

(54:16):
a.m.
any morning and like waiting inline to go Black Friday shopping
like they used to.
So how do you get those peoplein the door?
And the thing that I've talkedto stores about this year, you
don't need to get them in thedoor.
Get them on the phone and say, Ihave a TV that I'm selling for
$400.
I have a TV that's$8.99 a week.
Um, uh tell your brother aboutit, tell your sister about it.

(54:36):
Like, you need to get on thephone and talk to people about
what sales you have in the storeand then schedule the delivery.
They never even need to comethrough the door, and those
should all be our currentclients.
Like, why are we giving away aTV at cost?
Yeah, we we might want to win anew customer with it, but I
would way rather take care of acustomer that's been doing
business with us for 30 yearsthat's going, oh my gosh, I this

(54:58):
is the best deal I've evergotten here in all the time that
I've been with you guys.
Uh, you know, and so you want todo both of them, but it's the
thing that I've been trying toget our company to do more and
more of is that sales are upover the phone and sales are via
text and sales are via email.
They're not coming through thedoor.
And so don't necessarily justask yourself, how do I make
Black Friday busy in the store?

(55:20):
It could just be that you andall your colleagues are busy on
the phone, and it's not I've got10 people waiting in line at the
counter to write up an agreementlike it used to be.
It's all over the phone, it'sall online, you know.
And how do we get thatexcitement drum up?
And some employees have beenreally excited to talk about
this TV, and I've always had tocaution them of like, I want you
to, but just make sure thatyou're not not selling a TV

(55:42):
today so that you can sell onetomorrow.

SPEAKER_02 (55:45):
Right, right, right.
Be careful, you know.
Ben, uh now that I look at it,I've got to be there, you know,
next Friday, and I've got to bethere December 20th.
So I just want you to know ifyou pop in and I start giving
you, hey, that's 500 bucks.
I'm just saying, I don't knowhow I'm gonna get back to
Florida, but so if you had togive advice, somebody advice on
a Black Friday, and you'resaying, you know, this is one of
your store managers coming toyou, and what's the best bit of

(56:06):
advice you think you can givethem for a Black Friday sale to
make it the most successful thatthey can, knowing what you know
now, that you know it's a littlebit different, door swings are a
little bit slower, you are gonnasee more people online, you are
gonna see more people on thephone, um, but you always still
want to dress up your showroom,right?
You always want to be a you youyou want to put all best foot
forward.
What's the best advice you wouldgive?

SPEAKER_00 (56:26):
I would say that it's work with people on their
down payments.
I know that right now, you know,Christmas time is what we're
getting into.
That's when the Black Fridaykicks off.
And everybody's bills get tightduring Christmas time because
they're buying all theseChristmas presents and Christmas
season is just expensive.
And so, like you said, we stillhave to remember that we have to
collect on the back end of this.
And so make sure if you'remaking a good decision that the

(56:49):
client can afford long-term,that it's not somebody that's
just gonna give us ten dollarsdown and we will never see them
again.
We have to make good decisions,but make sure you're working
with clients.
I mean, it it's in that trainingprogram I talked about of the
management training.
Um, don't lose their businessover a client or over a down
payment.
If the client says, Hey, howmuch do you need down for this?
The answer is I'll work withyou.

(57:10):
I'm not gonna lose yourbusiness.
What were you thinking youwanted to put down?
You know, like don't say$200,because then they're gonna go,
oh okay, well, I'll be backlater.
You know, I I don't need$200,I'll work with you.
And so, especially that on BlackFriday, getting clients what
they needed in their house.
The goal is to get the productin their house so that they can
start to enjoy it, especiallynow when when bills are tight.

(57:33):
And we also bring in some thingswe don't typically sell, like
we'll bring in kids' toys andsome of those smaller items that
we're not they're not our corebusiness all year long, but we
bring those in and so help yourclients do the shopping for
their kids that they'rewondering like I'm gonna have to
go to Walmart and fill my cartwith$300 worth of kids' toys.
I can't do that.
Right.
Well, we can help them with thattoo.

