Mark Sargent, Director of Client Development
We aim to be a trusted partner and help develop our clients’ business. How can we help you be a success, attract the traffic you want, get the retail sales you need? Yes, that approach does often lead to projects with you down the road, but we truly have a desire to help you be successful. It’s the right thing to do.
I bring an understanding of all sides in this relationship to my job. During my career I’ve been a creative, an industrial designer. I’ve also been a client and know what it’s like to buy design, fabrication, and media services. The last 10-15 years of my career, I’ve been practicing a consultative sales approach, helping decision makers figure out how the collective ‘we’ are going to get what we need.
Listening is Key
When I talk to a client, I practice active listening to understand your needs. We want to fulfill your immediate wants, but also understand the deeper needs that are motivating them.
This approach helps us delve more under the surface, better understand your perspective, so we can make connection points with the services we offer. Or point you in the right direction if we don’t. One of the great things about Solid Light is that we bring a lot of experience in creating visitor destinations—20 years—to the table. While your challenge is unique to you, we might say, ‘Hey, this is similar to what we ran into with another project; we have some solutions.’
Site Visits Deepen Understanding
Solid Light finds a lot of benefit in having clients and prospects come to our Louisville headquarters and see firsthand what we can do. Watching a designer working on an experience on her computer screen, or one of our fabricators building a prototype, is so much more meaningful than me describing it or showing you a diagram. You also see how we have everyone under one roof and people can just pop over and get questions answered quickly and efficiently. Often the visit sparks new questions or discussions: ‘Now that I’ve seen you can do blank, let’s have this other conversation.’
In the same way, it’s very beneficial for Solid Light to visit your site. It’s one thing to talk about your museum or bourbon destination over the phone or at a trade show; it’s quite another to walk the site with you, see the layout, and learn about your plans and dreams.
Mark’s Advice:
“Get to know the people who will be providing the services that you’re hiring. You might be buying a sketch or rendering, fabrication services, concept designs, or even some help with intellectual property or branding. At the end of the day, that all comes from people. For your project, you should select people who care about your success. At Solid Light, I feel tremendously blessed to be surrounded by people who genuinely care about our clients and want them to succeed.”
Mark Sargent, Director of Client Development, has worked at Solid Light since August 2018. When he’s not building relationships with our clients, you might find him project-scheduling his weekend to make his wife and two children happy: “They’re my ultimate chairman and board.”
