The Art of Building Relationships With Scott Bishop of Sailun Tires Americas

Scott Bishop is the Vice President of Passenger and Light Truck Tire Sales for the independent channel at Sailun Tire Americas, which specializes in offering a diverse range of tire brands. He has a wealth of experience in the tire industry, having worked his way up through other reputable companies like Bridgestone and Falken Tire over the years. Scott developed a passion for cars early on, building motors and drag racing with his father.

In this episode…

Scaling an automotive business requires open communication and a focus on value. What is the key to success in the tire industry?

According to Scott Bishop, Vice President of Passenger and Light Truck Tire Sales for the independent channel at Salem Tire Americas, success comes from building relationships, providing value, and focusing on existing customers more than pursuing new ones. He emphasizes the importance of understanding customer needs and offering data-driven solutions to grow your business. Scott also notes the importance of open communication, even when addressing complex issues.

On this episode of Gain Traction, Mike Edge welcomes Scott to discuss his career in the tire industry, which started with his love of cars and has led him through sales, retail, and management positions. They talk about the value segment of the tire market, as well as building relationships with customers.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: 

• [02:15] Scott Bishop details his unforgettable first encounter with Mike Edge
• [05:10] The challenges and joys of running a tire store
• [06:14] Why relationships are vital in the tire industry
• [15:58] The growth potential within your existing customer base
• [19:17] Memorable stories from Scott’s adventurous tire career
• [25:59] Scott’s favorite travel destinations and culinary experiences

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Scott Bishop on LinkedIn
• Sailun Tire Americas
• Bridgestone
• Falken Tires
• SEMA
• Mike Edge on LinkedIn
• Tread Partners

Quotable Moments:

• “The quality of our product is really, really good. I would compare it to a tier two all day long.”
• “Relationships are everything. That’s why I enjoy this part of the business; there’s so many people I communicate with daily that I really like.”
• “We’re not looking to sign new independent dealers. We’re just looking to grow with what we have.”
• “If you want good food, go to Louisiana. It makes my mouth water just saying the name.”
• “People want the straight story. They don’t want to go around the situation to get to it.”

Action Steps:

1. Build and maintain strong relationships: By fostering genuine relationships with clients and colleagues, you can create a supportive network that helps navigate challenges and enhances your professional life.
2.  Embrace continuous learning and adaptability: Staying curious and adaptable allows you to seize new opportunities and remain competitive in a constantly evolving market.
3. Leverage data to identify growth opportunities: Using granular data can uncover potential growth areas for existing customers, ensuring you’re meeting the needs of your clients more accurately.
4. Approach challenges with transparency and directness: Addressing issues head-on builds trust and credibility with clients, establishing a reputation for honesty and integrity.
5. Diversify your interests and experiences: Having diverse experiences can make you more versatile and resourceful, allowing you to tackle challenges from different angles and adapt to new situations more effectively.

• Gain Traction Podcast
• Mike Edge
• Sailun Tires
• Scott Bishop
• Tread Partners

Transcript

00:02
Announcer
Welcome to the Gain Traction Podcast where we feature top tire and auto repair professionals, shop owners, industry executives and thought leaders and share their inspiring stories. Now let’s get started with the show. 

00:18
Mike
Hello folks. Welcome to the Gain Traction Podcast, the tire Business Podcast. I am Mike Edge, your host. My guest today is Scott Bishop, Vice president of Passenger and Light Truck Tire Sales independent channel with six brands for Sailing Tire usa. Scott and I met through another previous Gain Traction podcast guest, Ron Dolan, the president of Salem Tire usa. And that was probably about a couple years ago. So if you haven’t heard that one, check it out. You can find it in the list at gain traction podcast.com before we get started, allow me to tell you who is sponsoring this podcast. This podcast is brought to you by Tread Partners and its educational marketing highlight for today. When it comes to your PPC budget and ad spend for multi location shops, don’t put all your ad spend with Google in one bucket. 

