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Amy Rouss
Signet (asi/326636)

The clock was ticking, but Amy Rouss knew somehow she was going to pull it off. A major order had gotten stuck in customs and was cleared only eight hours before her client – Terminix – was holding its President’s Club event.

“My team and I pulled together at 10:30 p.m., hired a pilot, chartered a private plane and arranged for delivery to the hotel,” Rouss says. “We delivered at 7:55 a.m. and the general session meeting was at 8:00 a.m.”

It’s no wonder that the customer, who was considering putting out an RFP for the program, decided after this little miracle to sign another three-year deal with Signet. “I’ll do anything at any time for my client, and this was just another example,” Rouss says.

Indeed, Rouss believes it’s her exceptional service that sets her apart. Her philosophy is straightforward: Treat everyone well and build good relationships with as many people as she can at her clients’ companies. It’s an approach Rouss has parlayed into annual sales that reach seven figures – not bad for someone who went to Signet with no intention of ever selling a thing.

“I took an assistant job at Signet out of college, hoping there would be an opening in HR within a year,” says Rouss. “I just wanted to get my foot in the door.”

Seventeen years later, Rouss isn’t only a leading rep at Signet, but one of the very best in the entire promo products industry. “I have a true passion for what I do and it shows each and every day,” says Rouss, a working mom with a nine-year-old son. “I think that’s why my customers keep coming back.”

And those customers, by the way, are quite impressive. Besides Terminix, Rouss is the Signet point-person for the wide-reaching ServiceMaster umbrella, which includes brands like American Home Shield, Merry Maids, TruGreen and Thomas & Betts.

No question, her always-demanding client schedule keeps her busy, but it’s a challenge she embraces. And, even after a strong 2016, Rouss still thinks her best is yet to come. “I want to work smarter, utilize resources, and increase my sales by 30% in 2017,” she says. Sounds ambitious, right? Well that’s just the way Rouss likes it.