Deborah Schilling

I attribute my success to the very people I've met through my career who have helped me grow and learn. I've been very, very fortunate to cross paths with so many people that have been very generous with their time and knowledge. People like Steve Vince, the engineer who took me under his wing and helped me along, and Mark Brown, who brought me into Insultech and helped me find my way through sales when it was all new to me. I also had customers who were incredibly kind and generous, like Rob Ricksford at Central Power, who gave me a shot when nobody else would and brought me into data center work. He spent so much time teaching me, and now that's where people call me for expertise. It's not always what you know, it's who you know, because if you know the right person with the right answer, it's just as good as knowing it yourself. Building that network and having people support me along the way has been everything.

One of the best pieces of career advice I’ve ever received came through the mentorship of Steve Vince and Mark Brown. Early in my manufacturing sales career, they invested their time in teaching, guiding, and challenging me to grow. Their influence helped shape my professional foundation, strengthened my confidence, and reinforced the importance of continuous learning and strong relationship-building in sales.

I would say never close the door on something that you haven't done before. If an opportunity presents itself, there's always a chance to learn something new. You may love it, you may hate it, but you'll never know until you try it. The biggest challenges in manufacturing, especially in the power generation side, is that it's not a new industry and it's very much been a fraternity. Breaking into it is very difficult, because I always tell people the two rules of sales are to be first or be memorable. When you're in an industry as old as this, it's hard to be first, so you have to be memorable. The opportunity and the challenge is to create a positive memory you leave people with in order to grow the network.

The biggest challenges in manufacturing, especially in the power generation side, is that it's not a new industry and it's very much been a fraternity. Breaking into it is very difficult, because I always tell people the two rules of sales are to be first or be memorable. When you're in an industry as old as this, it's hard to be first, so you have to be memorable. The opportunity and the challenge is to create a positive memory you leave people with in order to grow the network. It's not always what you know, it's who you know, because if you know the right person with the right answer, it's just as good as knowing it yourself. Expanding my network along the way always helps, and my goal is to make sure I'm giving customers the service that they're not necessarily getting from other people and making an impression that lasts.

In my work, all I have is my reputation. As a salesperson, I don't make the product physically, I'm not managing anything - what I have is my reputation, so it's important to be able to make that visible. My goal is to give customers exactly what they need and provide them the service that they're not necessarily getting from other people, making an impression that lasts. My most humbling moment was when a competitor sought me out at a trade show because their customers kept talking about me as the person who gets them, who is just on top of the game and gives them the best service. That meant I'm working for people that support me and allow me to do that, but it also means that the customers truly, truly appreciate what I've done. Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my adult children, my husband, and our family. My husband and I always enjoy comedy - you gotta be able to laugh. We go to comedy shows and just enjoy life together. Our dirty little secret is we love a good game of bingo at the bar where we don't really have to pay attention and we can hang out with friends.