01:06
Mike
Divide it up for accountability and control. If you’re pooling one Google Ads campaign across all locations, you might miss what’s really happening. One shop could be struggling while another’s is overwhelmed with customers. By using location specific strategies, you can fine tune your approach to give each shop exactly what it needs when it needs it. My past guest shout out for today is TJ White with TireSource Neighborhood Care in Akan and Canton, Ohio. If you haven’t listened to it, please check it out at gain traction podcast.com so let’s get this podcast started. Scott Bishop, welcome to Gain Traction. 

01:44
Scott
Thank you Mike. Thanks for having me on and I’m pumped man, this is fun Gain Traction Podcast. And you know, good talking to you today. 

01:54
Mike
Yeah, well, no, it’s been a pleasure getting to know you. And then it was funny when were down at that conference a couple weeks ago, we ran into each other and it was like we stared at each other for a moment because I think we had only met one time and it was a few months back at sema and were looking at each other like how do I know you? And I think I said my name. You said your name? I said, have we met? 

02:15
Scott
Well, you’d mentioned that my hair looked different and I didn’t have my glasses on. So yeah, right now I’ve got my winter hair. And then, you know, as we go into summer living here in Houston, you know, I’ll have to shorten it up for my summer hair. So you didn’t. 

02:32
Mike
I understand. Well, it was just funny because, you know, we met Through Ron. And then we just didn’t have a lot of time the first time we met. I mean, you jumped on like, I think he did a two minute quick, you know, tidbit interview. I was doing it SEMA when I was collection collecting, short interviews, but yeah. So welcome to the, the big show. You’re. You’re now entering the world headquarters for Gain Traction. 

02:57
Scott
Wow. Well, cool. Well, thanks for having me. 

03:01
Mike
So let’s talk about you for a minute. Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get, how long have you been in the tire business and how did you get there? 

03:09
Scott
Yeah, so I’ve been in the tire business since my mid-20s, so just to be know, a few years. But yeah, I, I grew up a, a car enthusiast. My dad and I used to collect old Volkswagens and we would, you know, build the motors up and drag race them. And my dad was a Chevy guy, had a 66 Nova and had a bunch of old. And so I just grew up being a car guy. Right. And so my first job I sold over the counter pharmaceuticals. And during that time I had an old Volkswagen and I was buying parts for it and I don’t know, I just became intrigued about a retail store. So I grabbed a partner, a guy that I knew that was pretty good in business, and we opened a retail store in Jacksonville, Florida. 

04:09
Mike
And now was this for tires and repair? 

04:13
Scott
No, it was just, you know, like an upfitting store, so. 

04:16
Mike
Oh, I got you. All right. 

04:18
Scott
Big wheels and tires and stereos and lowering and lifting and all that kind of fun. And you know, honestly, it was probably the worst five years of my life. 

04:33
Mike
I don’t get people that usually say that. I’m not trying to laugh like. Yeah, that’s funny though. You’re so blunt about it. 

04:39
Scott
Yeah, I. Well, you know, probably 20 of our business was professional athletes. 

04:45
Mike
Really? 

04:46
Scott
Yeah. And then 80% was local and large independent entrepreneurs. 

04:57
Mike
Interesting. And now all this time, did you stay remain. Were you, were you still a sales rep? Remaining in the pharmaceuticals? Trying to do both. Okay. Full board. Okay. 

05:10
Scott
Yeah, I worked the store, you know, 60, 70 hours a week and I mean it was fun and I really enjoy the wheel and tire part of the business. 

05:21
Mike
Yeah. 

05:22
Scott
And so then after a while we sold it and we sold it to a good customer of ours and I went to work for Bridgestone and you know, I was a regional sales rep and just kind of worked myself up the ladder a little bit there. And then after a while I went for, to a, an importer and spent a few years there and then moved to Sumatomo. So I was with Falcon Tire for six years. 

05:55
Mike
Okay. 

05:56
Scott
And then recently moved over to Salem, sounds like a lot, but really, you know, four or five jobs, my entire career. But, you know, that’s what I do now. Like anybody that gets into the tire business, it’s part of what you do. And you know, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. 

