Its not a knack, it is a discipline..

This year marks a quarter of a century of my career in sales, and so it felt quite pertinent to look back - and forward - to reflect on what I have learned and how I think sales has evolved over the years, and how we can do better for our clients, partners and colleagues.

Many of you won't know that I actually graduated as a Mechanical Engineer from university; a degree I loathed almost from the beginning and put a mediocre level of effort into as a result. Regret is a pretty wasted emotion, so said my late Grandmother-in-Law who left us in December 2023 at the ripe old age of 101 and 2.5 months. You tend to listen to the wisdom of those around you with that amount of time served on earth, and she is right.

Whilst I could have done a Business or Marketing degree instead at the time I had no idea where or how I would channel my skills so I ploughed on and did what I could. I had luckily been accepted onto a Graduate scheme with my first employer Caradon and I impressed enough during the selection process that my 3rd Class BEng degree didn't really matter when it came to taking me on in their Engineering team.

It did however become pretty apparent from about 3 or 4 months in that my line manager didn't really know how to nurture me and I was resigned to a lot of administrative and fairly dull work. I approached HR and asked if there was anything else I could do. I was offered a role in Key Accounts supporting the sales team or a place on a fledgling e-commerce project that actually fell flat after a few months. Thank goodness I chose the former.

Luckily for me my second boss Roger Gregson was a superb mentor. He put you at ease with his manner and I will never forget sheepishly sliding my first month's expenses across the desk only for him to remark (and I am paraphrasing) "why are you looking so worried? Do you sleep in a comfortable bed at home? Do you have a hot meal and a drink at home? You are away for work and it is only right that you have these things." With that, my guilt was assuaged. We worked together for a few years and when the company split we parted ways but he made a lasting impact on me.

I was also fortunate to meet Mark Applin during my time at Caradon and when a chance came up to work for Mark later on at Mira Showers I jumped at it. We became fast friends over the years and he was best man at my wedding and I am godfather to his kids. Wherever we are in the world, we know we will always reconnect.

...same goes with Toby Drew who I worked alongside at CME Sanitary Systems. We have exactly the same kind of sense of humour and always had each others backs.

A few steps along the path I started working for Stephen Bates at a startup company called ReAquasystems,. We'd taken a product idea from CME and developed it. This was an extremely steep learning curve being part of a great, dynamic and small team trying to bring a product to market but I think the success we created in those few years was to elevate awareness of greywater recycling capability and water saving as a whole, and this is still now a topic for conversation across the world. Thankfully, the solution we birthed is being adapted and utilised in other guises, so it definitely had an impact!

Over the years I have sold to trade, retail, A&D, consultants and end user clients alike. There's some obvious commonality and synergy across these customer types: fulfilling the basic needs with a functional, technical, aesthetic, long-lasting and cost appropriate product or solution. They are also more importantly all human beings and what I have learned the most is that despite the ways people may present on the first, second or even tenth meeting what lies behind them is a husband, wife, father, mother, colleague and all round great person. Yes, you cannot and never will get on with everybody and it doesn't need to go to "best buddy" lengths in the process of engagement - if anything, I find that a little creepy as I am sure others do! - however mutual respect and understanding counts for a lot. If you are listening and listened TO you have a good basis to help one another.

Selling also isn't about selling a lot of the time. That may sound counter-intuitive but having a story, framing an idea, understanding wider context and consequence, creating support for people beyond the product or service and opening the network; all of these are totally crucial to how you progress a relationship to something beyond the basics of "I need XYZ on such-and-such a date, how much?". Of course, sometimes you need those simple engagements and conversions too.

Responsiveness is also key. It utterly baffles me when I hear how customers wait literally weeks for a response. It is also disappointing when it happens to you, especially with the excuse of "being busy" rears its head after 3 or 4 weeks of no reply or turning up to a meeting only to find a person isn't there. Courtesy counts for a lot on both sides, and it reinforces the mutual respect you have or can develop.

Being part of a great company and brand helps. Anglepoise? | B Corp? have a wonderful story, great products and a superb culture headed up by Adam Wade which motivates me and my colleagues to be the best of ourselves at all times for the business. We continue to grow and develop every day and are actively encouraged to bring new ideas, implement them and iteratively become better. Continuous Improvement is so key and if you stand still, you gather dust and stagnate. This job has NEVER been boring because there's a huge variety to how I engage with customers and the opportunities are so wide and exciting.

Beyond my sales role I also champion mental health and feel very passionately about the subject alongside John Purnell . Nobody should suffer in silence and I have started to discuss this way more in my customer meetings which is how it should be all the time I think. The spirit of openness fosters collaboration and reinforces the human qualities in all of us so we're not just seen as a supplier, rep (oh I HATE that word!!!) or means to an end. The end could just be the start!

I have a quote I have lived by both personally and professionally over the years and it motivates me to do more, be better, keep persisting and approach each opportunity with fresh eyes: "You'll worry less about what people think about you when you realise how seldom they do." This imprinted upon me in my twenties and makes me think if I get the opportunity to meet you and help one another then I will take it, and hope the impression that is made is enough for us both. If not, then we move on and that is totally okay. The fit should always be right and nobody should need to fight too ferociously to state their case on a product, project, design, cost proposal, contract or deal. Equality is what we should all be searching for in those engagements.

Whatever I do across the remainder of my career I know that the things I have learned so far stand me in good stead for tomorrow. My other favourite quote is where I will end: "we haven't come this far to only come this far".