The Josephs Lead Spruce Industries into an Exciting Future

Even over a virtual call, Hank Josephs’ pride for his life’s work and optimism for its future is palpable. It’s easy to see why. He has successfully battled and overcome considerable uncertainty from the moment he bought Spruce Industries, a New Jersey-based, family-owned jan/san distributor, in 1989.  

That perseverance isn’t hyperbole. After years in the industry working for a very large distributor, Hank purchased Spruce, who was a client of that employer, by “hocking everything.” The Josephs’ family home and the savings intended to fund the college education of his two sons, Daniel and Michael, were on the line. 

Despite Hank’s achievements as a jan/san sales manager, success did not come easily. Working with his wife, Connie, the company’s Chief Financial Officer until her retirement in 2018, they overcame capital shortages, slow receivables, tough conversations with manufacturers, and many sleepless nights. However, after a few short years they were able to pay off those risky early investments and hire a better sales team that permitted them to grow the business. This eventually ushered in the new era that makes Spruce Industries the successful business it is today. 

With their college fund saved, Daniel and Michael were both able to attend the University of Michigan, the former studying computer engineering, and the latter focusing on business and finance. Despite having parents that lead a successful venture, both young men eschewed the family business to find their own way in the corporate world, which lives up to a family maxim: try working somewhere else first. 

“I've given a lot of advice to other businesses that have had family members come into their fold. The single best advice that I could give anybody is to have another job first,” says Daniel, now Spruce Industries’ CEO after 20 years with the company. 
“Learn what it means to have to work for somebody and have a work ethic.” 

Daniel says it would even behoove a jan/san distributor to send its second or third generation potential heir to other competitors or manufacturers. In either case, the outside experience makes a potential successor more prepared to join the family business should they choose. That's exactly what the case was with Michael. 

Relationships Matter 

After graduating from college, Michael spent over 25 years working for big names like Merrill Lynch to startups such as New York-based 25madison. He enjoyed that world and isn’t afraid to say that, up until recent years, he would never have considered joining the family business. Yet, in 2023 he decided to take the leap, and it just so happened to be perfect timing. 

There has always been a difference in jan/san distribution between large conglomerates formed by mergers on top of mergers and family-owned operations like Spruce Industries. For instance, when Daniel joined the industry in 2005, Grainger, W.B. Mason, Staples, and other behemoths coexisted with smaller operations, which benefitted the customer because it provided plenty of options. As Daniel puts it, the customer just had to decide whether they wanted to work with a corporation or an independent distributor. However, as mergers continue to stack up, corporations are absorbing smaller corporations and independents, leaving less options and more headaches for both the distributor and the customer. 

“There’s a big distinction between who customers are allowed to work with now, and also, from our side, the consolidation has dramatically impacted our manufacturers,” Daniel explains. “As a result, who end users choose to do business with is becoming very important.” 

Michael saw this when he joined the family company, saying at the time that these industry-changing mergers were leaving customers behind. Roughly two years later he believes that’s still the case, but Spruce Industries is making the most out of the situation by leaning into what it values above all else: relationships. 

“We get calls all the time from folks who have lost touch with a salesperson that used to be in their facilities every other week asking the good questions,” Michael says of new customers coming Spruce’s way after being ghosted by their past rep. “Our outbound calls have been more successful, too. I was with a customer who used to buy one or two things from us, and they said, ‘You know, our rep [from a company that will remain nameless] hasn’t been here in five years, and I don’t even know who to call, so I ordered online.’ That’s our opportunity.” 

As it turns out, taking advantage of the competition's poor customer communication isn’t the only opportunity Spruce Industries seizes today. Hank says many jan/san distributors are simply selling a product because their sales reps are chasing commission dollars. That’s never been the case at Spruce Industries, which has always taken a solutions-focused sales approach under Hank’s leadership.   

To the elder Josephs, good business is speaking with, not at, the customer. To do this correctly, a sales rep must practice active listening. They must really hear the customer’s pain points. From there, a rep can educate the customer on the solutions he or she has found for similar clients facing comparable issues. This is solutions selling, which creates more of a partnership with the customer, versus a salesperson/buying scenario.  

With this approach, the customer isn’t selling anything, or worse, told what to do. They’re given an option, which as previously discussed, is exceedingly rare in today’s business.

“That quality of the sales craft is kind of gone, and I’ve tried to hold hard and fast onto that level of service,” explains Hank. “I talk about this all the time. The more you listen and the less you say, the better your opportunity to find a solution to a problem, and that gets you in the door.”

Strategies like solutions selling and creating strong industry partnerships align with some of the core principles that have helped build Spruce Industries into the provider it is today. They are the foundation that Daniel and Michael continue to build upon. 

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Adaptable Leadership Strategies Helps Spruce Industries' Future