06:14
Mike
No, it is interesting. And then the guys that I’ve met that have come and left for a little bit and they came back, they’re like, man, I just missed it. You know, and then, you know, they stay. It’s it once it gets in your. And you know, I’ve said this, I don’t know, I feel like a dozen times on this podcast, but the people in this industry are awesome. 

06:35
Scott
Oh yeah. I mean, it’s still, you know, and you and I touched on it last time. It’s still relationships. I mean, for the most part, I mean, it, you know, business is changing a little bit and people need price and you know that’s a huge factor. But I tell you, relationships are everything. And, and that’s why, you know, I enjoy this part of this, you know, the business, because there’s so many people that, you know, I communicate with on a daily basis that I really like. 

07:08
Mike
Yeah, great. 

07:10
Scott
It’s a great business. And you know, my kids and friends that are coming up, you know, out of college, you know, I recommend the tire business to them because, you know, it’s, you know, for the most part, I think the pay is decent. 

07:26
Mike
Yeah. 

07:27
Scott
And you know, starting off, you got a little bit of personal freedom where you get out and see the country and you know, I just think it’s a great, great business and, you know, it’s going to continue to be that way. 

07:41
Mike
Well, and that’s the way when I got in it was just the, I got, I was on the sales side and marketing and. But I got to meet so many great people and eat well on the road, you know, I mean, and, but you just really build a lot of really good relationships and then, you know, you show up at SEMA and everybody’s bear hugging, like, you know, seeing a good old friend, I mean, you know. 

08:04
Scott
Yeah, no, it really is. And you know, you and I have seen each other on a couple of these trips, but you go to a dealer trip or, you know, one of these events and you know, you really look forward to it. You know, it’s not a convention where, you know, you. It’s just a grind. I mean, I really, truly enjoy the people that I deal with. And you know, this morning, you know, not that it’s a. It’s something that I make myself do, but I want to, as I called, you know, a customer a day. 

08:42
Mike
Yeah. 

08:43
Scott
Just to say hello. 

08:44
Mike
Yeah. 

08:45
Scott
No real meat and potatoes to talk about other than how are you doing and you know, what’s new in the world and you know, touch on a few things. But, you know, these. These are all friends and business. 

09:00
Mike
That’s awesome. That’s what I love about. I digress a little bit. But that’s what I love about texting. I stay in touch with people like, just tire guys that met in this industry because I know a college team, they may like or. And their team’s playing a big game or, you know, whatever it may be, or they may know something I’m going to be involved in. And they say, hey man, I got, you know, and it’s just, it’s. It’s just. It’s just the people, you know, and that’s. I. And I’ve got people from, you know, executive level down to counter sales reps that’ll text me periodically and we just have fun, you know. 

09:36
Scott
Yeah, yeah, I. There’s a. There. There’s a guy and there’s a gentleman in Virginia and were at a dealer event together and were in the golf cart together and man, what a. What a great guy. You know, just. We hit it off real well. We still text each other, you know, once a month and call each other and you know, he owns a store in Virginia, you know, and he’s. He’s doing a great job and of course now he’s selling our brand. 

10:07
Mike
Yeah. 

10:08
Scott
Which is important. But, you know, just. I can’t stress enough. Just great people and you know, you mentioned Ron Dolan and you know, Peter that, you know, works with Saloon and just great people and all that stuff starts from the top, you know, when you’ve got great relationship people at the top, then it just really bleeds all over the company. 

10:35
Mike
Yeah. I think Don and I, when we first met. I mean, Ron. Ron and I, when we first met, we. We joked around more than. I don’t even know if we talked about tires. I mean, we were just. We just hit several chords and I think we laughed the whole time and started telling some backstories about our life. And it was just, it was a lot of fun. Well, you, so you, you’re, you’re here now. What, what are you. So you’re, I know you’re responsible for six brands. What does that mean in the independent channel? What are you doing specifically? 

11:09
Scott
Well, we, it’s saloon. You know, we do some private business and private label business, but we also have six brands that I’m responsible for. And this is only on the plt side. So, you know, a good portion of it is conflict management. Right. We’ve got great dealers that have our product and we don’t want to sign dealers that may compete with them. Really, these are the folks that have gotten us to where we’re at now, which is in a pretty decent position. 

