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Brad Muller was just getting started as a SANY retail account manager for ɫɫ�о���’s branch in New Orleans when he began to fixate on the quote template that was being sent to potential customers. It was a spreadsheet that included basic information about the cost, terms and conditions of a piece of equipment a customer was considering.

It was fine. But it was not, in Muller’s eyes, all that it could be. 

So he gave the quote template a Muller Makeover. He enlarged the ɫɫ�о��� and SANY logos, added a photo of the requested machine from ɫɫ�о���’s website and included eye-catching graphics that highlighted financing options and warranty information. 

“With some customers, I know that stuff might not mean much, but I feel like any way I can stand apart from my competition, I’m going to do it,” Muller said.

That is just one example of Muller’s meticulous approach, which helped him become ɫɫ�о���’s top-selling rookie SANY sales rep in 2024 after joining the company in June. Dillon Kotz, the retail sales manager for Louisiana, said Muller embodies a favorite saying of ɫɫ�о��� Director of National Dealership Sales Richard Abbajay.

“One of the Abbajay-isms he says all the time is, ‘Retail is detail,’” Kotz said. “Brad fits that mold to a T. Brad’s two big strengths are his motor and his attention to detail. On multiple occasions he’s been the example we use. It’s like, ‘This is how it should probably be done. Take a look at how Brad is doing X, Y or Z.’” 

Competitive edge

Muller, who grew up in the New Orleans area, began to hone the skills that would serve him well professionally while attending Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. He pursued a political science degree and played football — in that order.

“Especially at the level I played at Rhodes, which is a Division III school, there wasn’t any real glory or preferential treatment for being a football player,” Muller said. “Your paper was due when your paper was due, regardless of whether you had a road game and were on a bus for eight or 10 hours. To get through all those long, hard days of practice while juggling school at the same time, it definitely instilled structure and discipline and competitiveness.”

After graduating, he spent a year as a paralegal, which convinced him to abandon his plan to become a lawyer. Unsure what to do next, Muller accepted a sales job for a company that rented modular buildings and mobile trailers. He quickly rose from inside sales to outside sales to management.

“The adrenaline rush you would get when you closed deals, that excited me,” Muller said. “I wanted to be at the top of rankings, and if I wasn’t at the top, I would strive to get there. It motivated me, so I felt like sales was the perfect fit for me.”

After almost 15 years selling various construction-adjacent products — including a stint selling SANY forklifts — he accepted the retail account manager job at ɫɫ�о���’s SANY dealership in New Orleans. He soon expanded his territory to Baton Rouge, as well. The combination of his experience and a disciplined approach helped him quickly establish himself at ɫɫ�о���.

“I wish I could tell you that he has a trick up his sleeve or something he tells customers that closes deals, but his relentless pursuit of the fundamental basics is why he succeeds,” Kotz said. “If Brad says he’s going to do something, he does it. That’s what customers feel from him.” 

Back to basics

Muller shared some of the basics that have helped him quickly establish himself at ɫɫ�о���.

Be a team player: Muller spends time at the branches and gets to know the operations and service teams. With his actions, he shows he respects their time and effort.

“At the very beginning, I made a point to be at the branch safety meetings, to bring them breakfast — everyone likes it when you bring food — to show that I’m not just going to be the sales guy that expects them to do all the work,” Muller said. “I’ll go out there and help them clean the units, wipe them down, move things around on the yard for them, just try to do what I can to make their jobs easier. When I send them get-ready forms or commission-inspection forms, I have them prefilled out with all the information. On the get-ready requests, I include pictures of where units are at and mark the units with tape, having the same color tape on the machine as the attachments.”

Have a plan for every day: As the married father of three boys under the age of 6, Muller has plenty of demands on his time outside of work, so he wants to maximize his work hours. 

“I start early and get a jump on admin stuff, sending emails so I’m not spending prime business time in the middle of the morning trying to catch up,” he said. “At the end of the day, I try to plan out my next day, outlining where I want to go and what I want to do. Having that structure is something I learned early on.”

Embrace technology: Many of Muller’s customers have not been major contractors — there have been plenty of farmers who needed a mini excavator and attachments to tackle projects on their property. To reach more potential customers, he’s active on social media. 

“Every weekend, I try to add two or three listings on Facebook Marketplace,” Muller said. “I bet 75% of the deals I had last year originated on Facebook Marketplace. Using technology to amplify your presence is a big piece of advice I would give to new reps. Advertise what you have available.”

Those basics helped Muller sell more than $1 million worth of equipment in his first six months. His goal for 2025 is to more than triple that total as he develops more contacts with construction contractors who need larger equipment.

“Brad keeps me on my toes, because the problems he brings to the table are good problems to have, like, ‘We need to order 10 of these attachments, because Brad sold 10 machines,’” Kotz said. “Those aren’t really problems at all. With his attention to detail, Brad makes me a better manager than I would otherwise be.”