Editorial
eBook
Web Marketing Moneyball: How Web Operations Drive Marketing ROI
The Gist
- Why does Larry Joltin’s story matter to CX leaders? His success shows that great customer experience comes from expertise, energy and genuine obsession with helping customers.
- What can brands learn from him? Know your customers, know your business and empower employees to go the extra step when the moment calls for it.
- What is the bigger CX lesson? In an AI-driven era, human confidence, care and connection still turn ordinary transactions into memorable experiences.
In 1983, there lived a man, a legend, a champion of all things experience.
- His name: Larry Joltin
- His Profession: Slinging’ Shoe Salesmen.
Famously covered by CBS Evening News, Larry, a simple shoe salesman from rural Pennsylvania, was featured for his dashing detailed knowledge of his craft, his passion to be the best and most of all. His magnetic obsession with his customers.
Larry’s lore extends past his sunny disposition and demeanor, however; he’s infamously known for selling more than half a million dollars in shoes annually, a feat that would be worth near $2 million in today’s day and age. (Yes, that’s a lot of shoes.)
Like Larry, I found myself in a similar situation recently.
For the last six years and three months, I had the honor of serving some of the world’s largest brands through my gig in consulting. The passion, the fire, the desire to build the best experiences for consumers rang true.
However, as of recently, I found myself yearning to get closer to customers; in a sense, I wanted to be the guy putting the shoes on people, not putting them in the box.
So, I did what any responsible person would do – I changed everything.
Table of Contents
- Larry's Influence on Customer Experience
- Rule #1: If You’re Standing Still, You’re Not Selling Shoes
- Rule #2: That Little Extra Always Goes a Long Way
- Rule #3: Know Where All the Stock Is
- Rule #4: Take Time for a Good Lunch
- Rule #6: Take Charge
- Rule #7: If the Shoe Fits, Sell It
Larry's Influence on Customer Experience
Through this revelation, I stumbled upon our friend Larry. Transparently, I had originally seen this interview a few years back, but somehow the gods of YouTube decided one evening to tee this up for me to consume again. A nod from the gods? Possibly.
In watching Larry, I felt inspired by his energy – but more so, I felt envious and jealous. I wanted to be Larry, in that store, selling shoes, feeling alive, bringing moments of joy and happiness to those who would be leaving with new kicks.
So, I decided to make a change and leave the world of consulting. In doing so, I found myself back in an industry and space where I grew up, a place I hold close to my heart and where I felt like there was more impact I could provide, or better yet – more shoes to fit.
After a little over a month in my new role as Chief Digital Officer, I find myself replaying Larry’s interview weekly.
Obsession? Maybe.
Addicted to customer experience through Larry’s lens? Extremely likely.
So, I thought it would be beneficial to share Larry’s rules to selling shoes, in a way that might make sense for you and your brand.
Related Article: Your Missed Opportunity in Customer Experience Culture
Rule #1: If You’re Standing Still, You’re Not Selling Shoes
Larry will tell you, “I just wanted to be the best. It goes back to my days as a kid playing ball at the park — we weren’t getting paid, but you had to win.”
For Larry, selling shoes was never about the stacks of cash he was accumulating. It was about being the best because it FELT good. Larry’s lesson here can directly be applied to how brands approach their customers. Good CX can be seen, GREAT CX can be felt. Think about all of the brands you interact with daily and the experiences they create to pull you in. How many of these feel truly great? How do you interject emotion and Larry level passion, devotion and care into each customer touchpoint.
These are important questions that need answers.
Rule #2: That Little Extra Always Goes a Long Way
Larry subscribes to the school of "If a customer wants it, I’ll do it." For Larry, delivering a shoe to a wedding or to a customer at home is just part of the job. For him, he will literally do anything to make the sale.
Why?
Because Larry cares more for his customers than most, and, in doing so, no request is too much. It’s much more important to build that connection, which he knows will pay dividends down the road.
For your brand, it’s sometimes easy to get lost in the processes that have been created to protect certain areas of the business. And listen, I get it. Some customer requests are simply not do-able.
However, there are some instances where breaking the rules makes sense. Like Larry, finding ways to delight and surprise customers above and beyond their expectations will help build customer loyalty within that customer, but also amongst their inner circle where they will no doubt tell the tale of exceptionalness your brand provided.
For better or for worse, the expectation can become the norm, which you’ll have to be judicious with. But, for better or worse, expectations often NEED to turn into the norm; that’s where true customer experience innovation incubates and is born.