11:46
Mike
You’re almost like a traffic cop then. You’re just trying to direct the traffic, I guess to make sure everybody’s is. 

11:52
Scott
And you know, the, the customer that I talked to this morning, you know, we talked about growth and how we’re going to get there and you know, we’re really not looking to sign any new independent dealers. We’re just looking to grow with what we have. So, you know, we’re doing some pretty cool things. We may add some people during the middle of this year to get out and hit the streets and visit customers at a granular level. But really we’ve got a sales strategist and you know, this person is really digging into the details of vehicle and operation around each ship too. SKU percentage. And you know, it just goes down to the simple part of hey, in this size, why aren’t you buying this from us? 

12:45
Scott
And then that different conversation of hey, it could be price, it could be something else, or maybe they didn’t even know that they should be stocking more of that size based on the vehicles and in their area. So you know, we’re really digging into the granular data and having meetings at a high level and I think that’s how we’re going to get to where we need to get this year. 

13:11
Mike
I like that. So you’re in the, you’re kind of in the coaching business too. Hey, we see opportunity for you here and want to know if we can support you basically. 

13:20
Scott
Yeah. And it, you know, and our dealers want to be challenged, you know, to not say, hey, buy more tires. 

13:30
Mike
Yeah. 

13:31
Scott
But hey, how can you help me in my business? Right? I, I didn’t know that I needed to stock a 305 35, 24. Right. I didn’t know that was part of the market that I needed. So we come and visit our customers with a package. You know, not to beat them over the head with it, but just say, look, you know, here’s some opportunities. 

13:52
Mike
Yeah. 

13:53
Scott
We’ve got a professional presentation, and we’re gonna actually show you the data behind it, and hopefully that works out well. Or I’ll be, you know, hitting you up to work for Gain Traction podcast. 

14:10
Mike
No, it does. It does work, because I think in a lot of sales roles, we forget that the real value is educating your customer on their opportunity. I mean, not. I mean, you can be that cheap sales guy that just tries to push a product, but that doesn’t get you anywhere. But if you can really prove, you know, hey, here’s. Here’s where your opportunities are. And we know this based on the data. You. You make the determination. And I think that sets you apart because then they trust you. I mean, you’re not. You’re not giving them anything that’s false information. You’re giving them, hey, here’s the facts. I mean, and look, if the guy doesn’t want to move, then, I mean, that’s to his detriment. Correct? 

14:52
Scott
Right. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And then, you know, on the next go around and we. We just remind them again. 

14:59
Mike
Yeah, well, sometimes it takes a little bit. Right? I mean, you know, and then. And you know, the one thing you learn too, I think, is everybody’s sitting in a different spot based on inventory or whatever their circumstances are. And. But, you know, you do have to remind people, hey, we talked about this six months ago, and, you know, you still have an opportunity to move the needle here, and why don’t you take advantage of it? Or you call them and say, hey, we got a, you know, we got a pricing opportunity on top of the opportunity I talked about, you know. 

15:29
Scott
Right. Yeah. And, you know, our sales team, they’re going to have KPIs to increase SKU percentage and different things like that. So we’re. We’re all pushing in the same direction, you know, as a sales team. And, And I think that’s. That we. We’re not really looking to. To jam a bunch of new customers in there. Really looking to grow with the partners that we have in there. 

15:57
Mike
Like in there. What’s the statistic or something? I’m saying across all business, but there’s something about, I think 40% of your growth can come from. Or maybe it’s higher than that. It’s either 40 or 60. I’m getting it backwards, but it can come from inside your existing customer base. I mean, like you, it’s already there, you just gotta ask for it. 

16:17
Scott
Right? Well, and you know, and we are in the value segment. So you know, I mentioned earlier, you know, before I worked for Bridgestone which was a tier one, I worked for Falcon which is a tier two, and you know, it took a little while. I’ve been at saloon here for six months and to really understand that we are in the value segment. We’re not the absolute cheapest and we don’t want to be, but when you look at the value that we have, the price point is good. We for the most part have territories that are built out for each customer and the quality of our product is really good. So I would compare it to a, a tier two all day long. 

