Few stores, but mighty: Georgia retailer boasts 6 million-dollar salespeople in 2023 – Furniture Today

AUGUSTA, Ga. — In most years, Weinberger’s Furniture & Mattress Showcase here tops $10 million between its three showrooms. Sounds like your typical community furniture store success story, right?

It is, but that’s not all. Look again, and you’ll find that the family-owned, 92-year-old retailer had six of its retail sales associates eclipse $1 million in sales in 2023. In all, those half dozen salespeople accounted for $7.5 million of Weinberger’s total sales volume.

Vice President Karly Weinberger, a fourth-generation member of the ownership family, told Furniture Today that six members of its Presidents Club (Weinberger’s name for its $1 million salespeople) is a record, although many of this year’s members have hit those numbers in the past. One of the salespeople, Susan Crow, set a new Weinberger’s record when she topped $1.5 million from the Augusta store.

In addition to Crow, Cambria Davis, Matthew Bruecks and Lisa Peeler topped $1 million from Augusta, while Kim Mattingly and Yolande Grogan were the two Presidents Club members from Weinberger’s Lake Oconee store.

In a year when many retailers reported sales slumps, what kept Weinberger’s going strong? Weinberger said a lot of it had to do with the store’s strong custom business.

“Our traffic is down, but the traffic that is coming in is spending and spending more. They’ve made up their mind and have done their research,” she said. “We’ve also got a good niche; if you want something truly custom, you can get it from us.”

And once in the store, she said the team of salespeople work diligently to earn the customer’s trust. She said that’s what separates a great salesperson from good ones, and she was fortunate to have six great ones in 2023.

“I think it’s the way they connect with the customers. A customer comes in, and they find out what their needs are,” Weinberger said. “Obviously, they satisfy those needs, and then they search for what else they can do. They keep in touch with those clients throughout the year, telling them about sales and getting them to pull the trigger in those periods.

“Those specific people who had $1 million are those who connect with the customer and get in their homes,” Weinberger continued. “When somebody trusts you enough to bring you into their home, it creates that connection that keeps them coming back.”

Several of the salespeople have been with the company for a while, which helps. “That is huge. You can’t put in words how valuable that is,” Weinberger said. “To know you’re going to open your doors and be able to advertise to customers that they will be able to take care of them.”

Weinberger noted that two have youth and enthusiasm on their side, which shouldn’t be overlooked.

“Two of our writers are in their early 20s, so we’ve tried to invest in young people. They haven’t even hit their potential yet,” she said. “To keep somebody like those two is really valuable.”

To celebrate, Weinberger said leadership took the six Presidents Club members to a nice dinner, plus they get to include the honor on their business cards and a cash bonus. She said those perks create plenty of incentive among the sales team.

“It’s a number all of our sales associates strive toward and ask how to get to that number,” she said.

So what’s next? “Now that Susan’s gotten $1.5 million, she’s got to keep going and break that ceiling, and we’ll create a whole new club for her,” Weinberger quipped.

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