Rule #3: Know Where All the Stock Is
As any mast of their craft will tell you, knowing your customer in and out is only productive if you know your business in and out. For Larry, that means knowing where all the shoes are stocked in their warehouse. Often, he is serving four or five customers at a time which means speed and accuracy are king.
Webinar
Jun
16
From Legacy to Launch-Ready: How Gainbridge Made Its Website a Marketing-Led Growth Engine
Join in to learn how a D2C annuity brand gave marketing full website ownership — without slowing down or risking compliance.
Register
Webinar
Jun
18
The 5-Question CX Audit: Benchmark Your CX Operations for 2026
Built around insights from the 2026 CX Outsourcing Report, this live session puts the audit into practice.
Register
Webinar
Jun
30
How Modern Marketing Is Exposing the Limits of Legacy CMS
Why marketers are rethinking CMS workflows that slow publishing, personalization and campaign execution.
Register
Webinar
Jul
14
Content Leaders Collective: Proving Content’s Business Impact
Join us as top content leaders look beyond the buzzwords to share how they actually prove ROI and scale what works.
Register
Webinar
On demand
Content Strategy Leaders Live: Managing Risk, Compliance & AI in Financial Services
Learn how financial services leaders are modernizing content systems without disrupting trust, compliance or experience.
Watch Now
Webinar
On demand
From AI Investment to CX Results: What Enterprise Leaders Need to Know
Move beyond experiments. See how top enterprises scale AI for CX results.
Watch Now
For brands today, that means training an enablement for team members on ALL aspects of the business. You never know when or how many customers will be asking for requests. And often, brands can get overwhelmed in this category. Taking a page from Larry’s book and inspiring colleagues to desire to learn your brand in and out will be critical in helping customers during times of increased volume or frustrations.
Rule #4: Take Time for a Good Lunch
We shouldn’t think of it as “dealing with customers." We should think of it as “working with customers." Customers don’t have problems, they have needs. In Larry’s instance, he often deals with customers with many needs that aren’t always articulated in clearly and can wear down colleagues.
Larry takes the time to ensure he eats lunch, which for him means eating while working, which I’m not suggesting is the solution.
However, it does provide a useful parable for the world of customer experience colleagues. I think I can speak for most when I say in this day in age, most people are stressed with the pressures of life, work and all-around living in a time where the world is in a state of unrest.
This provides a great reminder to ensure colleagues who are on the front lines of CX experiences for your brand take time off to reset, recharge and not fall into the pits of burnout. Even though Larry is running at 100 mph all the time, he still makes time for his basic needs.
Remember, happy employees = happy customers = happy revenues.
Rule #6: Take Charge
If you sell any product to any customer, you are the expert in that product. Remember that. In Larry’s case, he knows what is best for his customers. At times, customers may not want to hear it or believe it, but Larry always takes charge.
I should note, taking charge doesn’t equate to being mean or harsh, taking charges equates to, “I’m the expert, I’m here to help, I’m here to guide.” And that looks different in each scenario.
Your brand should exemplify this in all things you do. Your employees should feel empowered by their knowledge and expertise; it should feed their energy. Find ways to open the flood gates within your brand here and customers will continue to return not only for your products, but for your conviction.
Rule #7: If the Shoe Fits, Sell It
Larry possesses one simple, yet repeatable behavior which makes him so successful. His undeniable authentic reaction to when a shoe fits just right. For the customer, they feel this passion; it’s transmuted into their experience, their day and their connection with Larry.
For brands today, this is the utopian state — finding ways to present customers with a product you know is right and letting that customer FEEL your confidence in the product and selection. Often times, consumers are presented with too many options, too little attention span and too little emotion with experiences.
Your goal is simple here. Reduction of options + Increased attention + Increased emotion = Connection.
Find ways to let your customers feel it, I mean really FEEL it.
They often say you “can’t teach an old dog new tricks." I hate this saying. For me, I’ve been in this industry for 16 years. My entire professional career has been in customer experience; it’s all I know, it’s all I’ve done, it’s all I will ever do. But that phrase should be a reminder to all that while many of us have been in this space for decades, we are always still using new tricks to deliver the best possible experiences for our customers
Like Larry, we are pulled toward moments of joy and connection with customers.
Like Larry, we want to find shoes that fit my customers so they can feel good about their day and what they are doing.
Like Larry, we want to be inspired by the work I do and the positive impact I can hopefully provide to others.
Like Larry, I’m playing for keeps, not the numbers, and you should be, too.
Learn how you can join our contributor community.