 To have spent your entire career at one company is certainly a novelty these days, but that’s exactly how things have gone for Shawna von Behren. Not only did she start out at Yamaha as an intern and work her way up to being the company’s first female district manager for the Pro Audio and Combo Division, but in her own words, von Behren’s “whole life is a Yamaha story.”
“I started playing on a Yamaha piano when I was 4,” said von Behren, whose mother is a piano teacher. She took piano lessons through college, but while in high school, “I taught myself how to play on a Yamaha FG180 guitar my mom had bought my dad when he was in college.”
Though her exposure to keyboards and guitars came in handy later on, it was the trumpet that got von Behren’s foot in the door at Yamaha.
“I was a music business major and one of the requirements for the degree was an internship, so I bugged and bugged a local music dealer—Kidder Music in Peoria, Ill.—to intern there,” she said. “The manager at the store, Carl Anderson, finally relented. I shadowed him for six weeks learning all about the music industry, spending time on the sales floor and back in their finance department. They have three road reps and I got the opportunity to travel with each rep. I also spent time in their repair shop and in shipping and receiving.”
Anderson, who also became von Behren’s music business professor at Bradley University, had worked with Rick Young, who today is senior vice president for Yamaha’s Pro Audio and Combo division. “He called Carl to see if they had [any students] who would be willing to intern,” she recalled. “I decided to take an entire year off school, moved to California and interned in the Pro Audio and Combo division in the accessories department.”
Let’s Make a Dealer
Today, von Behren is Yamaha’s National Account Manager for Guitar Center and Musician’s Friend. But just a few months ago when we spoke, she worked as a district manager with “some great dealers” in northern California, northern Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and the western half of Idaho. She often thinks back to the lessons she learned interning at Kidder Music.
“Working with Kidder really opened my eyes to what makes a dealer successful. I find I constantly pull from my experience at Kidder while brainstorming different ideas how my dealers can generate more business or add a fresh look to their store,” said von Behren. “There are so many aspects to running a successful music store. You can’t just open your doors and expect people to come.”
One of her favorite pieces of advice for retailers: spice things up every once in a while. “Kidder always changed how their music store looked. They displayed their sheet music in a particular section of the store for a while, and then one day you went in to shop and they changed everything around,” she said. “As a customer, you came in and saw something new, ‘I didn’t know they had that.’ The fact is they stocked the product the whole time.”
von Behren’s time at Kidder Music isn’t the only job experience she draws upon when working with her network of dealers. “I had lots of different jobs I did at a young age that taught me the importance of a hard work ethic and values that have helped me with this job. I’ll never forget back in college when I worked as a personal assistant for a lady who was handicapped. She was one of the most opinionated individuals I have ever met. Talk about somebody who has a very particular way about doing everything,” she said with a laugh. “Working with this lady made a big difference in how I interact with customers and the dealers we have. I learned to listen. Sales is 80 percent listening and 20 percent talking.”
Taking Charge
As the Pro Audio and Combo division’s first female district manager, and a relatively young one at that, von Behren faced some hurdles at the beginning of her sales career, but has learned to overcome them with expertise.
“Every dealer is different. I had several dealers where I walked in to meet them for the first time, and they were relatively polite. However, I could tell they were absolutely sizing me up,” she said. “What I’ve found is actions speak louder than words.”
“I earned the respect of a tough guitar department manager at a dealer in northern California through my approach to taking inventory. I’m not afraid to go back in the warehouse, take inventory, and pull product out on the floor. A product won’t sell if a customer can’t see it. As a district manager, it’s my responsibility, not only the dealer’s, to check inventory. They have so many other things they’re attuned with,” she offered as an example. “I took it as a huge compliment when this guitar department manager shared, ‘You know, I’ve started to pay a lot more attention to what I have on the floor.’ He found he was selling more guitars.”
While her job offers her great pride and satisfaction, von Behren recognizes the need to one day slow things down. “It’s been an incredible experience. I have one of the most beautiful territories you can have in the United States and am working with active and innovative dealers who I feel are the leaders of our industry,” she said, “but I think this is where the female part of me comes into play. I would love to start a family one day, and I think it would be very difficult to do that having the size territory that I have right now. Eventually I would like to settle into a job where I’m not traveling as much but continues to challenge me with the responsibility and freedom I’ve had the past couple years. I’m in a transition part of life where you find you don’t know what you want quite yet.”
[ pages: 1]
|
you can download this entire issue here >>
