S05.E07: JD Custom Designs

[Thrifty]

Only 1/4 through, but at least the owners look like decent folks.  Marcus' equity requests seem kinda steep recently for the amount of money he's putting in.

Also, saw a promo for next week.  Not another apparel business.  Ugh. 

[ae2]

5 hours ago, Thrifty said:

Only 1/4 through, but at least the owners look like decent folks.  Marcus' equity requests seem kinda steep recently for the amount of money he's putting in.

I think he can demand that equity for a few reasons. The business was in the red. Due to the way it was being run, it was hamstrung by Jeff having to be involved every process, so there was literally no way it could grow its revenues. And most importantly, his business was instantly going to boom due to being involved with Marcus' portfolio of other companies.

Speaking of which, it's been fun and interesting to see more and more of his companies and the entrepreneur's he has partnered with come into new episodes to help out. 

This business nor the couple running it impressed me. The only one that did was the son who cleaned up the warehouse / factory and then disappeared.

Aimee... while I think she's right that she is a people person, I don't think she's a good sales person. None of her pitches were very compelling, and they were sort of unclear. The only time I saw anything there was when she was rebutting Marcus about the toy display, and how it makes the room feel bigger. While it can be learned, she also lacks basic sales training. What Marcus told her, "get them in the habit of saying yes," is literally day 1 of sales training.

While Marcus may be a sucker for crying, breaking down during a high-pressure situation is not a good quality for a sales person. And she did it twice, during literally the easiest pitches she is ever going to make.

The coffee shop scene (which sort of felt a superhero training montage) made no sense to me. As in, the dialogue didn't go together at all. Either post-editing destroyed all coherence or I was dozing off, because Marcus would say something and then Aimee would say something completely different and off topic, and vice versa. This is not the first time I've noted this happening on the show either. 

The only display that I thought was any good was the final shoe & watch display, the high-end one. The low end one was super tacky and cheap looking, especially with its "mission statement" sign just thrown on the bottom that looked like a high-school student counsel poster.

[cooksdelight]

When Aimee just turned and walked away from the couple, Marcus should have told her right there that sales is not her forte. They need a trained, experienced sales staff.

[seacliffsal]

I really liked the owner and totally understood where he was coming from when he told about his childhood.  Aimee is someone who sees herself a certain way without having any evidence to support it.  She is not a salesperson.  I was shocked by her inability to come up with a sales pitch at the coffee shop (I was sitting at home providing her missing sales pitch...).  She also broke down a couple of times stating she was embarrassed and didn't want to see herself failing.  If so, then sales is not for her.  Just because she thinks she's a 'people person' doesn't mean she can sell.  Sales (along with many other professions) involves a lot of might be considered 'failures' in that potential clients are going to say no and not be interested.  It's the perseverance that translates into successful sales; along with that comes experience and anticipating needs.

Interestingly, we got to see Juli again who won the 'partner' show.  She really seems and looks tired and overwhelmed.  She also has the label of 'V.P.' when she was originally promised being a partner.  I would really like to know more about what has happened since she 'won' that show.

I hope JD Designs does really well and that the husband is able to pull back a bit.  I also hope, as cooksdelight wrote, that they actually hire a salesperson/sales staff.

[Gregg247]

I was impressed by the product and the work ethic showed by everyone involved, but I didn't think the wife was a very good salesperson.  She stated up-front that before she got married, sales had been her life, but I find that hard to believe.  She seemed very nice, so I hope she finds a better role for herself within the company. 

I was prepared to not like the owner, based on the commercials, but he came across as a hard-working, decent, and driven guy.  I also liked how he went all-in with Marcus' training right away, without arguing or complaining.  He was one of those rare business owners on this show who knows his own short-comings and is willing to put aside ego in order to make things work.

It sounds like Marcus is going to keep these guys extremely busy making displays for ALL of his businesses.

[Thrifty]

I don't know what show you guys were watching, but I though Aimee did a great job at the sales pitches.  Her first one at the coffee shop wasn't great but she got better.  And the displays were all beautiful.

[cooksdelight]

43 minutes ago, Gregg247 said:

She stated up-front that before she got married, sales had been her life

Well, Avon or Mary Kay sort of sell themselves.

@Thrifty, she tried hard, but you never, ever, ever walk away from someone you’re trying to sell to, and I can see her doing that multiple times since she’s afraid to fail.

[Amarsir]

3 hours ago, Thrifty said:

I don't know what show you guys were watching, but I though Aimee did a great job at the sales pitches.  Her first one at the coffee shop wasn't great but she got better.  And the displays were all beautiful.

