Phil MacKay, sales director at Comtek Network Systems answers our 20 questions and reveals why image and hunger make for good salespeople.
1. What was the first thing you sold?
Shampoo. In my first job after university I lived in a hall of residence. I made money by buying shampoo in bulk, putting it into milk bottles and selling it from room to room. I made a nice profit.
2. Did you intend to go into sales when you started your career?
No, not all. I studied economics at Leeds university and started in Lloyds steelworks as a management trainee, moving on to become a systems analyst. I actually came to a sales job quite late. In my late 20’s I decided on a career change and joined NCR as a salesperson. The idea of getting out meeting people, the excitement and making some real money appealed to me - money can be a big motivator.
3. What’s the single most important quality you need to succeed as a salesperson?
Hunger. I like my salespeople to have expensive tastes in things like clothes and food, so that they’re hungry and need that next commission.
4. What is the one thing you would love to sell?
Sheffield United to someone who cares about the club - unfortunately it's not mine to sell.
5. What is the last thing you’d want to sell?
Weapons. I couldn’t sell something that I had a real moral objection to.
6. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
If the competition’s salespeople start work at 7am, then you start at 6am.
7. What advice would you give to someone following in your footsteps?
Aim high in an organisation - it is better to be referred down by the man at the top than you referring upwards. Surprisingly a lot of salespeople are not very confident, they’re happy enough to talk to people at their own level or lower, but not to the real decision makers.
If you try to talk to the managing director it may not always succeed, but if they refer to you when talking to the sales director it can have a huge influence. That, and learn from your mistakes – never give up.
8. What did you buy with your first bonus?
For a long time I was a self-employed, commission-only salesman, and with a young family most of the money had to go on day to day living. If you can’t sell you’ll soon end up in a job agency.
9. Who do you most admire in your industry?
I have been lucky enough to work for some great bosses, who were there to help me but largely let me get on with it.
10. How would you sell ice to an Eskimo?
I wouldn’t even try - salespeople waste enough time as it is trying to sell lost causes.
11. How important is image for a salesperson?
I think it is very important. The advice I was given was to try to look like an IBM salesperson, and that coloured shirts are for parties. And make sure you clean your shoes.
12. What is the single most important skill you need to close a sale?
The ability to recognise buying signals and picking the right moment to ask for the order.
13. Has anything ever gone wrong, that in hindsight, has worked out well for you?
I have been made redundant a couple of times – but each time I have moved onto better things as a result. Redundancy isn’t always a bad thing - each time it has happened it’s been a kick start to my career.
14. What’s been your biggest success
When I worked for Cray I sold a couple of major transmission networks into the railway market. In the last four years as sales director at Comtek, we have made giant strides and I am proud of what has been achieved.
15. If you were to pack up your desk and leave today, what would you like to be known for?
Being a good professional, but someone you could have a laugh with as well. However, I am not on my way out yet, I am enjoying it where I am too much.
16. How has sales changed from when you started out?
I think that salespeople have changed from the bad old days when too many lunchtimes were spent in the pub. Not any more!
17. What are the current challenges facing your industry?
The whole IT industry needs re-educating, it has a throw away culture. It’s becoming like the motor trade, which has this idea of built-in obsolescence. I don’t think that’s either right or sensible, but recession has challenged a lot of these assumptions and people are starting to wake up to the fact that the IT kit they had five or even ten years ago is perfectly fine to use.
18. How has the digital age changed sales?
Today’s salespeople seem to prefer email to the phone - they prefer the phone to going to see someone. Whatever happened to relationship selling?
19. What will never change?
The basic rules of selling have not changed, they still apply. The best salespeople will take all the best business - the rest will get the scraps.
20. Who is the best salesman ever, real or fictional?
I don’t think I can single anyone out: I’ve known a lot of guys in this field who are superb and I really couldn’t put one up above the rest.
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