Purely Products BlogResponsible Products for Responsible Living

Say hello to Purely Products new Executive Vice President of Sales, Tony Pecoraro. You might not know his name, but you will know the national brand names he has helped to grow over the past thirty years– household names like Helen of Troy (Revlon, Bed Head, Vidal Sassoon Hair Care Appliances), Nordic Ware, Litton Microwave, Magic Chef, and  As Seen on TV, K-Tel.  Tony has enjoyed a thriving, successful, satisfying career and led his salesmen and companies to thrive, grow and contribute to the marketplace. In one of our first conversations, the question popped up, How did you get into sales? His ready answer was, Someone saw something in me.

The story he told sounded like the opening scenes of Tom Hank’s tribute film to the early 1960’s, That Thing You Do. As a teen-ager, Tony worked every Saturday as a delivery boy in Buffalo, New York for one of those long gone neighborhood mom and pop appliance stores.  One day, the owner, Don Pirson, told Tony his customers had been raving about the helpful, conscientious young man who delivered their appliance, set it up, patiently walked them through the manual and answered all their questions.

Don asked Tony to show up the following Saturday in a jacket and tie instead of jeans. It was time for Tony to learn more than just delivery. Also working in the store were five retired gentlemen – all salesmen – who just could not retire. Each had been successful in their respective fields, from utilities to furniture to stocks & bonds, with a lifetime education in sales and service to offer. These six gentlemen chose to take him under their wing. Tony listened, learned and modeled everything he saw – what serving a customer with excellence truly meant.

So instead of following a career after college in psychology (like all natural salesmen, people fascinate Tony), he pursued a career in sales, moving vertically through sales management positions for some of America’s best loved household brands into senior management.  Thirty years of serving his customers followed, just like when raving customers called Don Pirson about him, only now he was serving in a national and international arena.

Which is why coming to Purely Products was a next logical step. The founder and president preaches and lives the gospel of raving customers – customers who are madly in love with you because you served them well. Tony sees opportunity and the vision of this thriving eco-minded, consumer-demand driven company. He is excited about expanding and opening up new channels for Purely’s innovative clean and healthy living brand. 

However, Tony also saw something powerful in Purely’s heart to give back by helping children as part of its business model.  A percentage of all Purely Products’ sales support diaperLove™ a non-profit supplying diapers to children in need.  Tony sees the Purely paradigm as “the new American entrepreneurial spirit that unites strong business practices with social responsibility.” Again, it’s all about serving with excellence.

Twenty years into his career, Tony got the opportunity to go back to Buffalo and thank Don Pirson for seeing something in him and taking the time to help him develop natural gifts. The other five gentlemen who mentored him were no longer around to thank, but when asked, their names – Judd Rosengrant, Ellsworth Layer, Abbie Goldman, Eddie Wolmuth, George White – roll off his tongue as quickly as the names of friends he saw last week. Unforgettable, these six gentlemen from Buffalo. We thank them, too.

Tell us about someone who springs to mind who saw something in you.