How an Award-Winning Sales Rep Uses ChatGPT to Help Her Buyers – Gifts & Decorative Accessories
Guest Contributor //September 7, 2025
How an Award-Winning Sales Rep Uses ChatGPT to Help Her Buyers
Sales rep Terri Denton of OneCoast
OneCoast sales rep Terri Denton brings much more than a catalog to her store visits. Here’s how her helpfulness earned her a Retailer Excellence Award.
Guest Contributor //September 7, 2025
In the gift industry, longevity isn’t just about experience; it’s about staying fresh, relevant and creative. With more than three decades in the business, Terri Denton, sales representative for OneCoast serving the Austin and Central Texas region, has turned that philosophy into a career-defining strength. This year, her dedication, talent and results earned her the Retailer Excellence Award for Sales Representative of the Year in the Central/Midwest region, an honor that recognizes not only her sales achievements but the profound impact she has on her customers’ success.
Denton is known for walking into store visits prepared — and not just with a catalog. She brings a folder of merchandising tips, custom product designs, visual display ideas and a willingness to roll up her sleeves and get creative.
“I love being creative with my customers and helping them with new ways to merchandise their product,” she said. “Recently, my boss at OneCoast showed me how to use ChatGPT to create cute display ideas for my stores. Now I’m having a blast using it to help showcase their products in fun, new ways.”
Her visits often turn into brainstorming sessions. Together with her customers, she’ll develop event themes, plan gifts-with-purchase promotions and craft ideas to engage shoppers long after they’ve walked through the door.
“I enjoy meeting new people and establishing long-term relationships with my customers. In some ways, I feel like they are part of my family,” she said.
For Denton, organization isn’t just a good habit; it’s her lifeline. “I think organization is key and a system helps,” she said. “You must be organized in this business to make sure you are seeing all of your customers in a buying cycle. I have various calendars, both electronic and paper. I reach out to customers daily, and if I’m in their town, I’ll stop by for a quick inventory check or to show them a hot-selling sample.”
She pairs that organization with resilience.
“Another quality I think helps in this business is not to take rejection personally,” Denton said. “You don’t know what kind of day your customer has been having, and there is always next time. I try to kill them with kindness in my daily rounds.”
Denton’s day often starts before many retailers even open their doors.
“I usually start my day at 7:30 a.m. because sometimes you can get a lot of work done before 8 a.m., and you can also catch those early risers in their stores when they aren’t quite so busy,” she said about how she plans her day.
Starting early also gives her time to prepare — a key component of being a sales rep. Before heading out, she reviews her customers’ previous orders and any outstanding back orders. She organizes her samples by category, allowing her to pull exactly what a customer needs in the moment. She maps out her route for efficiency and always has something ready to show to a new lead in town.
During her 30 years in the gift industry, Denton has witnessed tremendous change. From handwriting orders to rapidly changing technology, she’s learned to adapt to what’s new and available.
“Technology has made a huge contribution to our jobs, and I’ve learned to embrace it and use it daily,” she said. “ChatGPT is amazing, and I’m having fun playing with it.”
Her approach to sales has also evolved, too, as she’s gained three decades worth of confidence in her role. “When I first started cold calling, I was all over the map and very scattershot,” Denton said. “Now I’m more confident and organized, and I know how to guide the customer to products that will sell in their store. You get to a point in your career where you can have business conversations with your customers, and they appreciate your honesty. My customers trust my eye and my advice.”
That trust is what truly sets Denton apart and what the REA Sales Rep Award celebrates. Retailers know that when she walks in, she’s there to add value, not just take orders. In an era when technology is reshaping how retailers buy, market and connect with customers, Denton is proof that the human elements of creativity, connection and genuine care will always be at the heart of great salesmanship.
Editor’s note: This article was written by Angela Schmook, the vice president of operations and marketing at Road Runners, and the co-founder of Reps Are Local Too, an organization dedicated to supporting independent sales representatives. With a passion for strengthening relationships between reps, retailers and brands, Schmook advocates for the vital role local sales reps play in helping businesses thrive.
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