(57:54):
Do those special orders, haveclients tell you what they want.
I want this specific Darth Legthe Darth Vader Lego set that's
at Walmart.
Well, we'll go out and get itfor you.
And then you're gonna makepayments and and you know, uh
take care of your kid onChristmas through us.
And so driving that uniquebusiness around Christmas time
is something that you know,usually we're wondering how we

(58:14):
sell tires and wash the dryers,and that's what we do all year
long.
But some of this season is howdo we sell the Lego set?

SPEAKER_02 (58:20):
You know, some of those.
Well, I'll tell you right now.
Ben, Ben, you sound like you'vebeen there before.
The Darth Vader set.
I'm just letting you know rightnow.
That's the set.
So, you know, in closing, man, II want to I want to know because
you did the hot show, right?
Didn't you do the hot showrecently?
How did that feel?
Did you know to be to to takeover?
I don't want to say take overdad's bot, but that's something

(58:42):
that he has done.
They've made that, they'veliterally made that.
You got to do it this year.
Are you doing it again?
And how did it feel?

SPEAKER_00 (58:49):
It felt really good.
I am doing it again this year.
I think the plan is to slowlyhave me do it more.
Um that's it.
And there you go.
It was nerve-wracking, notbecause I necessarily get
nervous in front of a large roomof people like that, but it's
going back to I know the shoesthat I'm filling, and you walk
around the show floor, like notjust the hot show, but you walk

(59:10):
around when you're you'refilling all your orders the next
day, and everybody that sees mydad walking down the aisle is
screaming sold, sold, sold athim.
You know, how do I fill thoseshoes?
It's what everybody gets excitedabout that hot show because it's
really fun.
So let's make sure I don't dropthe ball on that.
We got to keep it fun andengaging and you know, keep the
excitement high.

(59:31):
That's the hard part to do isfill those shoes that he built,
you know.
But like you said, the hot show,he was the first one on the mic.
Like that was that was part ofuh it was all created with him
in tow.
Um, and so how do I pick that upand and just the goal is just
keep it as good as it was, thenwe'll worry about maybe making
it better.

(59:51):
That's almost impossible, butlike don't let it falter.
There you go.

SPEAKER_02 (59:56):
Well, I I I have a lot of faith in you, man.
It was great to see you upthere.
I'm glad that we're gonna seeyou again.
We're gonna go into the quickminute, quick question shout
out, uh, real quick, and I justwant to get some things out to
you before we close it up.
Turkey or ham for Thanksgiving?

SPEAKER_00 (01:00:10):
Well, the short answer is both, but if I had to
pick one, it's probably ham,which is unpopular, I think.

SPEAKER_02 (01:00:16):
I'm with you.
I'm up we're the unpopular guys.
All right.
Best advice that your father'sever given you.
That's really hard.

SPEAKER_00 (01:00:22):
I think one thing that I was just thinking about
the other day, and that it'sactually advice that his father
gave him and then he gave me.
Um, and it's when you you getupset, you know, somebody,
whether it's a client, it's acustomer, it's a friend, it's
somebody in the grocery storeparking lot that does something
that upsets you, and then it ithas the potential to ruin your
whole day, where you keepthinking about it and going back

(01:00:44):
to it.
And the phrase that they use is10 minutes past the taillights.
That's how long you get to beupset about whatever happened.
As soon as their taillights havebeen all over the horizon for 10
minutes, it's time to just moveon with your day and make it a
great day again, like you weredoing before they ever stepped
into your your realm for theday.
So 10 minutes past thetaillights is something I try to

(01:01:07):
think about when you're inyou're in your red zone in your
head and you're like, How did Ilet that conversation go that
way?
Or they just called me whatevername they called me under the
sun, and having that be like,okay, it's been 10 minutes, get
over it, move on.
It don't let it ruin your day.

