Stacy Nemeth

Dayton Beer Sales Professional

As the old saying goes, a great sales pro never takes no for an answer. If Dayton Beer Sales Professional Stacy Nemeth took no for an answer, she probably wouldn’t be working at Heidelberg Distributing.

Stacy started out her professional career as an X-Ray technician. She worked for 16 years in the field, including managing a mobile mammography program in the Dayton area for an NPO. The non-profit eventually dissolved and she moved into the medical sales field. After spending four years in that position, due to budget cuts, she again found herself looking for work.

“I was trying to get back into my original field of study (radiology) when my brother-in-law, Brent Furay, who used to work for Heidelberg, introduced me to Allied Wine General Sales Manager Larry Chmiel and then Heidelberg Wine GSM Kevin McNamara,” Stacy said. “I interviewed with them but was not immediately hired. So, I started volunteering at wine events and kept introducing myself to anyone with Heidelberg I could. Basically, I kept showing up at everything I could and kept bugging them until they hired me!”

Hired as a merchandiser, Stacy spent one week in that position before getting the chance to prove herself by filling in on a sales route in the Springfield market. “I was in that temp sales route for about a month before I was given a corporate wine sales route,” Stacy recalls. “About nine months after that, the ‘All Other Beer’ sales team was formed and Randy Cook, who was heading it up, called me and said he wanted me on his team. I was thrilled! Beer is really my passion, so for me it was a perfect fit.”

Being a sales professional is all about relationships. Regardless of the product, Stacy knows that maintaining the best possible relationships with her customers is the key to success. “My number one priority is to take care of my customers,” Stacy says. “I have great relationships with all of them but it is something that I work hard at every day. Those relationships are built up over time, they just don’t happen.”

Like her fellow sales pros at Heidelberg, Stacy spends the majority of her time in the field, going from one account to the next and making sure everything is good to go with their inventory, orders and whatever else they may need. This is especially important this time of year. October, November, December or “OND” as it is referred to – the busiest time of the year for the alcohol beverage industry.

“The holiday season is always crazy,” says Stacy. “Restaurants and stores are going to be busier with holiday parties and people going out to celebrate. We all remind our accounts to plan ahead and make sure they order plenty of inventory. But at some point, we’ll get a call with someone needing some extra product and we make sure they get what they need. That’s our job!”

Stacy has a daughter in college who just like her, is studying radiology. In addition to spending time with her family, away from her customers and her sales route, she stays busy with traveling, going to concerts and hanging out with friends.