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Gullum and his wife take advantage of all the free
sporting events they can handle --their kids' games |
Name: Frank Gullum
Position: Sonoma Raceway VP/Sales
Age: 47
Where I’m from: Pittsburgh
Where I call home: Napa Valley
Focusing on right now: This weekend's NASCAR races and August's IndyCar finale.
Best advice: My advertising exec grandfather HUGH MCDONALD, who owned an agency in Pittsburgh, told me to always serve the customer and you’ll never go wrong. I’ve found in my career that the more you serve, provide wise counsel and treat the client’s money as it if were your own, clients rarely leave.
A must for a new hire: A nose like a detective to find opportunities, the ability to listen to a customer’s needs like a psychologist and the persistence of JOB to never give up. This is not brain surgery; let’s find a way to sell more widgets together and have some fun at a world-class motorsports venue in the middle of Wine Country.
Exec I admire most: Who doesn’t love MARK CUBAN? Seeing him on “SHARK TANK” and in the papers and in the Twitter universe, he’s just an interesting gentleman that I’ve followed for years. Having been in Pittsburgh like him, I’ve always admired what he’s done in the business world.
Best book I’ve read this year: "The Power of Who," by BOB BEAUDINE. He stresses that we need a new way to think about business and personal networking. The basic premise is that a smaller, more personal network of your closest business associates -- your “Who” -- is more valuable personally and professionally than a large network of people with whom you might only be “Linked-In” with.
First thing in the morning: A daily devotional or two and I’ll usually go online to get some news. A quick breakfast with the family, then I race off to drive the kids to school.
Talking tech: Not sure what I’d do without my iPhone, SalesForce and GoToMyPc. We’re joined at the hip. Compared to the old days and all of us working on Blackberries, the productivity that the iPhone and iPad have brought back into my life is amazing.
Must have music: I listen to a ton of Contemporary Christian like CASTING CROWNS and CHRIS TOMLIN, but sometimes need to go back in time and pull up some ERIC B. & RAKIM, BEASTIE BOYS or classic VAN HALEN. Never would I have imagined that my high school-aged daughter and middle school-aged son would ever tell me to turn the music down because it was too loud.
Food for thought: Nothing beats my ribs or filet mignon -- unless it’s date night in the Napa Valley. Our favorites include Rutherford Grill and MICHAEL CHIARELLO's Bottega.
How I unwind: Quality time with my wife and kids. We love to entertain as well as get the extended family together boating or jet-skiing at the lake. We fill in the time with all the free baseball, football and softball my wife and I can watch of our kids’ year-round sporting events.
Day in the life: I can still remember my first sponsor proposal. I recall media exposure being so darn critical to all marketers. Boy, how times have changed. Now, we spend our days finding B2B solutions certain to drive sales supported by Scarborough Marketing data ideas that will provide the perfect mix of assets to entertain in style. Years ago, clients cared about things like Joyce Julius and the media exposure, which was so critical.
