By Brittany Walsh
Before his 34-year tenure in sales with Ohio Valley Flooring (OVF), Jeff Garber was a Cincinnati policeman for 10 years. And although his friends and family didn’t immediately understand his career path change from cop to carpet salesman, Garber said it has been one of the most rewarding decisions he has made in his life.
“I don’t think there are too many guys that are ex-cops in the flooring business,” joked Garber, OVF’s vice president of sales and marketing. “I knew I wanted to get into sales and I just answered an ad out of the paper. I quite honestly didn’t anticipate that I would stay there the rest of my career like I have, but after only a few years of being in the business and making friends with my customers and working with this company, I fell in love with the job.”
But, Garber noted, the experience and training he gained as a policeman helped prepare him for an eventual leadership role at OVF. Many of the same practices apply to his managerial role of sales, such as preparation, managing people and looking out for the best interest of others, he said.
One characteristic that makes the flooring industry special, Garber added, is that it is a friendly, relationship-driven business. “I’ve heard people say ‘you get sucked in’ or ‘it gets in your blood,’ but what attracts me about it is being able to do something you enjoy and the people you work with, your customers, suppliers, even your competitors can become your friends,” he said. “You don’t necessarily have to have the best education or go to the best school to do well here, but it gives an equal opportunity for anyone that is willing to work hard and succeed through good business practices, and I think that’s the beauty of it.”
After one year in carpet sales for Knodel-Tygrett, the company was sold to Ohio Valley and Garber was brought on board as one of only three original salesmen. Today, he said, there are 52 OVF salespeople across the division.
“My first role at OVF was an Armstrong carpet salesman. Armstrong isn’t even in the carpet business anymore, they sold their carpet business to Shaw while I was a rep,” he noted. “I’d say that as if I was a boat in a dock and the tide came in, as the company got bigger and bigger, I rose with the tide. I think for some people timing helps breed success and I think I’ve certainly been fortunate in that respect.”
And throughout his long career in the business, Garber has seen many significant changes. The biggest change, he said, is that through automation distributors are able to handle a lot more volume more efficiently. “When I started, if you did a million dollars in sales, it was a feat. And now, our average guy does $3 million and handles it comfortably,” Garber added. “We’re much faster and better today than we were then in every phase of the game.”
Garber is currently a director on the board of NAFCD. After benefitting from years of senior mentors, he felt that now, towards the end of his career, it was time he tried to give back and help people entering their career.
“And you can see that at NAFCD. In this industry, we see competitors and there’s room for everybody. There’s very little professional animosity towards each other,” Garber said.
Because of that nurturing culture, Garber added that NAFCD is often a good time to reflect not only on business, but on relationships, friendships and put the whole picture together again.
“It’s a chance to listen to other people, listen to ideas and maybe steer a couple of degrees right or left depending on the input you get. And I think it’s an excellent thing for all of us, for the whole industry. For suppliers and distributors alike,” Garber said. “I’ve never left a NAFCD meeting where I didn’t come back and either change something or implement something new. Every time.”
Jeff Garber, vice president of sales and marketing at OVF