17:10
Scott
So when you package that together with data that we could bring, with relationships that we have, you know, top to bottom, I think we’ve got a pretty good thing going. 

17:22
Mike
It’s interesting to me about the value segment in the market because the quality has gotten tremendously better to the point where I met a, a guy that had come from tier one like yourself, and then he’s in this similar space that you’re in and he’s like, look, 25 years ago the only tire I’d put on my wife’s car was tier one. Just now he goes, I might be the value guy, I might put it on my own. But now, I mean the quality of the value sector is so high that he said, I, I have a problem at all putting it on my kids, my wife’s cars, anything. 

17:58
Scott
I mean, well, and you know, you mentioned 25 years ago it was different. I remember I had a, a Maxima, one of the first Maximas that came out and I was out on the road selling tires and I said, hey, you know, we’re starting to sell these inexpensive tires. Let me put a set on my car, right, Because I’m burning miles up anyways. I hated my car. I mean it just, it rode totally different and it was just horrible. But I tell you now I, I put a set and I have, you know, our tires on my vehicles and they run beautiful. Yeah, I mean, just, they’ve come a long way with the, you know, the machinery that we have, you know, the engineering and the homework that we do. You know, we really build a great product. 

18:55
Scott
So Yeah, I, I wouldn’t be scared to drive on our tires any day, in any condition. 

19:02
Mike
No, I, I, I understand. I totally agree. Well, let me ask you, just on a personal level, you got any memorable stories of work, related stories that you’ve been in, you know, along your path of so many years in the industry, anything stand out to you? 

19:17
Scott
You know, there’s a bunch. Probably, you know, it, you know, it would probably just go back to the wheel and tire store days. I mean, I told you that was the worst time of my life, but I also had a great time. I was in my 20s. 

19:33
Mike
Oh. Yeah. 

19:33
Scott
So probably making good money and spending every penny of it, you know. 

19:39
Mike
But, well, there’s no telling what you see on the retail side. I mean, you see everything. 

19:44
Scott
Well, yeah, especially in that kind of thing. But yeah, I mean, just the different athletes that we used to deal with and, you know, good and bad. 

19:53
Mike
Yeah. 

19:54
Scott
And of course, you know, dealing with a rough crowd, you know, trying to deal with warranties and things like that, you know, I think about those days and it just seems like a hundred years ago and who, who was I back then? Right? Dealing, dealing with. 

20:15
Mike
I don’t, I don’t. You like to go back. Sometimes I shake my head or almost rub it and shame, you know. 

20:22
Scott
If I can make it through that, then I can deal with any conflict management any day when you’re going toe toe with somebody. So it is true. 

20:31
Mike
But those, you know, your past experiences, it’s funny how you think, what is that going to do for me here? Or whatever, but somewhere along the way, that past experience always seems to benefit you in some form or fashion. Yeah, I, I, I’ve said that before with the companies I’ve represented, but for some reason I always seem like I was the bad news guy. Like if we had, you know, something’s always gonna go wrong. Right? 

20:58
Mike
Like you’re not gonna do something on time or you’re not gonna get the right, you know, service to somebody that you thought you were going to, and you gotta, you just gotta hit ahead on, you know, and, and I guess the lesson I learned early, I mean, in my 20s, I learned that if you just hit it head on it actually, a lot of times it can work out to even a better opportunity. 

21:20
Scott
Yeah, because people trust you then. 

21:24
Mike
I mean, you know what I’m saying? You build that, you build that rapport, like, hey, okay, how are we gonna fix it this is how we’re gonna fix it. 

21:30
Scott
Well, people want the straight story, and they don’t want. They don’t want to, you know, go around the whole situation to get to it. You know, it’s. It’s kind of like being on the road selling tires. Right. And I used to tell people this at whatever level I was at. Someone on the counter is very busy. Walk in immediately and tell them what you want. Yeah, right. Hey, I mean, you know, be nice and, you know, good afternoon, you know, good to see you, but don’t beat around the bush. Walk in there and say, hey, look, I want you to buy 100 tires and these 10 SKUs, I’ve already worked the order up here for you. I can ship them tomorrow. And a lot of times they’ll just sign it, get. Just to get you out of there, you know, so it’s, It. 

