What I love about this industry is that the more you learn about the people driving it—their personal lives, passions, hopes, and dreams—the more dynamic and multidimensional their professional work becomes. We are more than just our jobs or our personal lives, so why not bring them into the fold together? Greg Andersen, Sales Lead for Driscoll’s, was game to pull back the curtain and had a lot of fun doing it.
How has sales shaped the way that you approach your own life?
Sales has shaped my life in so many ways. Most importantly, sales helped me to understand how to work and create relationships with people. There are so many different personality types and difficulties that come along with our ag business.
I’m most proud of how I’ve learned to see and understand customers’ needs and trying with all my heart to meet these each day in a way that benefits all! I approach life with a lot of passion and always hope to live healthy and happy and to make a difference each day!
Words of Wisdom for the Next Generation in Sales...
Be patient with all the learnings at the beginning of your career, and learn your products from the field to the end consumer. Spend time in various areas to learn the field, sales, marketing, finance, the cooler, and the marketplace. Listen to the people around you, and learn other facets of the business such as other produce items, transportation, arrival issues, and credit and collections.
Tennis makes the world go round…
Tennis was always my haven—a place where I could work as hard as I possibly could on and off the court. Tennis helped me earn a full scholarship to college for an education and to compete at the D1 level. Our Bulldog Teams cracked the top 25 rankings and climbed to the schools highest rankings in their history. My favorite things as a player was competing and winning for my coaches, traveling all over the country, and calling my dad after each match. It was always our thing and I loved hearing his excitement when I won! As a coach, I enjoy all the different personalities, and seeing opportunities from beginners to advanced players looking to get a competitive advancement. It has always been a goal to give back to a game that was so special to me.
What are some of the core values that drive you?
Faith,
Family,
Caring,
Health,
Learning,
Consistency,
A Spirit of Adventure
How does your hometown of Salinas, California, hold a special place in your heart?
It’s my home where both sets of grandparents settled and formed our family. I enjoy seeing my boys grow up in the schools around Salinas. I also enjoy coming to town to visit my mom, so she can visit with her grandchildren. I have always been drawn to Central Park where I started playing tennis and love eating at Tico’s Tacos. California’s Monterey Peninsula, Monterey, and Carmel, also hold a place in my heart as I traveled there each day after school to practice tennis.
Inspirations & motivations...
I wake up each day and always try to make a positive difference and appreciate what I have and what I am given. Whether that is through health and fitness—which is super important to me—or eating healthy, and enjoying time with family and friends or helping out in the community—each day is a chance to practice gratitude. I’m inspired to keep learning each day. I’ve failed many times, however, and I always try to learn for the better. In produce, my passion is to help sell and promote healthy eating. We all contribute to getting some of the most healthy products that humans can consume.
Who are some of your mentors?
Produce:
Ken Morena, Miles Reiter, Tom Jones, Tim Youmans, Rex Lawrence, Steve Trede, Deb Calvert
Tennis:
Pete Smith, Brad Stine
What do you hope to teach your children and what would you like to impart on them?
First of all, they have an amazing mom. I hope to teach them the following values that we always talk about:
Faith and being passionate people.
Always give 100 percent.
School and education.
They must put this as a high focus.
Building friendships and relationships.
Be respectful of elders, teachers, and coaches.
Helping out in the community.
We choose a number of community events to help out each year.
Love each other.
