Christa Collins

I attribute my success to a strong foundation of work ethic, support from family and friends and a true passion for my career. My husband, Patrick Collins, has been instrumental—managing his own career while also overseeing our home and caring for our kids while I travel frequently for work, often during important family moments. His encouragement is what led me to return to this career path. I was also shaped by my parents, who came from lower-income backgrounds and instilled in me the value of hard work and sacrifice. Professionally, returning to a manufacturer’s representative role with Tarkett in a highly competitive East Coast market has been a significant achievement; thanks to the relationships I’ve built over the years, the transition felt seamless, allowing me to step in and perform at a high level while continuing to grow and deliver results.

I have been incredibly fortunate over the course of my career to receive pivotal advice. Whether it's been a business coach, influential boss or a client that I have connected with, the advice has always been plentiful. I'm grateful for that. There are two pieces of advice that stand out for me, and I actively reflect on them while developing leads. The first is that we are not in the sales business; we are in the relationship business. A high-pressure sales position can be just that when viewing it through the wrong lens. However, when you rely on your natural ability to foster connections with the people around you, those clients and colleagues naturally seek you out for solutions. I've built relationships on honesty, integrity and trust and that means something. Once you master that, the sales piece comes naturally.

The second piece of advice that still shapes how I organize and prioritize my schedule is that there are nice-to-dos and there are have-to-dos. Several years ago, as a young sales professional, I was on the events committee for a local networking organization. However, when I had to choose between planning an event and scheduling an appointment with a paying client, my boss reminded me of this. Autonomy is a great thing, but it comes with the responsibility to know when to keep your head down in your work and when you can schedule that fun networking event. Making time for both is critical to professional development but understanding when to pivot back and forth is where you find success.

I would tell anyone getting into this field, to not be afraid to turn your college degree into what you want it to be. Your degree is not a box that you have to stay in throughout your career. It’s a platform that you can use to propel yourself anywhere you want to go. When I was in high school, I did not know what to study in college. My parents did not attend college, so there was not an abundance of guidance on the best career path for me. I knew that loved art class and that I could draw, but not the way most art kids could draw. I was good at drawing floorplans, buildings and architectural perspectives, which ultimately led me to major in interior design. Since earning my degree, I have paved my own career path that reflects my unique strengths.

Your professional career choices could guide you towards an industry that’s adjacent to design - and that's OK, if you're doing what you love. From my experience: I had an interior design degree, but I loved being out in the field, learning and growing; overseeing the installation process and cultivating relationships with people. Early on in my career it led me towards a cross between design and project management. This experience was the steppingstone that led to my success in sales and business development. I know several women from the design industry who transitioned into sales leaderships roles. I didn't even know that this was an option 20 years ago. I had no idea that manufacturers were pulling talent from candidates who had design or construction or project management backgrounds. It makes perfect sense because we have a global understanding of how materials and products are applied in real life applications. It doesn't just have to be flooring; it can be wall coverings, millwork or countertops or furniture. They all represent fields that a woman with interior design experience can turn into her own specialty. We, as women, are naturally talented at managing a lot of moving pieces. For me, there’s a lot of plates spinning every day. It’s part of the challenge that I enjoy every day.

One of the most rewarding opportunities in my field is being a woman in a male dominated industry. As a sales manager for a company who manufacturers sports flooring, we work closely with construction teams and the floor layers who install our products. There are several times a week when I am the only female in a room full of male decision makers. Some may find this intimidating (and there’s definitely been times in my career when I have felt this way). However, as I have grown professionally, I see it as a positive. The leadership team at Tarkett Sports has noticed a void of women in our industry as well and is doing something about it. I am one of three female Regional Sales Managers; our customer service and inside sales teams are composed mostly of woman. There are also several strong women in leadership roles throughout Tarkett Sports – these women are an inspiration for their ability to manage a career while many of them are amazing mothers as well.

A challenge that I face is the constant connection to technology and the difficulty in "powering down." Stepping away from the next email or phone call can be difficult. However, burnout is a real thing, especially when you're a full-time working mom with young kids. Parents who travel for a living are likely to miss significant family events so it's essential to know when to take that step back, find balance and enjoy those little moments. Only then can you be ready to dive back into work, refreshed, with a clear mind, ready to tackle your next goal.

One of my mentors in college was my lighting design professor, Dr. Kesner. She was brilliant at understanding lighting and the impact it has on design. She was known for her high expectations of students. If you wanted to succeed in her course, you needed to put 110% into every class. Project work was detailed and exams were a true test of your knowledge retention. This helped prepare students for the challenges to come in a professional career setting.

When I entered the flooring business, I relied heavily on installer networks to grow my technical knowledge. I often met them on jobsites, eager to learn and ask questions. I attribute a significant portion of my expertise in the flooring industry to the installer networks and colleagues that took the time to teach me. But here's still so much more to gain in my industry- and I'm surrounded by people who I learn from every day. I hope that I do the same for young professionals. Taking the time to educate the next generation who will take over when my colleagues and I retire is incredibly important. Mentorship is a great way to pay back the industry for all that I’ve learned from it. For me, future career goals include a leadership position where I can continue to motivate and educate others.   

We are an outdoorsy family; hiking, gardening and enjoying nature with our boys, ages 4 and 6, and our American Staffordshire Terrier, Memphis. We use these adventures to talk with our kids and let them learn through doing. Learning how to be kind to others, watch out for each other, think critically and problem solve are important values in your personal life and professional career. This isn't always the easiest thing to teach when you have two active boys who are constantly on the go. However, their energy and imagination are also what drive me. I don't want my boys to see their Mommy as someone who is working all the time. However, it is important that my boys see how hard my husband and I work. I don't ever want them to lose sight of what a strong work ethic is and, at the same time, we want our kids to know how much we love them. We teach our kids life lessons by doing almost any activity, from planting potatoes in our garden, to stacking firewood, to hiking a difficult trail. After a long week of meetings and seemingly never-ending travel, spending time with my family is always a priority.