22:21
Scott
But it really seems like most things are that simple. Is that if you’re just straightforward. 

22:28
Mike
Yeah. 

22:28
Scott
You got everything already put together and packaged, it’s easy. 

22:32
Mike
Yeah. 

22:32
Scott
And. And that kind of goes back to our, you know, our new thing that we’re doing with the data and getting granular is that we’re going to be super easy. You know, here’s what we’re looking at. Here’s what we see. What do you think? You know, let’s go ahead and do it. Yeah. But, yeah, you know, back then, the stories were good, and then, you know, the people that I worked for, coming through all the different organizations that challenge you. 

22:59
Mike
Mm. 

23:00
Scott
I had some that were extremely tough in different ways, but, man, it just builds your. It builds your character out. And, you know, when you get to be seasoned like we are, then, you know, you build on all that, and it just makes you a little bit better. 

23:20
Mike
I like that word. Nice. Polite way of saying that. Thank you. 

23:23
Scott
Decent. Yeah. 

23:26
Mike
Is there, Is there anybody that stood out to you as a mentor or, like, gave you some advice that you still live by today or something you picked up along the way that might have been like a. I don’t know, a saying, a mantra, a principle that you kind of operate by? 

23:43
Scott
Well, I, I. I mean, I could name a couple. You know, Jeff J. Was a good boss to me. Alan Stark. 

23:51
Mike
I want that Alan with you. Yeah. 

23:54
Scott
Yeah. Okay. Yeah, a couple weeks ago. But, you know, he was a big influence. And then, you know, Darren Thomas at Sumatomo, you know, I was there for six years. And you talk about someone that goes straight on, you know, he’s. He go He’s a straight on kind of guy but I tell you, really brilliant with, you know, with his ideas and the way he goes about business and you know, one other would be Ron Dolan, you know, even though he’s younger than I am and he’s my boss. But you know, to see the way he works relationships and you know, the quick decision making and when you know all these people and you work for them or not, you know, you really just gather those things and again you just kind of build yourself based on all that. 

24:48
Mike
Yeah, no, I totally agree. And there’s just certain people and you brought up Ron again but they just, he’s always stood out to me since we met just because, I mean I felt like I knew the guy a long time within a five minute conversation. Like we just, he’s, he just makes it easy to get to know him. You know, I mean he doesn’t hide anything. I mean he, you know, we, it’s just some of the stories that went into quickly and it was just like this, this guy’s raw, he’s funny, I mean, you know, straight to the point and. 

25:18
Scott
Yeah, yeah, Karaoke madness. But Ron’s a great guy and I, I’ve been with Sailor now for six months and really a good move. Great, great company. Really. Operations, sales, everyone marketing, everybody’s just really great people and yeah, I’m super happy to be here. 

25:45
Mike
That’s awesome. On a personal level, just let people know a little bit about you. Where’s one of your favorite places to visit or if you had a chance to go anywhere that’s new, where would you go? 

25:59
Scott
Well, you know, Bridgestone, I was tasked with opening distribution centers. So you know, I would go to Los Angeles and we opened two there. So I would spend, you know, six months to a year in Los Angeles and you know, get the racks in order, all the tires, hire all the people so you really get to know the area. And probably my 2 favorite would be the Pacific Northwest. 

26:33
Mike
Okay. 

26:34
Scott
I mean I just, it absolutely gorgeous over there. The, you know, the trees and the food and it’s just fantastic. Beautiful part of the country. But do you, if you ever heard of Mike, Mike Zimmerman? No. Andrew Zimmerman? 

26:53
Mike
I’m sorry, Bizarre Foods or something like that? Yes, yes. The guy that’ll eat, he’ll eat anything. 

27:00
Scott
He’ll eat anything. Right. So I’m in an event and I’m sitting next to him. Right. So we’re sitting next to each Other. And there were a few celebrities there. And I asked him what everybody asked him, right? You know, where’s the best food in the world? And he goes, man, that is so easy. And, and this is true for me as well. There’s only one place in the world that makes my mouth water, really. And if you say the name Louisiana, he goes, best food in the world. And, and I, I agree. I, you know, I live in Houston. There’s a large Louisiana influence here. 

