Larry R. Benton

For 11 years, I worked with Big Lots in a position of Store Leadership until the company closed down the majority of their locations. I was recommended and given an opportunity to transfer to a location in a different state as a Sales Manager, but declined the offer.

My role within the company could be summarized as being a Sales and Furniture Specialist. I spent my first few years at the company as a fledgling salesman, learning the ins and outs of opening and closing deals. My customer service skills and outstanding sales metrics awarded me numerous accolades within the company— with the most notable counting me amongst the Top 5 performers in the company during Big Lots' initial partnership with Progress Leasing.

My time within the company provided me a wealth of experience and knowledge on many retail and management procedures. I learned the ins and outs of running a store as one of the Assistant Managers, becoming a jack-of-all-trades within the company and helping within every aspect of store operations to ensure store operations ran smoothly. I have personally trained numerous members of management from sister locations that were sent to my store to be trained by me, as well as having traveled to other locations to train and develop company staff on our S.A.L.E.S. protocol.

S- Start the Sale

A- Ask open-ended questions

L- Link products to customer needs

E- Expand the sale with related items

S- Seal the Deal

I am very much driven by the concepts of success, sales and service. It was unfortunate that my previous employer— whom I centered my career around— plummeted in this post-COVID19 market, but I aim to bring my knowledge and experience to the next company that decides to hire or partner with me.