Aaron Traffas: Hello this is Aaron Traffas with Purple Wave. Today, I’m going to speak with John Hengel, Purple Wave’s new territory manager for southwestern Minnesota and north central Iowa. Hi, John, and thanks for joining me.
John Hengel: Hi, Aaron, and thank you.
AT: Tell me about yourself. Where did you grow up and where do you live now?
John Hengel
JH: Well, I grew up in Bloomington, Minn., which is a small suburb of Minneapolis on the southwest side. I lived there for a number of years and got married and now I live in Shakopee, Minn., which is, again, southwest of Minneapolis.
John, tell me about your previous work history and experiences. What have you done in the past?
Well, I guess my previous work experience – I started working full time at the Mall of America, which – I’m sure you know what that is. I was the exterior facilities manager there. I took care of the grounds and maintenance and snow plowing and landscaping and everything that happened on the outside of the building. Then I worked for a large – probably one of the largest in the twin cities – landscaper that also did excavating and utilities and road work and that kind of stuff. I’ve also worked for a concrete manufacturing company which is Aggregate Industries. That’s most of my history in a nutshell.
Well, it sure sounds like you’re familiar with equipment, John. What made you set your sights on Internet auctions and what made you decide you wanted to be a part of Purple Wave?
Well, if you’d have asked me a month ago or month and a half ago before I started talking with Purple Wave, I probably wouldn’t have had much of a response. I saw the ad that they were looking for somebody. I met with one of the territory managers. It really got me excited. With what Purple Wave’s doing and their past and what they plan on in the future, it would have been really hard to turn down the offer that I got. I’m really excited.
Well, you’ve had a chance to experience Purple Wave here for the last several days. You started last Monday. Tell me what you think about Purple Wave so far and what do you think of your decision after your first week.
Well, so far I’m very overwhelmed with all the technology and all the different things that they do to make sure that all their auctions are on the up and up and everything runs smoothly. I’ve been going through a lot of training. I’m really impressed. I’ve actually made the comment that when you look at what the company is you’d swear that it would take 300 people to do it, but they have a great group of people that I’ve met down here that’s not 300 people. It’s very few – a lot less than I ever thought it would be. They’ve been great and gracious in teaching and training me all week. I’m excited to head back to Minnesota and get going.
Well, tell me about that, John. Describe the area you’re going to be covering as a territory manager up north.
Basically my territory that I’m going to be covering is southwest Minnesota. If you started at Minneapolis and went straight south on Highway 35 and went straight west on Interstate 94 and drew a big box in that corner of Minnesota – and then part of northern Iowa right there – that’s going to be my territory.
What are your responsibilities and how will you go about representing Purple Wave in Minnesota and Iowa?
Well, being that this is an expansion area for Purple Wave, there’s not tons of customers in this area. My goal is going to be to get out and knock on a lot of doors and make a lot of phone calls and introduce Purple Wave to a lot of potential customer, whether they be somebody wanting to sell some equipment or somebody wanting to buy some equipment. That’s really going to be my goal, to get out and make sure everybody knows who Purple Wave is and what we do.
Well, we’re sure excited to have you up in that neck of the woods. Tell me about your personal interests, John. What do you like to do in your spare time?
Like I said a little bit ago, I am married. I have one daughter that’s going to be 10 years old, so she’s very active and doing all her different things which takes up time. When she’s not doing her activities, she and I are spending time together and with my wife and with other family members. I probably do have a little bit of a problem. I really enjoy fishing and the outdoors and hunting. When I’m not with my family, that’s what I’m doing.
I’ve been speaking with John Hengel, Purple Wave’s new territory manager for southwestern Minnesota and northern Iowa. Thanks again, John, for joining me today.
Thank you.
Find John on the web at purplewave.com/johnhengel. Contact him at john.hengel@purplewave.com or call 952.220.7068.
Subscribe to Purple Wave’s Auction Podcast on iTunes. Search iTunes for “Purple Wave” or use the link on the podcast page on our website at purplewave.com/podcast.
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