I'm with them. She wasn't inept, and had some very good instincts about how their product is beneficial as well as how you can foot-in-the-door with a cheap option and an upsale. But she let a small hiccup derail her, and that's a major problem. There is promise there though, especially with a little proper training in sales.

3 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

Interestingly, we got to see Juli again who won the 'partner' show.  She really seems and looks tired and overwhelmed.  She also has the label of 'V.P.' when she was originally promised being a partner.  I would really like to know more about what has happened since she 'won' that show.

I didn't catch the title, but I'm completely with you there. Good to see her but she looked like she's being run ragged. Also it's an interesting idea to combine Inkkas Shoes and Flex Watches, but as I recall the owners of each were very personally involved so I wonder how well they're dealing with it.

[LuvMyShows]

Quote

There is promise there though, especially with a little proper training in sales.

Quote

While it can be learned, she also lacks basic sales training. What Marcus told her, "get them in the habit of saying yes," is literally day 1 of sales training.

"Training" is definitely the operative word.  She has clearly been muddling along at "sales" without any training (whether formal or informal).. 

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But she let a small hiccup derail her, and that's a major problem. 

Yes.  She also needs more simulations and one-on-one coaching to accompany the training.  And probably a few sessions with a psychologist to help her move past whatever underlying reasons are making her deal with failure the way she is. 

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They need a trained, experienced sales staff.

For this business, I'm not sure that a standard salesperson is what they need.  I think they need someone who knows the product inside and out like she does.  I actually think she has potential, but she's not quite there yet.  

[qtpye]

2 hours ago, Amarsir said:

I'm with them. She wasn't inept, and had some very good instincts about how their product is beneficial as well as how you can foot-in-the-door with a cheap option and an upsale. But she let a small hiccup derail her, and that's a major problem. There is promise there though, especially with a little proper training in sales.

I didn't catch the title, but I'm completely with you there. Good to see her but she looked like she's being run ragged. Also it's an interesting idea to combine Inkkas Shoes and Flex Watches, but as I recall the owners of each were very personally involved so I wonder how well they're dealing with it.

 

5 hours ago, Gregg247 said:

I was impressed by the product and the work ethic showed by everyone involved, but I didn't think the wife was a very good salesperson.  She stated up-front that before she got married, sales had been her life, but I find that hard to believe.  She seemed very nice, so I hope she finds a better role for herself within the company. 

I was prepared to not like the owner, based on the commercials, but he came across as a hard-working, decent, and driven guy.  I also liked how he went all-in with Marcus' training right away, without arguing or complaining.  He was one of those rare business owners on this show who knows his own short-comings and is willing to put aside ego in order to make things work.

It sounds like Marcus is going to keep these guys extremely busy making displays for ALL of his businesses.

 

7 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

When Aimee just turned and walked away from the couple, Marcus should have told her right there that sales is not her forte. They need a trained, experienced sales staff.

Yeah, I think she ironically oversold herself to Marcus when she said she was a natural born sales person.  The fact that she got so flustered trying to pitch to THE GUY WHO JUST BOUGHT INTO THE COMPANY AND WAS PROBABLY GOING TO USE THEIR DISPLAYS NO MATTER WHAT, was not a good sign.

However, the owners were smart enough to know that their company was dying and that Marcus had a potential gold mine for them in his portfolio.  I am sure we will get an update and Marcus will brag about how he coached her into a sales queen.  He will talk about how she earned the business and he did not just give it to them.

However, in the vein of earning the business, they did seem to produce good quality displays, though I do not know if I liked the watches being on the base like that.  I think the man is actually pretty talented and as long as he learns to delegate they should do very well with Marcus as their partner.

[LennieBriscoe]

This episode was, to me, a snoozer. 

I mean, if there's going to be a controlling man, please for the love of God make him either good-looking or animated. 

Edited January 17, 2018 by LennieBriscoe

[Jesse]

5 hours ago, LuvMyShows said:

For this business, I'm not sure that a standard salesperson is what they need.  I think they need someone who knows the product inside and out like she does.  I actually think she has potential, but she's not quite there yet.  

And as part of the Lemonis Empire, they barely need to sell at all -- all of his businesses will generate more work than they can do, I bet.

[Lola16]

12 hours ago, Thrifty said:

I don't know what show you guys were watching, but I though Aimee did a great job at the sales pitches.  Her first one at the coffee shop wasn't great but she got better.  And the displays were all beautiful.

I saw her be defensive and argumentative with her first 2 attempts. Not persuasive, but argumentative, as in "you're wrong, you need this" without the why. She got better but I wonder what kind of sales she was in before.