Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jonathan Rowland. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jonathan, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

In Mid 2020, we were all grappling with how Covid-19 would affect our businesses, and the businesses we work with. Within two weeks, I had two cabinet manufacturers reach out to me – both asking me to represent their brands in the mid Atlantic. I was having success where I was working at that time, but the dream was always to start my own rep agency. I wanted my focus to be on Consultative selling and not simply trying to sell cabinets. So after discussions with my family and much prayer and weighing the options, I took the risk. I gave notice to my job at the time with salary and benefits and went out on my own. I was betting on myself and my 25+ years experience at that time.

Fast forward to today and I’ve grown the territory from 2.1 Million annual sales to nearly 10 Million in 2024. My territory has grown from VA and WV to now include VA, WV, MD, DC, DE, NJ, PA, and NY. I was the sole employee to start. We now have three full time and four part time employees. The goal by the end of 2025 is to be over 15 million – with four full time employees…and plans to make that five or six full time employees by the end of 2026.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

As a young child, I enjoyed reading and building things. Often I’d gravitate towards architectural digest or architecture books. Frank Lloyd Wright was an inspiration. In middle school, I took a drafting course that was offered and started thinking about pursing a degree in Architecture. I continued to study drafting and CAD through school and interned at an Architectural/Engineering firm my last two summers in High School. I was accepted into the VA tech Architectural school but decided to start at a local community college. It’s during that time that my career path was permanently changed. I interviewed at a Lowes store for a morning stocking crew position so I could work before my college classes. While waiting for my interview, I wandered the store and heard someone yelling. It was a kitchen designer frustrated with her computer. I walked over and noticed she was attempting to use a CAD based software. I ended up asking the manager about that and within a few weeks I was designing and selling kitchens. Within months I was promoted to the top store in the area and was the top seller. Over the next several years I grew my experience in CAD design, cabinet design, and sales.

This June marks 30 years in the cabinet industry. My company, Rowland Cabinet Consultants, represents national and regional manufacturers. We also offer consulting – including sales training, design training, product training, business planning, showroom design, marketing, and installation training. I’m proud to say that we are true consultants and not salespeople. We look for the best opportunities for our manufacturers we work with and ALSO make sure that manufacturer is the right fit for the local dealer/designer. That’s not always true and we’ve been known to recommend other options if we aren’t the right fit. That’s how our clients know we have their best interests in mind.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

When I first started in the Cabinet industry I was a designer. After several years, I took my first job as a manufacturer’s representative. At that company, management had us focus on the business owner. We were to spend our time talking with them; and only spend a little time talking with, and training, the designers. I was told the business owner made all the decisions and not to “waste time” talking with designers.

I followed instructions but quickly found this lesson/direction was wrong. I knew this in my heart already- coming into the business as a designer myself. I preferred working with representatives who would train me and spend time getting to know what I needed to be successful. I sold the cabinet brands for those reps. For reps who ignored me and my peers- I ignored their products.

So I pivoted to spending more time with the designers and my sales started to soar. And then I found a company to work with who appreciated this way of thinking. Today I keep a PowerPoint presentation updated that I titled “The Voice of the Designer”. I put down their requests for product, processes, and programs. I note their compliments and their complaints. This helps me to relay trends, wants, and needs to my manufacturers we work with. The PowerPoint helps guide new product launches, product and/or process improvements, and helps focus on strategies that will grow sales.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

Early on in my career as a consultant/sales rep, I was a better designer than I was a salesperson. I hated cold calls. The rejection during cold-calling can be damaging to ones’ self esteem. I took some training courses and read books to pick up sales techniques. One of the turning points I remembered came during a cold call. I walked into a very nice cabinet showroom and went up to the desk. I introduced myself and asked the name of the receptionist. She appreciated that and called over the showroom manager who quickly told me they had two minutes before they had to leave for a meeting. I thanked them for the two minutes and asked them to tell me about their company to see if my cabinet offerings would be a good fit for them. I commented on their showroom which was truly beautiful and well-designed and asked if they’d designed the displays. They walked me around the showroom. After a few minutes I asked if they needed to leave for their appointment and they stopped in their tracks. The showroom manager shook my hand and said thank you- and no… I’m not late- I was trying to rush you away initially but now I’d like to talk more. We spent two hours together. First, between the showroom tour and a comprehensive review of their business (where I discovered their “pain points”) Then I made a presentation on the cabinets I represented and focused on the things I knew would help solve their current issues (“Pain points”). Finally, they completed paperwork to open an account and ordered sales aides. I came back in a few weeks with the sales aides and completed a training with their staff and they became a solid dealer partner for many years until the business owner retired and closed their business.

That day was the day I turned the corner from being simply a salesman… to being a business consultant.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.rowlandcc.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rowland_cabinet_consultants/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RowlandCabinetConsultants
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rowland-cabinet-consultants/
• Twitter: https://x.com/RowlandCabinet