#49 Britney Godsey

Gold Bond (asi/57653) – CRO

2021 Rank: N/A

Industry Experience: 12 years

Previous Appearances on Power 50: 0

Britney Godsey has become so synonymous with the Gold Bond brand that it’s hard to believe she almost didn’t end up in promo at all. In school, she toyed with the idea of following career paths as varied as journalism, graphic design and dental hygiene. But by chance, she took a job as a sales support specialist at Hixson, TN-based Gold Bond (the company’s first such position) 12 years ago, and she hasn’t looked back.

“So many of us just fall into this industry,” she says. “I started part-time, and now I’m never leaving.”

Executive Editor Sara Lavenduski spoke with Power 50 newcomers Mitch Freed, Britney Godsey and Megan Spire during a recent Promo Insiders podcast.

Since then, she got into sales herself, when she was mentored by “rock star” Lisa Newell, and had the opportunity to learn about regional differences in buying habits. Over nearly six years, she’s quickly moved from sales development manager, to vice president of sales, to chief sales marketing officer, and finally to chief revenue officer, a job she’s held since June 2021.

“I went from worrying about my own responsibilities, to worrying about everyone else’s and seeing how my success was predicated on others’,” she says.

“Continual learning is so important. New ideas propel you. These days, I’m a mentor for others, so I have to shapeshift.”

With her creative vision – spurred on by the challenges of COVID – Godsey has taken the past few years to spearhead a rebrand, including a refreshed logo, social media presence, marketing initiatives and overall aesthetic.

“There have been a lot of creative minds behind the rebrand,” she says. “It’s a visual ballet, and we wanted to highlight our customers. It’s intoxicating. We want to educate while also sharing our brand’s new personality.”

Under Godsey’s direction, the Gold Bond Instagram account, @goldbondinc, and her own account, @goldbondgalbritney, have become destinations for carefully curated collections of sleek lifestyle images of products, as well as fun and educational videos featuring Godsey’s ready smile and infectious energy as she shares tips for finding the right products for clients and winning orders.

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A post shared by 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐆𝐨𝐝𝐬𝐞𝐲• 𝚂𝚠𝚊𝚐 𝚂𝚞𝚙𝚙𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚛 (@goldbondgalbritney)

Godsey and her team also now create “influencer kits” of new arrivals several times a year; they assemble small, curated boxes of sales samples before the full inventory arrives and promote them on social. The first distributors to comment with a heart emoji on the post receive a package. It’s a creative way for distributors to position themselves as “industry insiders” and show their clients the trends coming down the pike.

“We usually ship an exclusive number of about 20 to 40 boxes, depending on how many samples we get,” she explains. “And we don’t select the recipients; it’s first come, first served. Now, distributors anticipate the next drop.”

It’s been an interesting (and fun) few years for Gold Bond, with Godsey’s creative vision at the forefront. But she’s not one to rest on her laurels – there’s always something else to learn, she says, which is why her Audible subscription and podcast playlist are critical for her busy days. She recommends listening to the books Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini and The 1-Page Marketing Plan by Allan Dib, and tuning into the podcasts Advice From a Call Center Geek and Etsy Success.

“Continual learning is so important,” she says. “New ideas propel you. These days, I’m a mentor for others, so I have to shapeshift. If you stop forcing yourself to learn, you become a relic and your ideas become static or, even worse, you copy others. You have to carve your own way.”

When not making videos and bundling influencer kits, Godsey and her husband, Gold Bond President Mark Godsey, like to snowboard in the winter and wakesurf on a lake in nearby Chattanooga in the summer. “We normally spend our weekends waking up early to catch the smooth water before it gets busy,” she says. “On Friday nights, we ride until the sun goes down, then go grab Mexican food at a little restaurant on the water.”

Over the next year, Godsey is looking forward to enhancing the customer experience at Gold Bond – “making their lives easier when they’re forced to do more with less” – and expanding client retention initiatives. “We’ll be looking at technology and corporate strategy to help them face a looming recession,” she says. “There’s enough pie out there for everyone.”