Meet The Team: Wade Hogg

In this blog, we feature Wade Hogg II, vice president of sales for LBMH at ECI Software Solutions. We sat down with Wade to learn more about his role within the team.

ECI: Describe your role in 50 words or less.

Wade Hogg II (WH): As VP of Sales, I specialize in leading a team of sales professionals consulting customers in the Hardware, Lumber, Building Materials, and Hardlines market to grow their businesses while making better business decisions using our solutions.

ECI: Tell us about your background and the path that led you to your current role?

WH: I attended Murray State University, majoring in marketing and minoring in computer science. I began in online/retail sales while running my website and selling in the LBM market for 19 years. I have always enjoyed working with teams while finding it more rewarding to help people win not just exclusive to myself. I also became very attached to helping our particular market better their businesses while providing a better work-life balance as a priority. My main career goal is to serve others while leading by example, which in parallel helps our customers win.

ECI: What does your day-to-day work life look like?

WH: "Organized Chaos" has always been my nickname, and the normal workday is no exception. My morning consists of the previous evening or early morning emails, which may contain requests/reviews or VMs. A typical month will comprise 60 1x1s and 75-90 set recurring meetings divided across workdays. This does not account for net new or added meeting/call requests added to the calendar. From here, I will contact the various teams through TEAMS or email, touching base on daily/weekly/monthly activities, etc. Late afternoon will comprise sales/forecast/call review while tracking sales for the entire division. Travel is also a part of the role throughout the year, which, when introduced, will delay or stack the above requests over time.

ECI: What advice would you give someone just starting in your industry?

WH: Be yourself. Our market demands a personality set that mirrors our prospects and customers. You lose interest the minute you fall into a script or sales pitch. Our market responds to a person’s authenticity, gaining trust, which, once obtained, you win.

ECI: What excites you most about working within this industry?

WH: There is never a dull moment. Completing 30 calls a day will almost guarantee 30 completely different conversations. When you feel you’ve heard it all, the next meeting/conversation occurs. Secondly, helping a customer/owner regain or further control their business is self-rewarding and creates a sense of accomplishment.

ECI: What do you find most challenging about working within this industry?

WH: Earning trust and also satisfaction. Our industry is very demanding, with complete satisfaction being very difficult to achieve. What drives me is working through challenges others may have relinquished hope. A difficult win in supporting a customer is just as rewarding as a net new sale.

ECI: What is the most important lesson you’ve learned since you began your career?

WH: There is a fine line between patience and eagerness. I typically work under heavy volume with high speed alongside. There is a long learning curve in which learning to balance both. While speed and responsiveness achieve many goals, under some circumstances, patience and several iterations of review achieve different goals.

ECI: Since you started working in the industry, what changes have you witnessed?

WH: Our market is incredibly resilient. We have worked through potential recessions, a pandemic, supply chain scarcity, and employment retention issues with being a very short list. Our prospects/customers remain strong with always the glass half full approach. Rarely in my career have I met an owner willing to give in.

ECI: What do you enjoy doing when you're not at work?

WH: I am an avid sports fan while still competing for two—three nights a week in full-court basketball alongside many I graduated with in high school and college. I walk or walk nearly daily, helping find the outlet needed. Most importantly, I am a dance dad to my 14-year-old dance team captain, Ailise. Having a mini-me and daddy’s daughter brings me more joy.

ECI: What book would you recommend for anyone to add to their ‘must-read list?

WH: I don’t sit long enough to read a book. However, the "1% Rule" by Tommy Baker influenced me. This book was a reminder you don’t have to win it all in one day, it helps explain to take bites or small pieces without causing crushing stress and anxiety daily.