SPEAKER_02 (01:01:21):
I like that.
I like that.
10 minutes past the taillights.
Anthony, we're gonna have to usethat one.
All right.
The Christmas tradition thatyour family feels is quite
unique.

SPEAKER_00 (01:01:30):
Okay.
Um, it is something we changed.
So when my grandmother passedaway, our Christmas tradition on
my dad's side of the family wasalways to go over to her house
and do the traditionalChristmas.
And we've changed that over theyears since she passed away.
We started to get together anddo the gift exchange, and it
just didn't ever feel the same.
And so, where that's evolved nowis we go to Dave and Buster's

(01:01:51):
on, you know, whatever Christmasweekend we get together for our
family get together.
We don't really do a giftexchange, we just go to Dave and
Buster's and play whack-a-moleand you know, shoot hoops and
you know, do just have a funtime.

SPEAKER_01 (01:02:04):
Shoot dad's eyes out, baby.
That's it.
That's it, dad.
Take that.
You know, it's what you get forgiving me the wrong answer on
the price is right.
Oh, that's awesome.
That's awesome.
Best book you've read this year.

SPEAKER_00 (01:02:15):
Well, I'm I'm I'll tell you two things.
One is a book that I'm readingthat's called Behave.
It's probably twice as thick asthe Bible, and it's a really
struggle for me to read becauseit's like basically a
neuroscientist book of like howthe brain works and how human
behavior functions.
And it's a slow read for me.
I've been reading it all year,and I need to take breaks from

(01:02:36):
it because I'm not smart enoughto read it, and so I need to
take a break.
And so, one one book that I'vegone to that's been suggested to
me for years, years is how tomake friends and influence
people.
I never read it, I always heardabout it.
But I'm about halfway throughthat one, and I'll tell you, it
is probably the best book thatI've read this year.
Uh it is it is an amazing book.
It's a simple advice that itgives you that it's like I I

(01:02:59):
somewhat think about this, but Ihadn't landed the plane on that
thought.
And it's just easy to, you know,to carry forward into your life
with the small nuggets of advicethat book gives.

SPEAKER_02 (01:03:09):
Well, it's crazy because that book was written a
very long time ago, and it isstill very relevant till this
day.
It is very relevant.
It's a great book.
So I gotta know.
I need a soundbite.
I would love to get you sayingsold, sold, sold.
Is that something that we cando?
Can we do that?
Yeah, we can do that.

SPEAKER_01 (01:03:26):
All right.
Anthony, we good?
Let's do it, baby.
Let's do it.
So we are sold, sold, sold.

SPEAKER_02 (01:03:34):
That's awesome, man.
That was great.
Listen, I appreciate you guysbeing here with me and Ben Lee
today, the COO of Ace Rentone inNebraska, doing an amazing Job.
I love that you're here, Ben.
I really appreciate it.
Guys, if you guys have anyquestions, please reach out to
the show at pet at thertoshowpodcast.com.
That is an amazing place toreach me at.
You can also go on the websiteat the rtoshowpodcast.com, see

(01:03:54):
what we're doing, theshenanigans that I get into.
You can hit me up on Facebookand Instagram and LinkedIn and
now YouTube where you're goingto see this.
Please make sure you subscribeso that you can see everything
that's going on.
Ben, thank you so much for beingon today.
I really, really appreciate youbeing here.
Tell Dada I'm glad he let youout of the, he let you out of
the stores just long enough totalk to me a little bit.
I do appreciate that.
And I want to tell you guys, youknow, we enjoy you this holiday

(01:04:17):
season.
Thank you for spending some timewith us.
Make sure that you do your bestfor Black Friday because there's
a lot of people, like Ben says,there's some clients out there
who really need it.
Let's take care of them, do whatwe got to do.
And I will tell you guys asalways, get your collections low
to get your sales high.
Have a great one.