Trinity Sales Group Partners With A-Z Lighting to Cover Florida

LNN Editor-in-Chief Linda Longo sat down with Johnny Cisack, one of Trinity’s founders, about the partnership with A-Z Lighting Associates and what it means for both companies.

Now in its second year of business, Trinity Sales Group continues to grow in size and territory. The month of November will mark a significant expansion into Florida with the partnership of A-Z Lighting Associates, headed by second-generation agency owner Zach Rapp.

First, here are the key points:

• The combined Florida operation will officially launch on November 1, with a 12-person team covering the state (excluding the Panhandle) and representing Minka, Millennium, and RP Lighting as its anchor lines.

• In Northern Florida, the A-Z team will continue to represent Savoy House, GM Lighting, Acclaim Lighting, Avenue Lighting, Crystorama, Kalco, Kuzco, Justice Design, and Melissa Lighting.

• Going forward, the A-Z Lighting team and its Florida business will adopt the Trinity Sales Group name to streamline operations and become one brand. Customers, manufacturers, and partners will continue to work with the same professionals from A-Z, however quotes, orders, communications, and support will be handled under the Trinity Sales Group name.

• Johnny Cicack will relocate to Florida to help lead the new territory. As the newly appointed director of Florida sales, Zach Rapp of A-Z will work with Cicack to build and lead the Florida team.

Linda Longo: How did the A-Z Lighting partnership come about, and what does it mean for both companies?

Johnny Cicack: This is something I’m really excited about! Florida has been on our radar for some time, but we knew that if we were going to enter a market of that size and importance, we wanted to do it the right way — and that’s where Zach Rapp and A-Z Lighting come into the picture.

Zach has spent years building A-Z Lighting, developing strong relationships throughout the Florida market, and earning the trust of manufacturers and customers alike. He’s built a great reputation and assembled a talented team who understands the market.

When conversations began about bringing our organizations together, it became clear that we shared many of the same philosophies about relationships, customer service, and how a rep agency should operate.

What really excited us was the opportunity to combine the relationships, experience, and market knowledge that Zach and his team have built over the years with the infrastructure, resources, and broader sales organization we’ve developed at Trinity.

Rather than approaching Florida as a completely new market and starting from scratch, we have the opportunity to build upon an established foundation with people who already know the customers, understand the territory, and have earned their place in the industry.

Under our agreement, the A-Z Lighting team is joining Trinity Sales Group, and we’ll operate throughout Florida under the Trinity Sales Group name. Zach will be our director of sales for Florida, and I’ll be relocating to Florida as well. The two of us will work side by side to lead and support the team.

One of the things we’re especially excited about is the ability to bring a more comprehensive approach to the Florida market. We’ll have dedicated resources focused on showrooms and decorative lighting, as well as the builder and electrical distribution channels — all supported by our inside sales, customer service, marketing, and operations teams.

For Zach and his team, this creates an opportunity to build on everything they’ve accomplished while gaining access to additional resources and support to help take the business to the next level.

For Trinity, it means entering an incredibly important market alongside people who have already established the relationships and credibility that take years to develop.

I really believe this partnership is a great example of two teams coming together, recognizing each other’s strengths, and building something even better together.

And I want to be clear about something: We’re not coming into Florida to reinvent what Zach and A-Z have successfully built. We’re coming together to build upon that success, invest in the team, expand our reach, and create even more opportunities for our manufacturers and customers.

It’s a tremendous opportunity, and I couldn’t be more excited about the team we’re putting together!

LL: Let’s talk about Trinity Sales Group and what the three founding partner envisioned doing differently as an agency?

JC: Trinity Sales Group was founded in June 2024 by three partners: myself, Ben Estrin, and Jim Hoopaugh. We all came into this with years of experience in the lighting industry, but more importantly, a shared vision of what we believed a modern manufacturers’ representative agency could look like.

From day one, our goal wasn’t simply to build another rep agency. We wanted to build a business that was structured to grow, supported by great people, and genuinely made life easier for our manufacturers and customers.

Our tagline is “We Make It Easy!” and that’s really the foundation of everything we do.

We believe the traditional rep model can be improved upon by investing in the things that allow our salespeople to spend more time doing what they do best: building relationships and driving sales. That means strong inside sales support, dedicated customer service, marketing, technology, training, and operational infrastructure.

We also place a tremendous amount of emphasis on culture. We operate using the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), which helps us stay aligned, accountable, and focused on continuous improvement.

