The road to a successful LBM career can come from many different directions.
Just ask this year’s class of Four Under 40 winners.
The stories behind this all-star quartet remind us there is no single path to success … there are many, provided you have the moxie to make the journey. Michelle Valdez, Lonnie Kvasnicka, Michael Maglio, and Matt Equinoa recently paused briefly to reflect on their careers and lessons learned.
Spirit of the Green Berets: Michelle Valdez
Each of the four credit their success to forces early on that shaped their business success. Michelle Valdez points to three people as her inspiration, led by her father. The category business manager for Central Valley Builders Supply of Napa, Calif. says her dad was a Vietnam-era Green Beret who preached “… there was no room for quitting or slowing down.”
As a teen, Valdez remembers thinking, “’Gosh dad, stop pushing so hard.’ As an adult, of course, you appreciate how hard he did push.”
2019 Focus: “Maximizing efficiencies with our brilliant buying team and pushing our vendors to become even better partners in managing their store space.”
For the Love of the Yard: Lonnie Kvasnicka
Lonnie Kvasnicka learned the LBM business out in the yard, delivering material to jobsites part-time while attending college. “It’s a business that gets in your blood. You never want to leave,” says the territory manager/outside sale rep with Dealers Choice. “So many of the lumberyards are a family business and very welcoming. If they find talent, they embrace and nurture it.” Kvasnicka can point to his own humble origins as an example. “You’ve got to be a people person and build relationships.”
2019 Focus: “Our new e-commerce platform, Dealer Pro+, is helping grow the business and the industry.”
4 under 40 winners in San Antonio, Texas at the ProSales Conference. Shown: Micheal Maglio (Outside Sales, Miami, FL), Todd Skaggs (National Vice President, Dealers Choice), Lonnie Kvasnicka (Outside Sales, Kearney, Nebraska)
Golden Rule: Michael Maglio
The differences between distributing combat ordinance in war zones as a U.S. Marine and distributing concrete restoration and waterproofing in South Florida aren’t as large as you think. “Those 12 years of military service helped me develop much faster than civilians,” explains Michael Maglio, outside sales rep for Beacon Roofing Supply. Maglio has put his problem-solving skills to work by launching a series of initiatives to help him stand out as South Florida’s go-to source for concrete restoration supplies. “I share ideas with others all the time. When you help someone else out, they reciprocate in return.”
2019 Focus: “Continue to be honest with my customers. Take ownership of your actions, even mistakes. People respect you that much more for it.”
In Service to Others: Matt Equinoa
Matt Equinoa has a rule for staying one step ahead: Be a faithful servant to “… everyone you interact with,” he explains. “I delight in others’ successes, inside and outside of transactions with Lansing Building Products, says the Portland, Ore. branch manager. He views technology much the same way. “Our company made a major commitment to CRM. My job is to understand and operate it as a helpful, relationship-building tool. That belief has made me better.”
2019 Focus: “We’re close to launching a mobile app with all sorts of customer benefits. It’s not the centerpiece of our service to customers, just another value-added dimension to it.”