27:45
Mike
Yeah, you’re not terribly far. 

27:47
Scott
But if, but if you want good food and look, Houston has great barbecue. Memphis has great barbecue, you know, great steaks and seafood in Boston. But I tell you know, if you want to go see two different parts of the country, go to the Northwest, do some hiking, get yourself a new tattoo or whatever you want to do, and then go to Louisiana and get you some. 

28:14
Mike
Good food, man, you. I, I didn’t not know this about you. So that’s my favorite food is just that Cajun cuisine. There’s just. And it’s not just that. There’s so much. But like you said, I got a quick story for you. So between my two tire lives, I had another work experience, and I was dealing with a guy from Spain, and he had to meet us in New Orleans, and he had this. He admitted, I mean, he had a rough accent, but you could understand his English perfectly. But he was like, man, he said, this food is incredible here. And he said, I always had this stereotype for American food was hamburgers, pizza, and Kentucky Fried Chicken, you know, I mean, that was his thought. He goes, I never knew New Orleans is unbelievable. He said, listen, he goes, I eat. 

29:08
Mike
He goes, you know, Paris is considered as great, you know, food area of the world. And he said, I’ve been to Paris and eaten at the best restaurants. He said, but I’m going to go ahead and say it. He said, this is the best food I’ve ever had. And this was, you know, that’s a very objective opinion. And, and my, my partner in the business at the time, he knew New Orleans very well, and he took us to, I don’t know, probably the top four restaurants while were down there for the several days were there. And so this guy got to experience, you know, a great experience. But it was just funny how he confirmed that, because that’s, that’s my belief. And that’s funny you’re saying this on this podcast right now, because it, if but people haven’t. You just man everything down there. 

29:51
Mike
I don’t know if there’s anything I don’t like in that state that they make or cook. 

29:55
Scott
No, it’s. It’s amazing. We. We’ve several friends. We play in a tennis tournament every year and outside of Lafayette. And, you know, it’s 20% about playing tennis, you know, 30%, you know, having a couple cold beverages. But it’s. We plan out the entire week of. Of food and. Yeah, yeah, it. Now, you. You don’t. You don’t come back light. 

30:26
Mike
No, you got to be prepared for that. 

30:28
Scott
You got to be prepared. But, yeah, I. I love Louisiana and the food there. 

30:34
Mike
That’s awesome. Well, I. I gotta tell you, Scott, it’s been a pleasure having you on the podcast. Thank you for joining us today. 

30:41
Scott
Yeah, thank you. And you know, thanks for letting me talk a little bit about Saloon and, you know, what a great company it is. And, you know, just if you don’t mind, just to mention the brands that we have. 

30:54
Mike
Yeah, please do. 

30:55
Scott
Blackhawk Summit, Ravello, Paragon Road X and Ironhead. They’re all great brands, super good quality. And. And we’ve got great distributors that have these products, and if you see them out there, you got to buy them. 

31:12
Mike
Well, if anybody wants to know more about the brands, is there a specific spot that they could check out online or just. Just look up each one of those brands individually? 

31:21
Scott
Yeah, look at each one of those brands individually. They’ve got their own websites and they can direct you to. To where to buy them. 

31:29
Mike
All right. That’s awesome. You want to mention them one more time just for the listener? 

31:33
Scott
Yeah, sure. Blackhawk Summit, Paragon, Roadx, Ravello, and Ironhead. 

31:41
Mike
Awesome. Well, Scott, it’s been a real pleasure. 

31:44
Scott
Thank you. Appreciate you having me on. And we’ll. We’ll see you in a couple of months somewhere else out on the road. 

31:51
Mike
I’m sure we will. I look forward to it. So, to all our listeners out there, thank you for being part of our podcast. We are always grateful for you. If you’d like to find out more or listen to more podcasts like this, please Visit gain traction podcast.com till next time. Be the best and have a great day. 

32:11
Announcer
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