Jobs for the Girls: Tanya Otero of O-Matic Snowboards

Powderroom.net ambushed Tanya Otero, Sales Director of O-Matic Snowboards, in Milwaukee, WI to hear what she had to say about working for a smaller, new company and what she’s learned in her years of experience in the industry.

What's your business card read? 
My title is Sales Director, but it's really like Sales Director-slash-whatever.  Pretty much sales director and brand manager because I work with the owners on managing the brand. We're really a small company so sometimes I'm the janitor, sometimes I'm the receptionist, sometimes I'm the warranty department.

How long have you been doing this?
I've been in the business doing the sales thing for [counting] 17 years now.  Just selling snowboards basically. I started as a sales rep and went to work for all these companies, I was most recently at 686 as a sales manager, and then moved to O-Matic a year ago.

What's you typical day? 
A typical day right now changes from season to season. Right now it's just to ship as many boards as possible to accounts, and then a lot of the time is just spent on strategic planning for brand domination basically. 'Where can we show up? What can we do?' we do it all.  On Thursday I worked on the design of a tee shirt, shipped boards out and booked a plan ticket for Todd (Richards).

How did you end up in you position at O-Matic?
Years of repping.  First I worked retail, then I was a sales rep for over ten years in different territories, like straight-up hit the road sales rep, then I was a regional sales manager, then a national sales manager, and now the sales director.  It was a really long road of making baby steps and progressing.

With O-Matic, I've known one of the owners (Jason Kanes) of the company from back in the day. He started Joyride and set up Forum and Jeenyus.  And I've known Tara Dakides for a long time. I knew when the brand launched, if anyone had the formula to make it happen it was this company. So I kept my relationship with Jason, and he called me one day and decided we should probably talk about me helping run the sales for the brand. 

What traits do you look for in reps?
Everyone has a different opinion. My opinion of what makes a good rep is they have to snowboard and they have to understand snowboarding and they have to have a passion for snowboarding, and they really need to be a good relationship person. Not just a salesman but also someone who is going to nurture the accounts and grow with them.

What is your favorite part of the job?
Coming to stuff like this [Boardfest], when I actually get to interact with the kids who actually snowboard.  I feed off it. There are so many amazing kids out there. You come to a come to a town like this and you always meet a fan of your brand and they really get what you are doing and it's really gratifying to interact with these kids. 

Out here today, I met groms who are so rad. If I lived here we would snowboard together.

What's the least enjoyable and what's the biggest challenge in your position?
Well the biggest challenge for O-Matic is that we're new, and you have bigger brands that have already dominated the retailers' pockets and they are scared because they don't want to try anything new. A lot of brands wouldn't even be able to pick up the phone to call a certain store, but we've been able to talk to everybody.

So the biggest challenge is getting retailers to hear the message and not just what people are told to ask for, like Burton for example. This isn’t an anti-Burton movement, but when snowboarding first started the shops were the people who brought the kids into the market. Saying 'hey kids this is the cool stuff.' Well now the shops have become complacent. 

Not all shops, like MODA3 obviously does not do that, but a lot of shops want people to come in, ask for something and sell it.  They have no interest in interacting with their customers and selling them a really cool product for what they do on the mountain.  To be honest with you, the least enjoyable part is that people are not open minded about new stuff.
That and when it becomes a numbers negotiation game.

What are the biggest challenges you face being a female in a male dominated industry?
There were definitely challenges getting to this point, but right now as a female I think it's a strength if you know what the hell you're talking about. If you know what you are doing it's actually quite easy.  10 years ago people were like, "Who's this chick? She doesn't know snowboards" and I would have to say "Okay then let's just go ride, so you can realize I understand snowboarding." But now, today people come up to the tent and it's cool I'm a chick and after 5 minutes they understand that I understand that they just want to know about snowboarding. Now they don't even need to see me ride. 

What's been the biggest gamechanger in the past five years?
The industry has been completely diluted by a lot of people who have nothing to do with snowboarding and as a result unfortunately it's become a cool-guy elitist sport. And quote that, because it shouldn't be a cool-guy elitist sport. That's been the biggest change and it's really confused the minds of the kids on the street because they are getting so flooded with smoke-and-mirrors as opposed to the reality of it. 

Back in the day with snowboarding if you saw another person riding they were instantly your friend.  It's not like that anymore. It's diluted and there are not enough people who contribute to snowboarding that are a part of snowboarding.

What's you favorite piece in the O-Matic line-up this year?
The Extr-emo, because that board makes a statement about O-Matic. Don't take yourself too seriously, it's only snowboarding. The whole graphic on that board is the extra-emo and it’s a commentary on how everyone who was XXL a couple years ago is now wearing tight pants and tight tees.  The board says 'make the switch' O-Matic snowboards and it's got a holographic sticker that goes from gangster to emo. It's our out-there, in your face statement.  Plus it’s designed for the park and I ride Big Bear so it’s the perfect board.

Where is the future of the industry?
It's going to continue to get diluted and polluted by people who don't contribute to snowboarding. I think that people like O-Matic and a few other brands will keep it real and still continue have that organic, love for the shred. I see it going there.  It's already in the Olympics. I think it's peaked, so I don't think it's going to grow much more.

There will be more stress on retailers, as the bigger companies continue to strong-arm the retailers.  It's going to squash the specialty stores, and that's unfortunately because they are the foundation. The MODA3s, Cal Surfs, the Salty Peaks, those are the guys who make snowboarding happen.

How many days a year do you get to ride?
Last year…30-40 days. That’s weekend warrior steeze.

What gets you stoked?
Riding with my homies at Big Bear. If I'm landing stuff and progressing, that's the biggest stoke factor for me.

Where is home?
Encinitas, CA.  It's a bubble, this perfect paradise you can't leave.

What's your advice for anyone looking to get into the industry?
Align yourself with a brand you're passionate about.  And then go sub-rep or a tech-rep job for that brand. For a chick it's really easy to, because there are not enough women in the industry.  But it's only easy of you're a badass. If you're a ho, which a really bad thing, you're not going to go anywhere.  Offer to help them out at show for free, and if you're good they'll pull you in, because there is shortage of quality women. 

What three non-snow things keep you ticking?
Surfing, Bikram yoga, and immersion in all things to do with the beach.

Any last words?
Be passionate. If you do something you're passionate about it's not work. It's exciting.

For more on O-Matic check out: www.omaticsnowboards.com