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BY MELISSA COFFEY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Some of you may recognize me as Melissa Coffey , or by my maiden name of Popovich , which is reflective of my early days in the powersports industry . And just how early was that ? 1979 or so ! Yes , I was that kid passing out stickers at races and counting parts in wooden boxes in the machine shop .
After receiving the Powersports Business Women with Spark award this past November , the magazine asked if I ’ d be interested in contributing a column . I most graciously accepted because as an avid reader of the publication , I do believe there are great stories to tell and plenty of opportunities to provide meaningful content and support to powersports dealers .
Before we dive into the column , I want to provide some background , so you know where I am coming from . With that said , I was practically born into the industry , being family related to the FOX Factory crew . It was Bob Fox himself who taught me my first lessons in this industry , the differences between lathe and mill and that there is nothing better than quality product , performance and winning !
I fell in love with everything about the industry , and although I was completing my master ’ s degree in a completely different field , I had also morphed into the marketing director role at FOX overseeing powersports , snowmobile , motorcycle and bicycle divisions . My highlights were in running the athlete sponsorship and race contingency programs and I was right back in my element of racing , whether it be on- or off-road .
My career journey progressed after FOX to Bell Helmets where I launched a non-helmet product line and developed helmet programs for several large national accounts . Of course , my favorite office day was the visit from Mario Andretti himself as he signed autographs and chatted with staff !
From Bell , I went onto Veltec Sports which primarily had me rooted in the bicycle industry working with elite brands such as SIDI , Look and Easton . I was again overseeing marketing
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and right in the middle of working with high profile athletes winning big races .
Most recently , some of you may have noticed my name in connection to Volcon MELISSA COFFEY ePowersports where I was their vice president of global revenue for just about three years . Volcon
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presented the opportunity for me to dive back into powersports , which I jumped at and gratefully was able to build what I will always call the “ sales dream team ” who developed a dealer network that was nothing short of 5−star !
In the past few months and on the heels of leaving Volcon I have launched CATCH , my sales and marketing consulting firm where my team and I provide fractional services to those in our industry who need a bit of help moving the sales needle and / or developing marketing success . It has been a very refreshing opportunity to align myself with like-minded teams and remain in the industry that I love .
My goal for this column is to bring a fresh voice to Powersports Business , with whom
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some of the staff I ’ ve worked with since my early days . I am excited to explore topics of general interest , bring some profile stories on industry figureheads and current events , delve into new technologies , but mostly have fun and provide you with a breath of fresh air .
Till next time , shiny side up and checkered flags !
Melissa Coffey is a powersports industry veteran with over 25 years of experience in sales and marketing leadership . She has excelled at building brands , developing teams and impacting sales at the highest levels . She currently oversees CATCH , her consulting firm which provides fractional sales and marketing support to companies in the powersports , bicycle and EV industries .
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TOP 5 ISSUES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8
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