Page 81 - Lighting Magazine March 2018

In the days of the connected consumer and all things digital, what inspires a member of the Mil- lennial community to follow in their father’s path and start their own sales agency? This was the rst question I asked Sco Paquet when I spent
two days on the road with this savvy go-ge er from the Great White North.
Sco is a member of the much-maligned Millennial generation. Membership in this group o en conjures up the image of dgeting, self-absorbed, impatient youth who want to begin at the top; however, Sco turns those assumptions into myths.
Sco grew up with an extraordinary interest in what his father, David, did to support their family and was intrigued by it. Some of his childhood memo- ries are of his father leaving the house early in the morning before Sco was ready for school and then returning later in the evening. He wondered what his dad was doing all day long.
By the time Sco was seven years old, he was in- troduced to the life of a lighting sales representative when his dad took him along on some sales calls so he could experience rst-hand what a lighting rep did all day.
Whether he knew it or not, the rules of being a “junior” sales rep were being taught to Sco that day. He learned to be polite, speak only when spoken to, and not touch what is not yours because if you break it, you buy it. The essential lesson Sco learned that day was how to sit back and watch how people inter- act with one another.
Sco said, “A er that one day with my dad, I knew I wanted to grow up to be like him. I wanted to be in sales.” From that point on, young Sco would shadow his father at every opportunity to learn how to be a decisive factor in the sales industry.
One of the things David wanted his son to learn about was the overlapping skills a sales rep needs when building connected relationships with all types of people. And while a ending a trade show is a requirement when you are a sales rep, it’s not very typical for a 12-year-old boy. Through the gracious- ness of several of David’s customers and his proud encouragement, Sco was given a chance to talk with potential clients, creating relationships while representing his father’s companies at several trade shows.
He was such a success that if Sco was not at a show he had previously a ended, the vendors and customers wanted to know where the talented, per- sonable young man was.
The next year, when it was time for Sco to leave the original trade show he had visited and go back to school, he created a petition for his teachers signed by customers and vendors requesting that he be able to continue to work the show instead of going back to school. That was some creative salesman- ship on his part!
This display of acceptance from both clients and vendors added more fuel to Sco ’s re and inter- est in all things related to the sales profession ─ so much so that 10 years later, he had created a blazing inferno.
When vendors took a shot with 20-year-old Sco and gave him a chance to be a sales representative, they set his expectations low. Although he was told to just maintain the status quo, this young man could not be bridled. He exceeded all of their expectations
By the time Sco was seven years
old, he was introduced to the life of a lighting sales representative when his dad took him along on some sales calls.
by growing his territory by 55 percent on average in his rst year. Sco feels it is all due to his instilled work ethic and re to succeed.
Two years later the father/son working relationship has changed a bit. At 22 years old, Sco continues to lead his agency and represent some great compa- nies in the lighting industry and David has taken on a consultative role, providing wisdom, mentorship, and grounding as well as serving as a sounding board for his son.
I asked David what he admires most about his son as well as what he has learned from him. His answers reveal both the proud dad and seasoned member of the lighting industry that he is. While his list of Sco ’s a ributes includes tenacity, responsibility, and be- ing conscientious, the stand-out is Sco ’s ability to communicate with con dence to all of the people he interacts with, at every station in his clients’ business.
The admiration goes both ways. One of the traits that Sco admires about his father is his work ethic ─ and it is this characteristic he will always try to emulate. “My dad puts as much time, heart, and e ort into what he does for the manufacturer’s he represents as he does with our family,” Sco told me.
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March 2018 | enLIGHTenment Magazine 79