You started out at a mall kiosk. What did that teach you about customers?
“At a kiosk you have about ten seconds. People are walking past with shopping bags, and they don't owe you anything. You learn fast that customers want someone who listens and makes it easy, not someone reading a script.”
“I carried that into every job after. When I ran 25 stores with 225 people, I still judged a store by how it felt to walk in as a customer.”
What was the "Yes" Campaign?
“It was a customer-experience turnaround. The idea was simple: find a way to say yes to the customer. We didn't just put up posters. We built it into pay, coaching and the daily routine in every store.”
“NPS went up 32%, churn dropped 29%, we kept customer retention above 95%, and the market finished #1 nationally.”
Why take a phone store to a state fair?
“Because that's where the people are. I invented a mobile-showroom events channel and we sold at trade shows, state fairs and community events.”
“I ran it for 12 months in my own territory first to prove it worked, with carrier and vendor co-op funding covering the event costs. Then it scaled to 40 markets.”
A lot of customers dread setting up a new phone. How did you handle that?
“Moving your photos and media is the part people care about most, so we made it a real service. Activation included photo and media migration, and we treated it as a paid service with a clear price, $35, instead of a rushed favor at the counter.”
“Customers got their memories moved safely, and the business got a new high-margin recurring line with no added headcount.”
You also launched a protection plan. What made it work?
“Tech Protect started as an idea and became the company's #3 monthly recurring revenue driver. We set it up in tiers, so customers could pick the level of coverage that fit them and add more later instead of being upsold everything at once.”
How did you clear inventory without running sales?
“We cleared $100M+ of inventory at zero incremental cost without markdowns or promotions. Instead of discounting, we redesigned the incentives so teams matched the right product to the right customer. The approach was adopted company-wide.”
How do you know if a store is really taking care of people?
“You watch the numbers that customers create. We tracked new customers every month, between 1,250 and 1,750 net-new, plus upgrades, add-ons and retention by store, territory and channel. If retention slips, something is wrong on the floor, whatever the sales number says.”
What should shoppers look for in a store or a brand?
“Look for people who ask you questions before they recommend anything. A good store wants you back next year, not just today. If someone is rushing you, walk out. There is always another store.”
What are you working on now?
“After 2025 I moved into consulting. I work as a fractional Chief Revenue Officer through my own practice, Pulse Rev-Ops LLC, and as a partner in CRO Syndicate, helping growth-stage and PE-backed companies fix their sales plans, pricing, pay and forecasts.”
Answers are drawn from Kory White’s own career record and were reviewed by him before publication. Edited for length and clarity.
More on Kory
Read the full Kory White executive spotlight.