ICFA Rep of the Year Justin Pfahl provides a peek inside his busy lifestyle as he serves retail customers in Florida and Puerto Rico. Always on the go, he shifts into a higher gear in preparation for the July Preview Show. (Know someone who would be an interesting candidate for this column? Send suggestions to Cledit@casualliving.com or jsorcher@casualliving.com.)   

When that alarm clock goes off at 6 a.m. Monday morning, it is off to the races! I have three young kids that my wife and I get ready and ship off to school by 7:30 a.m. Mondays are usually office days for me so it allows me to get caught up from the week before and to prepare for the weeks ahead.

My assistant, Pat Thomas, and I get together in the morning and go over the weekend orders and any open issues that need to be addressed. Being that Pat and I have made it known to our dealers that we are available seven days a week, we usually take a lot of phone calls over the weekends. Saturdays and Sundays are probably the two most important days for our retailers so we definitely make sure we are accessible to them.  

The rest of the week for me as a rep varies day by day, week by week. It really depends on the time of year as well. Our season down in Florida is different than most of the country. When I am traveling through the state doing training on furniture around October/November, most territories are preparing for Christmas, ski and fireplace sales. With that being said, Florida is becoming more of a 12-month selling season. Therefore we are training constantly all year round. Not only do I travel throughout Florida, but I also cover Puerto Rico.

In addition to the normal training and updating, we do a lot of entertaining as well. Breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks or even just a simple cup of coffee have been something of a common occurrence with us and our dealers. Panera has become my best friend! We try to make it as enjoyable as possible.

Premarket in July is very important for us and our dealers. Being that our season usually begins in October, we need to make sure we have our orders in (especially containers) to land by September so we can start setting up the floors for the October kick off. Therefore, premarket can be more significant than the regular casual show for us. We start preparing in April/May with setting up appointments and figuring out new and old distribution. Depending on the line, distribution decisions can be tough. However, being able to make distribution decisions is a good thing for a rep. We are extremely busy at premarket with meetings and entertaining.  Once we return home, I am on the road immediately writing orders. That’s the best time of the year!

How do I unwind and relax? This is sometimes very challenging to do. I have a wife who works full time, three kids that are active in sports year-round and a dog that is not potty-trained! However, it is an important part of life so we definitely make time for it. I play soccer in a men’s league, which is a lot of fun. Not only do I like to entertain as a rep, but also as a husband and friend. Therefore my wife and I like to have friends and family over to the house all the time.

There is no such thing as a quiet house in the Pfahl family and that is the way we like it!