Each month, industry news media organization XBIZ spotlights the career accomplishments and outstanding contributions of Women in Adult. WIA profiles offer an intimate look at the professional lives of the industry's most influential female executives.
Pink Visual has named longtime sales director Kristin Wynters as its vice president. The promotion finds the 11-year adult industry veteran handling the studio’s sales and marketing initiatives, and managing its affiliate program TopBucks.com and its new tube site Xyou.com.
I would say the most important thing is to maintain strong relationships. Once people have a successful working relationship with you, more opportunities tend to come about.
XBIZ caught up with Wynters to discuss her career with Pink Visual, balancing a family life and the importance of listening to others.
Congratulations on being named Vice President. What’s first on the agenda?
First on my agenda: impeach the President. All kidding aside, we just released our six-month goals internally here, and my main objective is getting our fully legal, 2257-compliant tube site, XYou.com going. We wanted to enhance the user’s normal tube experience and provide HD movies with in-video commercials and light advertising on the site.
You have a double MBA with a concentration in e-Business and Marketing, what attracted you to those fields?
My bachelor’s is in Retail and Consumer Sciences, and with my career starting in online marketing and sales it seemed like a logical MBA concentration. It was also part of a larger plan, as I hope to get my Ph. D someday in Consumer Psychology.
How did you find your way to Pink Visual?
Allison and I were college roommates at the University of Arizona. Allison graduated before I did and had been working at TopBucks for a year when I graduated. A marketing position had opened up and I applied… Ten years later I’m still working in the industry.
How did you know it was the right place for you?
Every day when I walk into the office and work with an incredible team I am reminded that Pink Visual is the right place for me. We have team members that have worked with us for more than 10 years and the majority of our employees have been with us for over five years. They’ve become family to me.
Did you have any reservations about working with an adult company?
When I first started I had zero reservations; I was fresh out of college, 22 years old and ready to take on the world. Now that I have children and am an active volunteer and sit on school councils, I have to take more precautions. I alter the spelling of my last name to avoid Google searches and tend to focus on our mainstream business, DMCA Force, when the principal asks me where I work.
From sales, marketing and public relations to business development and statistical analysis, you handle quite a lot for Pink Visual. Describe the balancing act required to work such a demanding career while maintaining a personal life?
Over the last couple of years, I’ve been forcing myself to not work after hours. While I’m still in touch and available, I don’t sit in front of my computer for six hours after I get home from work. My kids are now 8 and 9 years old, and as they’ve grown older, their activities have become more demanding of my time, naturally. My family has become a group of avid rock climbers, so we spend quite a bit of time at the gym and in the mountains.
What is the best advice anyone has given you professionally?
“Do you listen or wait to talk?” was something I once read and it resonated with me. I was a wait-to-talk kind of person and I realized quickly in sales that’s not an appropriate approach. I’ve learned to truly listen, so people know their words are of value to me. The best way to accomplish this is listening and asking follow-up questions, so people know they have been heard and understood.
What’s the secret to sealing a potentially lucrative deal?
If I told you, it wouldn’t be a secret! Seriously though, I would say the most important thing is to maintain strong relationships. Once people have a successful working relationship with you, more opportunities tend to come about. This brings me to another saying that I try to keep in mind: “All things being equal, people would rather do business with their friends. All things being unequal … people would still rather do business with their friends.”
