Everett and Stephen Hartzler are a father/son sales team from Dallas, Texas, who attribute much of their success to balancing their personalities and “old school” sales methods with “new school” technology. Stephen joined the business with his dad 10 years ago, as Everett enjoys his 24th year now with American. Together, they’ve tackled large accounts, learned to play to each others’ strengths and prospered as a team.
Why you love working with your family:
Everett: I take a lot of pride in seeing Stephen develop as a sales rep and take ownership of the business.
Stephen: We get to mix old school sales methods with new school technology.
What are some challenges (and how have you overcome them)?
Everett: Allowing Stephen to work at his pace and schedule and not micromanage him when we started working together. I soon realized his work hours did not always match mine.
Stephen: Too much time together…maybe that’s why he moved to another city 😉
What is the fondest memory working with your family?
Everett: Seeing Stephen really enjoy this industry and his job, and have a strong desire to see it continue to grow.
Stephen: Making a sales call together and coming up with creative solutions for our customers.
Why should others consider working with their family?
Everett: I think it is important that it is his or her decision to work with a parent and in the business, and not put any pressure on them to work with family. It has to be their decision, though! I also really appreciate that ASB gives us this opportunity to keep our business in the family. This might seem normal, but it isn’t. Most companies boot you out when you want to retire or slow down and take all of the business. That’s definitely not the case at American.
Stephen: Eventually, you’ll have to lean on someone…who better than your family?
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