Jan Nichols
Regional Sales Manager, San Diego
7 Years with Layfield
Q: Describe your current position and the tasks you handle in the company, including the number of years you have been in this role.
I am a Regional Sales Manager for the Layfield branch in San Diego and have been with Layfield for over 7 years. My role is to work with the sales team to increase product sales in my region, Southern California, focusing on searching out new contractors to sell our products directly to. I also enjoy working with Marketing to create new campaigns to continue spreading the word about what Layfield can do to make projects smoother. I enjoy on-site visits and watching the installation of our products on the project. I have met so many great people in the region and love it when they recommend us to other contractors. Our Team sales have increased significantly over the years, so our outreach and marketing are working.
Q: In your opinion, what sets our company culture apart from others you’ve experienced in your career?
Layfield has an extraordinarily knowledgeable group of people. There are so many different talents that can help you get the correct information to aid your customers. When I started at Layfield, I had zero knowledge of the geosynthetic industry and took a chance to come on board. The help and training I received were impressive. There is always someone that I can count on to get an answer! Let’s shout out to Ken Byman in Supply Chain, who has answered hundreds of my questions over the years!
Q: How do you stay motivated and grow professionally in your current role?
There is rarely a time that I do not have a customer with a new problem or request, and my goal is to get the best information possible to solve their problem. Each project is so different that it is hard not to grow in this job. When a contractor comes to me with a problem, my research to find the best solution at Layfield continually pushes me to grow in my knowledge within the industry.
Q: How do you maintain a work-life balance, and what strategies do you use to recharge outside of work?
I learned early on that if you take your work problems home, your life and family will suffer. A sales rep once told me about a problem as I was heading out the door for a 10-day, well-deserved, and saved-for vacation. I took the problem with me and worried while I was on vacation. What a mistake. The issue resolved itself by the time I returned, and I missed genuinely enjoying myself for nothing. I make sure not to repeat that mistake! So, I keep work at work and home at home, and it works!
Q: If you could go back in time and give your younger self a piece of advice, what would it be, and how has that shaped the way you approach life and work today?
I wish I had bought Apple in the nineties when it was down to $6.00 a share or purchased a house in La Jolla when they were not millions of dollars. But seriously, the biggest thing I do today is always to save as much as possible for my future and only buy what I can afford. Those basic rules make a work-life balance much easier because it reduces stress at work, and I can worry less about my future.
Be sure to give Jan a follow on LinkedIn to stay updated on the latest Layfield happenings.
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