Tammi's World

Why?

During one of my calls yesterday, my new customer asked me why I love the bedding industry so much.

Huh. That's a pretty good question. In fact, it's what I thought of for much of the drive home.

I mean, come on, let's be honest. Mattresses aren't the most interesting of items. Oh, what you can do WITH them fills many a book, but the mattresses themselves? Yeah, not so much.

But I love this industry. It didn't start out that way. Not by a long shot.

My initiation into consumer products, and retail especially, was via Orange Juice. It was fast moving, involved some creativity in creating sets and, well, was incredibly competitive. I loved it!

I would spend HOURS in a grocery store. Looking at what could be changed to make it more tempting to buy my product than someone else's. Coming up with ways to entice folks to try my juice. Hell - for a while I was pushing a campaign to pour OJ over your cheerios. Never did catch on, but I thought it was a pretty cool idea. But it was fast. REALLY fast.

From there I went to mattresses. Huh. No real merchandising involved. Just set the damned things up, in price order and grouped by type. Throw some pillows on them and VOILA! A set.

But then I started to "GET IT". It all made sense.

The first time I walked into a plant, I saw the coils of wire. I had to smile. I used to sell them that very wire. I KNEW that stuff. I knew how it was made, I knew what was good - and bad - about it.

Then I started studying the different types of foam. Really, there is a science to it. For instance....Visco. That memory foam they talk about? Yeah, well, it's activated by body heat. In order for it to mold to your shape, it's got to warm up. Well, it retains that heat and passes it back towards you. Me? Personally? I don't like it. I don't like to be warm when I'm sleeping. But I do love me some latex. It's what I call decadent. Soft, without being mushy. Supportive, without the pressure points.

I could go on and on just about the product itself.

But what I love are the benefits. I love the fact that I actually have a hand in changing peoples lives. Seriously. If you are sleeping well, waking fresh and comfortable, your day is better. Your mind, clearer. THAT is cool.

And it's a competitive business. Cut-throat actually. I don't play dirty, but I play. I love nothing more than gaining ground away from another company. And trust me when I tell you, I am NOT a good winner. Not. One. Bit.

I was a little nervous about going back to this industry after a two year absence. Would I remember the lingo? It's pretty specialized and outsiders and newbies are spotted right away. Would I still love it as much? Would the passion still show in my classes? The answers - yes. A resounding YES. I slipped back into that world like I was puttin' on a comfortable pair of blue jeans.

But tell me? What is it that drew you to YOUR chosen career? Do you still have that passion? Did you ever have it?

I think it's important to do something we enjoy. Something we can take pride in. It's bad enough we spend so much our lives working, it's a down right shame if you don't take any satisfaction from it.

Posted by Tammi at June 12, 2007 09:22 AM | TrackBack