Preface: Grahame Don is a great friend and client. I originally met him about 10 years ago, when he led the sales effort for a specialized product line for his company. We’ve maintained our friendship through the years. He’s so creative in his selling approaches, looking at very large deals and developing strategic partnerships with customers all around the world. All this from “down-under….” (Grahame, makes some very kind comments about me, but it’s his story that’s so fascinating.)
Hi Dave,
I got into selling almost by chanceā€¦ As a young man, all I ever wanted to be was an Army Officer like my grandfather. My mother talked me out of it in my final year of High School. For a number of years after that I was lost. I went to University to study a bachelor of Arts majoring in history, but whilst it was interesting my heart wasn’t in it. After two years of partying – they kicked me out. I ended up running service stations until one day not long after my first child was born, they made me redundant from my job. So, I needed a job quickly and found myself applying for a job at a local lift truck (forklift) company.
I took that job in 1997, and I’ve been working in sales ever since..
Though sales, I have traveled much of the world, experienced different cultures, learnt so much, and have come in contact with wonderful people.
My sales journey (I imagine like many) started with cold calls, either in person or over the phone. Suddenly the old landline (back then) weighed more than two bricks!
Over time I developed the craft, reading books by Zig Ziglar, Dale Carnegie and alike. As I improved and gained a reputation, I began to work for larger organizations.
Up until 2015, most of my passion for sales was a love of ‘the game’, always trying to do better, close more, close faster, and a genuine interest in people.
In 2015, everything changed when I met David A. Brock. My employer had engaged David to fly to Australia to conduct sales workshops with a company I had just started with. It was my first week. Suddenly, I understood what some of the Sales Managers that had come and gone from previous positions had been trying to say – “Pipeline” meant nothing to me, because until I met Dave, I had no idea what the stages were. Until now, my success was all effort, and some personality – no science. I was terrible at “qualifying” – I wasted so much time. For me this meeting would be a turning point.
Today, I am not only passionate about selling, but also introducing the next generation to ‘sales’.
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