Texas is an incredibly competitive market, but we never set out to compete by simply doing what everyone else was doing. We wanted to create something different, something scalable, and most importantly, something our team, customers, and manufacturers would be excited to be part of.

LL: You’ve expanded rather quickly. How many team members did you start with, and how many do you have today?

JC: It’s pretty amazing to look back at how quickly things have grown! When we launched Trinity Sales Group in 2024, we started with just six people. Within our first six months, we had grown to 11 team members, and now, with our expansion into Florida, we’ve grown to 25 people across the organization!

Our initial focus was Texas and New Mexico, followed by expansion into Oklahoma and Arkansas. Now, with Florida officially launching November 1, we’re taking another significant step forward.

We’re launching Florida with a 12-person team serving the entire state, and we already have plans to continue expanding our presence as the business grows. What’s exciting to me isn’t just the growth in numbers. It’s the caliber of people we’ve been fortunate enough to bring together. We have an incredible mix of industry veterans, talented sales professionals, and dedicated support personnel who genuinely care about what we’re building.

One thing we’ve been intentional about is building the infrastructure ahead of the growth. We don’t want to simply add salespeople and hope everything else catches up. We want to make sure the support systems are in place to help our team succeed.

Going from 6 to 25 people in a little over two years has certainly kept us busy, but we’re having a lot of fun along the way.

LL: What were some of the challenges that you faced starting Trinity from scratch?

JC: I think one of the biggest challenges with starting any agency is establishing credibility and trust, especially in an industry where relationships have been built over decades.

Manufacturers want to know you can execute. Customers want consistency. And your team needs to believe in the vision. We knew we couldn’t just talk about what we wanted Trinity to become. We had to demonstrate it.

That meant investing early in our people, our processes, and the tools needed to deliver a great customer experience. It also meant being very intentional about the manufacturers we partnered with and making sure we could give those relationships the attention they deserved.

Another challenge has been managing the pace of growth. We’ve been fortunate to have some incredible opportunities come our way, but growth brings complexity. We’ve continued investing in leadership, operations, and customer support to ensure we’re building a sustainable business rather than simply chasing expansion.

Our philosophy is pretty simple: Do the right thing, take care of your people, and deliver on what you promise. If you consistently do those things, the opportunities tend to follow.

LL: Trinity does a lot of marketing on social media and in the field, holding monthly promotions and giveaways for customers much like a large commercial lighting agency. How does a young agency compete at that level?

JC: I love this question because it’s something we’re really proud of! We made a conscious decision early on that marketing wasn’t going to be an afterthought. We wanted it to be a core part of our business and something that helped differentiate both Trinity and the manufacturers we represent.

We have a dedicated marketing resource, and we work closely with our sales team to create campaigns that are relevant, engaging, and actually help drive business.

Whether it’s a product spotlight, educational content, a customer giveaway, or a targeted promotion, the goal is to keep our manufacturers in front of customers consistently.

We also try to have a little fun with it! This industry is built on relationships, and sometimes a creative promotion or giveaway creates an opportunity to engage with a customer in a way that a traditional sales email simply doesn’t.

The other important piece is that we don’t view these efforts as just marketing Trinity. We’re marketing our manufacturers and helping create demand for their products.

We believe an agency should be doing more than just taking orders. We should be actively helping our manufacturers grow their brands and their market share.

And while we’re still a relatively young agency, we’ve been willing to invest in the people and resources that allow us to operate at a high level. It’s part of our commitment to making business easier for everyone we work with.

LL: The future is hard to predict. The economy continues to have its ups and downs and mid-term elections are next week and January will be here before we know it. What do you think 2027 is going to be like for Trinity?

JC: I think 2027 is going to be an incredibly exciting year for Trinity Sales Group. While none of us can predict the economy we can control how we position ourselves for success. We’ve spent the last two years investing in our people, infrastructure, and relationships, and I believe we’re just beginning to see the results.

With our expansion into Florida and partnership with Zach Rapp and A-Z Lighting, we’re entering 2027 with a stronger team, a broader footprint, and tremendous opportunities ahead. We’re looking forward to kicking things off at Lightovation in January and continuing to build on that momentum.

We’re not trying to become the biggest agency overnight. We’re focused on building one of the best agencies to work with — both for our manufacturers and our customers. If we continue doing the right things and taking care of our people, I believe the growth will take care of itself.

The best is still ahead of us, and we’re going to have a lot of fun getting there!