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.
What is your role and responsibility at Elegant Angel?
My personal goals are to continue to learn and educate myself about the marketplace.
My position at Elegant Angel is national sales manager. My title comes with the responsibility of ensuring that every distributor and retailer is enthusiastic about our products. I let them see the confidence that I have in our brand, packaging and quality content. I answer any questions they have by watching all of our movies personally to inform my sales pitch and assist them in making their daily porn selections. In a flooded market it is my job to articulate what makes Elegant Angel movies stand out from all the rest.
What are your goals for Elegant Angel in 2007?
My personal goals are to continue to learn and educate myself about the marketplace. Knowledge is power. For example, buying patterns vary from city to city, and it's my job to keep up with those trends and tailor my sales pitch to each buyer accordingly. Many buyers are swamped and can't always ascertain what is going to be a hit or a miss. It's up to me to utilize our company reputation and amazing box covers to convince them to invest in Elegant Angel.
Give us a typical Monday at your desk.
A typical Monday at my desk starts at 5:20 a.m., corresponding with my customers on the East Coast. I drink a Slimfast for the vitamins and because it doesn't fill me up to the point where I want to crawl back into bed. I start both of my computers, log into my email and instant messenger, and let people know that I am available and ready to work for them. I answer all of my emails, send out covers and skew codes. I go through my list of automatic draws and call the customers to see if they need any special orders to ship with that title. I also answer their questions, which typically revolve around the movie theme or cast list. However, a large part of my Monday morning is to just call and say hi and listen to all of the weekend stories. Sales are about friendships, and that's one of the things I enjoy most about this job. Each day I ask myself, how can I make today's sales better than yesterday? I'm trying to improve all the time, and therefore my competition is myself. I thrive when the company's numbers continue to grow. Improvement is my fulfillment.
What do you think is your greatest challenge or asset being a woman in the adult industry?
One of the greatest challenges is that I expected many people would not take me seriously. I have found that with 99 percent of the people I deal with I have earned their faith and trust, and they treat me with confidence and professionalism. One of the advantages of being a woman is that I deeply care, and I truly value my customers' needs. I work 110 percent to follow through with their requests and questions. I am also fun to talk to — I love to chat — and that is a common trait amongst other salespeople in this industry that I admire. By spending most of the day in the office, I've built relationships with all of my customers, and I value them all as friends as well as partners.
What strategies do you use to maintain balance in your life?
The strategies I use to maintain balance are to always stay focused, enthusiastic and motivated. I feed off learning and setting new ambitious targets. I don't just stick to the same routine. I thrive on success so each day I set little goals as well as big goals so that I can see my accomplishments more immediately.
