| |
An Interview with Bob Sutherland
by Ann-Marie Breaux, Vice President, Academic Service Integration
and Kris Baker, Director of Sales, Eastern U.S.
Earlier this summer on his 32nd anniversary with the company, Bob Sutherland retired from Baker & Taylor and YBP. After more than thirty years in the book business, Bob represents one of our most tenacious "road warriors," someone to whom the newer YBP reps could turn for advice - be that the best BBQ restaurant in out-of-the-way North Carolina or how to make it through four appointments in one day. Kris Baker and Ann-Marie Breaux sat down with him for a conversation before he left.
What did you do before coming to Baker & Taylor?
I was the Finance Manager for US Life Credit, an insurance company.
Bob Sutherland
|
How did you get started with Baker & Taylor?
My brother Tom was the Director of a public library in Kentucky, and Charlie McDaniel was the Regional Manager for Baker & Taylor in those days. Charlie asked Tom if he knew anyone who wanted a job, and Tom recommended me. During my interview with Charlie at a Holiday Inn, Charlie brought his son Jeff who was there playing in another room - he was about 9 or 10 at the time [Ed. Note: Jeff is currently Vice President of Sales for Customized Library Services at B&T]. I went home and thought about it for two or three days and then agreed to become the Sales Rep for Western Kentucky, Southern Indiana, and Southern Illinois. In those days, we handled all markets - retail, public, school, and academic. You had to be able to think on your feet and change your hat every time you went into a different account. There were different quotas for number of appointments per day, according to market.
That's a pretty big territory to cover so many types of customers.
In the winter and spring, we would cover public libraries, schools and academic libraries, and in the summer, we would switch to retail bookstores. In the 1990s, we went market-specific. Each general manager of the different Baker & Taylor warehouses ran their own sales departments, and we operated pretty independently from each other back then. We had warehouses in Momence, IL; Reno, NV; Commerce, GA; Bridgewater, NJ; and Clarksville, TX. I was affiliated with the Momence office until 1987 when I transferred down to Commerce as the Sales Manager. When they did away with the Sales Manager positions in the company, I went into the academic library market rather than taking a position at headquarters in Charlotte. In 1999, I transferred again, when B&T bought YBP.
What was it like when B&T bought YBP?
We B&T employees were surprised but knew it would benefit the academic side of the business. I believe the biggest shock was to the YBP employees. Here's an interesting story about B&T's purchase of YBP. At one point, we had a president who had worked on Wall Street with Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com. Jeff approached B&T wanting to purchase our title database. We took stock options instead, and ended up making enough money to expand our warehouses and purchase YBP. Today we not only work with Amazon, but Overstock, Barnes & Noble, and all those other web booksellers.
How has it been since the B&T/YBP merger?
It was the best thing that could have happened to B&T's academic division. YBP made a lot of difference for Baker & Taylor, being able to get hard-to-find academic titles that B&T does not routinely stock. The B&T approval plan system was creaky. In the end, both companies got stronger, and academic accounts are more highly respected now within B&T.
What was a sales call for an academic library like back when you started?
We didn't have all the tools and services like we have now. Mainly we supplied orders and had a continuations program - we would solicit a series list from the customer. In 1976, I got the idea to prepare a list from B&T, which made everything more predictable. We had some standard VAS (value added service) processing back then. We had a significant portion of the school market, most of the public libraries, and quite a few academic libraries.
And how was life on the road?
The B&T job was the first time I did a lot of traveling. They didn't want you to spend a lot of money; the per diem was $14 per night for the hotel, and then that was raised to $24 for hotel and food. The first night I spent out having never been away from my children, who were 4 and 2 years old, I saw the cigarette burns in the hotel furniture, and thought, "What have I gotten myself into?" The hotels have definitely gotten better since then. We had handwritten receipts. We had no e-mail, no cell phones. I used lots of pay phones or would stay in the hotel room and make phone calls. We didn't get telephone calling cards until a couple years after I started.
How did your travel affect your family?
My wife basically raised our daughters Lee Anne and Jill, because I was traveling every week, four days per week. I would try to be home by Friday. On the other hand, my daughters loved getting souvenirs from my travels. My daughter Lee Anne especially liked the Canadian Hard Rock Café t-shirt I got her when she was in 7th grade.
Were there any frantic phone calls from home?
I was on my way to a presentation in North Carolina one time, and got a call from my wife. My daughter had a serious car wreck. I then drove the five hours home. That was not a good day.
Any good stories from your time on the road?
Charlie McDaniel was a big cutup - he hired me and another guy named Ross Earlywine. We were both going to fly into Chicago O'Hare, rent a car, and go stay in a hotel in Momence - Charlie told us it was the Stone Crest Hilton. Two country boys like us, we don't know anything about Momence. We get lost and end up in Indiana. We finally get to Momence about 10:30 and it's rolled up and gone to bed. We stopped at a bar (only establishment open) to ask directions to the Stone Crest Hilton, everyone looked at each other and started laughing. Sure enough, there was a Stone Crest hotel right behind the bar - 8 rooms, TVs chained to the walls. A night's stay was $8.95 in 1975.
There was another time in Indianapolis when I checked in to my hotel, went to dinner, and came back late that night. I got a phone call that I had to vacate my room immediately. We all went to lobby and stood outside the hotel. It turned out that someone was holding a hostage in the room next to mine.
I think it might be best to leave out any other stories, but boy I could tell some…
How many miles do you think you've logged over the years?
I used to average about 30,000 miles per year.
Did you ever consider getting off the road?
After about ten years on the road, I kept saying I would change jobs, but then I never did.
