Meet Clay Covington | Vice President, Sales, Galleher

We had the good fortune of connecting with Clay Covington and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Clay, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I’m a native Californian, born and raised in Walnut Creek, attended Chico State, where I studied marketing. I began my career in the hospitality business, and I highly recommend everyone to experience working in a restaurant or kitchen at one point in their life. I’ve been a dishwasher, prep cook, line cook, manager, and more, for clubs and restaurants/bars, even served as a general manager of a family restaurant and managed a nightclub in Chicago for Walter Payton. The long hours, usually 60+ hour workweeks, can prepare you for anything. That early experience taught me about customer service and making a sale, and it significantly impacted my work ethic.

I also really liked the events and spirits side of the restaurant business. After working in hospitality, I became a commissioned sales rep in the highly competitive food service distribution industry. I eventually became a district manager, and with the increased competition at that level, I soon learned that the only thing that separated you from the competition was your commitment to offering the best in service, as well as the best in pricing for the products that consumers really want.

Later on, a friend in the flooring business knew of my sales success and brought me onto one of the largest domestic manufacturers in flooring. I went on to work with one of their top distributors, where I became VP Sales. After more than a decade in this role, I left that company to join Galleher, where I’ve been for the last nearly nine years, but I’ve now been in flooring for more than 25 years.

What should our readers know about your business?
Galleher is one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of flooring in the country. We create and distribute our own line of products, from quality hardwoods to durable non-wood flooring. We’re also very fortunate to have aligned ourselves with some of the best global and domestic wood and sundry manufacturers in the industry.

Galleher has three primary proprietary brands that are each designed to meet the unique needs of different customer segments. Monarch Plank is our top-of-the-line wide plank hardwood brand, offering a modern interpretation of old-world elegance; Reward Flooring offers high quality wood flooring products at a more accessible price point; and GemCore is our resilient flooring brand offering products with the look of wood or stone, but with waterproof and dent properties, so there is less worry and upkeep.

These proprietary brands tie in closely what I’m most excited about: the innovation that comes from a close collaboration with our manufacturing partners. It really stems from a deep understanding of our customers – what they want and what they need. And creating products that meet those needs. And that creates the opportunity for each of our brands to meet a unique need across the spectrum of residential and commercial customer segments which allows us to focus our marketing and sales messaging on those key relevant benefits that generate purchase interest.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Having grown up in California, L.A. was always a destination for me and my family over the years. There are so many great places to see, restaurants to check out, and culture to experience.

If I would have to choose, I would certainly suggest taking in a show at the Hollywood Bowl or The Comedy Store and maybe grab dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in West Hollywood, The Little Door. I’d also suggest they spend some time at the beach in Laguna, Venice or Santa Monica – all great choices. Universal Studios is great for thrills and excitement, and for a little culture, the Getty is great (although I prefer the intimacy of the Getty Villa in Malibu.) Lastly, I’d suggest spending some time in downtown L.A. at L.A. LIVE, and perhaps catch a Lakers game.

So much to do and see, and not enough time, so pick and choose wisely!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My father had the greatest impact on me as a father, husband, friend, and businessperson. My father encouraged me from a young age to always be working, and work hard at that. He instilled in me this drive to make things happen for myself, never to ask for things, and instead to work hard for what I wanted. He was an important influence on my work ethic. As for being successful as a salesperson or manager, I think it’s all about aligning yourself with the right people and culture. This is across every aspect of our business – first, having the right partners, those who are creating innovative, quality products, keen on fashion-forward trends, and second, the collective, collaborative effort of the entire sales and marketing team, working well together in harmony. With that kind of alignment, it’s easier to do your best work, no matter what the product or industry.

In the flooring industry, I would have to point to the inspiration and encouragement that I received from Jeff Hamar, who was the President of Galleher when I joined (he’s now executive chairman). Jeff instilled in me the core values of Galleher that have contributed to our company’s success over the years, and I employ them all every day as I work with our customers and Galleher employees. They can be encompassed by the term we use internally – the Galleher WOW factor. The WOW factor to Galleher employees means we are committed to doing everything in our power to help our customers keep the promises they make to their customers. It’s a total commitment to our customers’ success, which, in turn, help make us successful. I try to pass on the learning I received from Jeff in my early years at Galleher to all our employees, and I try to be a good mentor and leader to them by providing support, encouragement, and recognition as they all achieve their own level of success.

Website: www.galleher.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/galleher_llc

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clay-covington-87479612/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/galleherllc

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GalleherLLC/

Image Credits
Headshot photo by Cara Covington