Meet Your New Sales Coach: ChatGPT

This week on The BedBuzz, we welcome longtime mattress industry veteran, Sleep City owner, and one of our longtime friends, Bruce “Rooster” Lundeen!From the early days of Mattress Firm to becoming one of the company's first million-dollar salespeople and eventually building his own mattress business, Bruce shares an incredible journey filled with laughs, lessons, and lifelong friendships.In this episode:Bruce's journey from Mattress Firm to owning Sleep CityRemembering the legendary Brian “Wheels” WilsonWhy relationships, product knowledge, and solving customers' problems are still the keys to sellingThe unforgettable story of selling a mattress to a Dallas Cowboys quarterbackA little Metallica, Vegas, and plenty of stories from the good old days!Bruce also shares some timeless advice from his grandfather: “Always do the right thing, 'cause that way you'll be able to sleep at night.”It's a fun conversation about friendship, leadership, entrepreneurship, and what makes the mattress industry so special.

What separates people who achieve their goals from those who simply hope for success? According to Charlie Roberts, it all starts with having a plan and, more importantly, working that plan!In this episode of The BedBuzz Podcast, we welcome back Charlie Roberts, one of the driving forces behind the planning principles that helped build Mattress Firm.With decades of leadership experience at Marriott and Mattress Firm, Charlie shares the lessons, strategies, and personal stories that shaped his career and helped others achieve success.In this episode, we discuss:The Power of Planning: Why successful people begin with the end in mind.The 1, 3, and 5-Year Plan: How to create a vision for your future and build a roadmap to get there.Goals vs. Planning: Understanding the difference between knowing what you want and knowing how to achieve it.What's Vital vs. What's Important: How to focus your time and energy on what really matters.Plan Your Work, Work Your Plan: The importance of daily to-do lists, accountability, and continuous improvement.Personal and Professional Success: How connecting career goals with personal ambitions creates motivation and purpose.Leadership Lessons: Charlie shares stories from his Marriott career, including a management mistake that nearly cost him his job.The Early Days of Mattress Firm: A behind-the-scenes look at how Charlie helped Harry, Paul, and Steve turn big dreams into a successful business.Charlie also shares his favorite business book, The One Minute Manager, and explains why celebrating wins, developing people, and learning to delegate are essential leadership skills.Whether you're a retail sales associate, manager, business owner, or simply someone looking to accomplish more in life, this episode is packed with practical advice you can start using today.As Charlie reminds us, success doesn't happen by accident. You have to plan to win!

What if you had a personal sales coach in your pocket that was available anytime you wanted to practice?In this episode of The BedBuzz Podcast, we put ChatGPT to work as a personal sales coach and test it live!We take on real situations every mattress salesperson faces, including how to respond to “We’re just looking,” asking better discovery questions, handling “We need to think about it,” uncovering the real objection, and knowing when to stop talking and listen.We also put ourselves through some live role playing and let Coach ChatGPT tell us what we did well, what we missed, and what we could do differently.The biggest takeaway? You can practice without judgment. Mess it up, reset, and try again. You can even use ChatGPT right after a walk while the conversation is still fresh to help figure out what you could have done differently.ChatGPT can’t shake a customer’s hand, share a warm smile, or replace the human connection that great salespeople create. But it can help you practice, get more reps, and become a better salesperson.If you want to get better at selling, meet your new personal sales coach: Coach ChatGPT!

This week we sit down with longtime Mattress Firm leader Maurice Edwards, now with Katapult, for one of our most entertaining conversations yet.Maurice started at Mattress Firm at just 17 years old and eventually worked his way up to Senior Vice President of Enterprise Risk Management. Along the way, he built a career filled with leadership lessons and some unbelievable loss prevention stories.Maurice takes us behind the scenes of going undercover in Mattress Firm warehouses, investigating theft and organized crime, conducting undercover store shops, and helping build a loss prevention operation as Mattress Firm grew across the country.But this episode is about much more than catching the bad guys. Maurice talks about the mentors who shaped his career, learning from failure, staying out of company politics, developing people, and why taking care of your people is ultimately what matters most.Plus, Maurice shares a great lesson about why there really are no bad days, just bad hours.Lots of laughs, some crazy Mattress Firm history, and plenty of lessons you can use in your own career.

In this episode of The BedBuzz Podcast, we sit down with Mark DesJardin, Director of Business Development for Avocado Green Brands.Mark’s path into the mattress industry is anything but ordinary. From selling shoes and launching startups to racing bicycles, building a cycling app, and helping develop equipment that powered the bed-in-a-box boom, Mark has seen the business from almost every angle.We talk about entrepreneurship, leadership, innovation, recruiting, health and wellness, natural materials, and what the mattress industry may look like over the next five years. Mark also shares why culture played such a big role in his decision to join Avocado and why he believes some of the best talent can come from places you would never expect.Along the way, Mark talks about the importance of focus, building the right team, getting 1% better every day, and keeping stressful situations in perspective.It’s a fun, high-energy conversation with plenty of great stories, laughs, and takeaways for anyone in sales, leadership, retail, manufacturing, or the mattress industry.