There was a notable plane crash in Baker & Taylor's history.
That's right. It happened in 1979, the Friday before Memorial Day weekend. Several staff from Momence were headed to ABA (American Booksellers Association) in Los Angeles, flying from O'Hare. An engine fell off an American Airlines DC-10. Many publishers and booksellers were on board. The B&T staff were Jerry Campbell, the Sales Manager in Momence; Martha Vickery, the Retail Sales Manager; and Ella Stromme, Buyers Manager. It really left a huge hole in our Momence management. I was working for Jerry at the time, and I got a phone call Friday afternoon advising me of the crash. I filled in at Jerry's job for several months. Jim Ulsamer and Bent Andersen came down to take over the public and academic markets. That crash was a real eye-opener. I didn't want to take any appointments where I had to fly. After that, B&T's owners said that no two managers should fly on the same plane, and I understand that John Secor made the same rule for YBP. [Ed. Note: You'll find more information on the crash of American flight 191 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Airlines_Flight_191.]
The last couple of years you haven't had to travel as much.
I've been a part of the Library Support Center the last couple of years, which meant less travel, but more accounts. I've been really fortunate to stay with B&T a bit longer and retire on my own terms. Most recently I've reported to Kris Baker, who has been a great boss, but she can't pick good restaurants. We went to a conference in North Carolina and she suggested having dinner next door to the hotel. It was a place where you pick out your own meat on a bar and then they cook it. None of it looked very tasty. We both got the filet mignon, but it was inedible by the time it got to our table. We dropped some money on the table and headed for another restaurant - I think we finally ate at about 9:30 that night.
Any good restaurant recommendations?
I like places with good salad bars - Sweet Tomatoes, the Olive Garden, P.F. Changs, Red Lobster. Steak and Shake restaurants are good places to eat when coming home from the airport late at night. I also like some of the local restaurants, like this one BBQ place in Greensboro N.C. I do not eat doughnuts anymore.
Who is your favorite customer?
I have so many - that's been the great thing about this job - I've developed so many friendships. I could name a hundred favorites.
Has golfing with a customer ever helped you win business?
Only if they win. Not that I've ever let anyone win…
Any other customer tips to pass along?
Be honest and don't try to B.S. them. Customers don't like to be pushed or sold to. Know what you're talking about, and if you don't know, admit it.
What are you most proud of in your career?
Developing relationships with accounts over the years to where they are more of a friend than a customer. I feel like I'm not a salesman like a car salesman. My customers trust me, and I trust them, and that good will comes back to you.
You used to sell Libris, B&T's book ordering system - what was it like demonstrating computer systems like Libris back then?
In those days most of us were not librarians or that familiar with computers. In the mid-80s, we were given the opportunity to work in an academic library for a week. That helped me understand workflows and become more proficient with systems. Then that led me to be one of the main trainers for TitleSource, first as a CD and then when it went online as TitleSource II. I probably sold 150 of those TitleSource CDs.
How has bookselling changed through the years?
When I first began, there were no computers. Everyone worked from order slips, so there was lots of alphabetizing. The computer changed our world. We also used to have a lot of publisher reps competing against us. One book vendor had self-addressed, stamped envelopes for libraries to send their orders. Another let customers call their orders in by phone. Jim Ulsamer got phone ordering set up in Momence so that we could counter that other vendor. Then B&T was the first to come up with this computer device - the BataPhone - where customers would input ISBNs, and a little acoustic coupler hooked up to your phone and transmitted the orders by modem. Customers liked that because you didn't have to wait on the phone. Computers were coming in, and we developed the TitleSource CD with our database on it. Customers could find titles, see inventory (a week or month out of date), and place orders. Before that, customers used microfiche to see our titles. Then Chris Larew, Craig Richards, and Matt Carroll developed TitleSource II which allowed customers to see real time inventory. Then Amazon came along, and that changed the world, with everyone going online. We began offering MARC records and saw an explosion of technical services. Libraries are so much more sophisticated now.
Talk shows like Phil Donahue and Oprah changed the way we did things, since libraries needed overnight shipments for popular titles. You had to have strong inventory, which really hurt the vendors that didn't stock many titles. We also became really successful with the lease book plan once libraries started wanting to lease books. Now in addition to books, we sell so much music, video, and computer games - things we didn't sell before.
What's next in your retirement? How will you fill the days?
My wife and I are going to Italy and taking a cruise around the nearby countries. I've already accomplished a few things on my honey-do list and golfed a lot. A couple years ago, we moved to a golf community here in Athens, Georgia. I'll also spend time with our four grandkids. My younger daughter Jill lives in the Athens area and my other daughter Lee Anne lives north of Atlanta. I may take some free classes over at the University of Georgia on horticulture, and have some landscape projects going with my daughters. I have a desk full of stuff to do - I've always wanted to do more some genealogy work on our family. I won't be bored.
Read any good books lately?
Lot of horticulture magazines, like Hosta Journal, Fine Gardening, Garden Gate, Garden Design. I also just finished Louis Freeh's book, My FBI.
So what's the real scoop with the Baker & Taylor cats? How did it all start?
In the mid-1970s, one of the Reno reps went into a library in Nevada, and they had a cat named Baker who roamed the library. B&T purchased another cat for them and called it Taylor. They were Scottish Fold cats, with the funny ears. We were shipped the cat posters for a conference in Indiana one day, and librarians almost tore the place down to get those posters - they'd kill you for one. The posters were a pain because you had to roll them individually. Then we started putting cats on bags. Those cats created so much traffic around the B&T booth at conferences.
Did you ever have to dress up as Baker or Taylor?
Thankfully, no.
|
