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TOBACCO BUSINESS
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Sound Advice
Continued
Tobacco Business:
If you could go back to when you
first started at Phillips & King, what advice would
you give yourself ?
Sergio Montolfo:
Master relentless focus: Find the most critical things
the business needs for the next six months, make them the everyday focus
of every person and hour you can spare, and cut out everything else to
the point where it hurts at least a little. Only then will you have the focus
you need.
For tobacco businesses that need to grow their customer
base on a budget, what advice would you give them?
At Phillips & King, we have a lot of repeat business and feel we offer the
most value with long-term retailers. However, we need to keep bringing
in new business as well. Old business can falter if budgets change or
people move on, so it is important to look for new opportunities. You
need to start a relationship early, so that it is mature enough to deliver
new business when your other work is completed. Grow your business
with caution—this is the only way to minimize the risks and increase
your chances for success.
What has been the biggest challenge in expanding
Phillips & King?
How and when to expand your business are key decisions that every
company must face eventually. Making the claim that we are a “one-
stop shop” is a bold statement because you had better be able to back
that up. The largest challenge we have had at Phillips & King is being
able to adapt and maintain tax and compliance for all of the local state
and city ordinances throughout the entire country.
Traditional retail across all industries is struggling in the modern
commerce environment. Our customers are at risk—that applies to small
and medium businesses. We have the pleasure of being able to collabo-
rate with local business owners in every state to identify ways to create
sustainable strategies. We must help them create memorable in-store ex-
periences that are irreplaceable by passive consumer online purchasing.
During your tenure at Phillips & King, what’s the leading
factor to which you would attribute your successes?
Perhaps the most important of the success factors is character. Self-
discipline combined with honesty will open countless doors. Trust is the
foundation of all relationships. When people know you and believe in
you and are convinced that they can trust you to keep your word and
do what you say you will do, they will feel that they are far more likely
to get the things they want through you—to get the things they want,
faster, sooner, easier and with greater certainty.
How have your thoughts on running a successful business
and being a leader evolved over the years?
Keep looking ahead. Where do we see the company in five, 10, 20
years? Is what we are doing now in the interest of those goals? In ad-
dition, your people are your greatest asset—employees, customers and
vendors. They are invaluable resources of information and ideas.
How can businesses stay ahead of the curve and jump on
something valuable before it becomes a trend?
Put yourself in the right environment and around the right peo-
ple [by] attending various trade shows globally, such as the TPE
(Tobacco Plus Expo) coming up in January of 2018. These trade
shows are great venues to discover upcoming products and trends,
and [they’re] a place to build relationships with people that are on
the front lines.
TB
We have the
pleasure of
being able to
collaborate with
local business
owners in every
state to identify
ways to create
sustainable
strategies.