Labor Day is the Super Bowl of mattress sales, and we’re bringing back one of our favorite BedBuzz episodes to help you get ready!We sit down with longtime mattress industry veteran Elliott Wilson, who shares lessons learned from more than 24 Labor Day weekends and some of his biggest selling days.Elliott breaks down how to create energy in your store, get that important first sale, use team selling, handle multiple guests, know your inventory and prepare for the competition. He also talks about the mental side of a huge weekend and how to quickly reset after a tough walk and get right back in the game.Most importantly, it’s about creating an environment where your team and your guests are having FUN.Turn it up, get yourself ready for Labor Day and remember…Have FUN and sell beds!And, of course… MORE COWBELL! 🔔

What if your job wasn’t just to sell mattresses but to create your own business within the business?Greg and Katie Law of Sweet Dreams Furniture & Mattress return to The BedBuzz to share how they transformed the traditional Sales Associate role into a Sales & Marketing Associate role and built a culture where their team doesn’t just wait for customers to walk through the door.Greg and Katie share practical ideas their team uses every day, including networking, business development, volunteering, referrals, community involvement and their unique “Sweet Dreams Cash” program.We also talk about the power of becoming your customer’s “mattress guy,” creating memorable experiences for repeat customers, building genuine relationships in your community, and why people buy from people they know, like and trust.Plus, Greg and Katie explain how clearly defined core values helped transform the culture at Sweet Dreams and create a team of leaders who take ownership of the business.In this episode:Sales Associate vs. Sales & Marketing AssociateHow to create traffic instead of waiting for itNetworking, business development and volunteeringTurning customers into repeat customers and referral sourcesThe Sweet Dreams Cash referral strategyBecoming your customer’s “mattress guy”Creating memorable customer experiencesBuilding your personal sphere of influenceGetting involved in your community without “selling”Creating a business within the businessBuilding culture through core valuesWhy great salespeople are always creating opportunitiesThe big takeaway: Everybody sleeps. Every relationship is an opportunity to help someone—and you don’t have to wait for traffic to come to you.Have FUN and sell beds!

What does it take to go from selling mattresses on the sales floor to becoming one of the fastest-rising executives in Mattress Firm history?In this episode of The BedBuzz Podcast, We sit down with Jason Goodman to explore an incredible career built on hard work, mentorship, leadership, and a willingness to take risks.Jason shares the lessons he learned from industry legends including Gary Fazio, Steve Stagner, Philip Busker, Charlie Roberts, and Harry Roberts, along with the leadership principles that shaped his success. He also discusses his entrepreneurial journey, what he learned outside the mattress industry, and why he returned to help grow PranaSleep across the country.You'll hear stories about Mattress Firm's explosive growth years, franchise expansion, building high-performing teams, the importance of mentors, and Jason's simple leadership philosophy: Love. Money. Metrics.Whether you're a retail salesperson, manager, business owner, or industry veteran, this episode is packed with practical leadership lessons and entertaining stories from one of the industry's most respected leaders.And of course...stick around until the end for Jason's craziest mattress sale!

In Part Two of our special 40th Anniversary conversation, Mattress Firm's Chief Merchandising Officer, Philip Busker, continues sharing the incredible experiences that helped shape both his career and Mattress Firm's evolution into the nation's largest mattress specialty retailer.Philip reflects on launching Mattress Pro in Las Vegas, overcoming major business challenges, returning to Mattress Firm during a pivotal time in the company's history, and helping build one of the industry's premier merchandising organizations.In this episode you'll hear:The Mattress Pro story and its eventual acquisitionLessons learned from leadership, entrepreneurship, and adversityPhilip's philosophy on merchandising and product innovationBuilding exclusive products that changed the businessWhy trust, culture, and opportunity have always been part of Mattress Firm's DNAReflections on Brian Wilson's lasting legacyAdvice for the next generation of Mattress Firm leadersThis episode is filled with stories, leadership lessons, and a behind-the-scenes look at what has made Mattress Firm special for 40 years.Thank you for celebrating Mattress Firm's 40th Anniversary with us on The Bed Buzz.

As Mattress Firm celebrates its 40th Anniversary, We welcome one of the company's most influential leaders, Chief Merchandising Officer Philip Busker, for the first of a special two-part conversation.Philip joined Mattress Firm in 1989 as a salesperson and quickly became one of the company's top performers. From there, he helped launch and grow franchise operations in Austin, San Antonio, Kansas City, Wichita, and Tulsa, before eventually returning to the corporate team where he now serves as Chief Merchandising Officer.In Part One, Philip shares unforgettable stories from the early days of Mattress Firm, including:How he got his start in the mattress businessWinning a Cadillac as the nation's top Stearns & Foster salespersonThe scrappy culture and competitive spirit that fueled Mattress Firm's growthLeadership lessons that still guide him todayWhat made the company's people-first culture so special from the very beginningWhether you've been with Mattress Firm for decades or are just beginning your journey, this episode offers a fascinating look at the people, culture, and values that helped build the nation's largest mattress specialty retailer.Be sure to join us in two weeks for Part Two, where Philip shares the next chapter of his remarkable career, including Mattress Pro, Las Vegas, returning to Mattress Firm, and his vision as CMO.