The Chairman's Corner

By John Chipman, Jr.

February 2021

Have you set your professional and personal goals for 2021? Skipping annual goals is like not setting up Monday’s dispatch. You might beat the Friday commute home, but disaster will greet you on Monday morning. There is no better time than now to set your goals. For example, want to improve your quality scores? Then set a goal to train your crews before Peak Season. Want to audition for The Voice? Then don’t wait until September to start yodeling lessons; stardom awaits! Bottom line: there’s still time to consider where you are right now and what you want to accomplish in 2021. Here’s a look at the goals set by several California moving and storage leaders, just like you.

Shiree Hammer wears several important CMSA hats. She is our organization’s current Secretary and is the President of the Orange County Chapter. However, her biggest endeavor is being part of Joe Hammer’s family legacy at California Relocation Services (“Cal Relo”) in Garden Grove. Shiree works shoulder-to-shoulder with her father, Joe Jr., brother Jeff and cousin Tim. Shiree’s oldest son has also been spotted in the warehouse on occasion. Together, the Hammers specialize in providing expert international origin and destination services for their commercial, corporate and military customers.

Shiree is mindful of her family’s resilience during the pandemic. This understanding helped shape her professional goal for the new year: “Show gratitude and appreciation for the hard work of others – especially our Team at Cal Relo!” Her personal goal is to strike a better work/home balance. “I want to help my sons through the challenges they face with virtual schooling as well; while I maintain some sanity.”

Long before Jeremy Day worked at Ace Relocation Systems in San Diego, he was a summer helper in the Bay Area. “I specialized in debris pickups and breaking down boxes at Thomas Transfer and Storage.” Today Jeremy oversees three of ACE’s branch locations in the U.S. and is responsible for Ace’s national customer experience teams. According to owner Dan Lammers, “Jeremy’s daily leadership and steadfast demeanor compliments Ace’s culture. His point of view is respected by the entire organization.”

Jeremy’s professional goals for 2021, include “Continue to operate in a safe manner that protects all of our customers, service teams and partners. Win a few pieces of new business. We had a great 2020 in this regard but need to continue on that path.” His personal goals: “GET OUT OF THE HOUSE! Enough of the weekend yardwork. Attend as many live sporting events as possible starting with the hopeful return of youth sports for my kids, the Padres and everything in between.” Last but, not least: “Give back the 15 lbs. that 2020 gave to me!”

Olga Garcia is the Co-President of CMSA’s Northern Region chapter. Her full-time gig is working with big sister, Griselda, and brother-in-law, Charlie, at CG Moving in South San Francisco. At CG, Olga oversees all aspects of customer interaction including site visits, estimates, invoices, payments, and customer reviews. Plus, she’s in charge of CG’s social media pages.

Olga’s goals for 2021? “Working with a communications coach to improve and refine my communications skills. I am always grateful for the company I work for, and CG makes it a point to always invest in making me a better businessperson. Olga’s personal goal is based on strong reflection. “2020 was a challenging year for all of us. The pandemic has made me appreciate the small and simple things in life. It is so easy to get caught up in fake social media posts just so people can see how happy or successful we are. In 2021, I want to keep on appreciating the small and simple things in life. I have not had a manicure in almost one year and I am okay with that!” 

Personally, I’m not good about setting goals for myself, so I swiped my professional goal from Chipman’s COD sales team. The team’s goal is simple: “close the deal the same day as the survey.” That means providing the prospect with the estimate immediately following the in-home or virtual survey. According to our team, it’s best to close the sale while the rep has the prospect’s full attention and focus. If the prospect delays her decision, then it’s critical to follow up the next day with enthusiasm. The longer the estimate sits in the pending file, the harder it is to close. My personal goal is to stay away from cookies. During the pandemic I developed a slight cookie addiction. Truth be told, because of cookies, I’m in danger of being shut down at the scales for being over my axel weight. For me, 2021 means closing more sales and eating fewer cookies.

February 2021- CMSA Communicator