I’ve been developing sales people for nearly 30 years and have a career in sales which goes back even further, and it’s this experience I draw on to build the content of my sales workshops, check out the testimonoals of some of my apprentices, there’s a button at the bottom of the page.
I still find it unbelievable that the critical business practice of selling is not a main stream subject in schools, colleges or universities, and consequently those who train, teach or mentor on the subject do so not from formal academic qualifications, but from the lessons learned in the school of hard knocks and the university of life. This is very much my story, and I hope the following timeline gives you the confidence to be sure, I know what I’m talking about.
1975 Moonshine Murals
It’s funny, when you look back in time you can appreciate with the benefit of hindsight the things you have achieved in the building of your career.
1976 The Museum
After leaving art college I worked for a while with the Museum service in Falkirk, my job there was setting up displays and restoring
artefacts-
1978 The Market Trader
Inspired by the dreams of others, I hung my hopes on the shoogly peg of self-confidence and set about becoming a market trader, what a learning curve that was.
1979 The Sales Representative
As it turned out I got the job, with a client list, at territory of my own and a brand-new company car, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven.
1981 The Lost Opportunity
So, imagine this; It’s 1981, the oil boom hasn’t quite got of the blocks yet and Aberdeen is booming.
1981 The start of an incredible journey
I joined Grampian Business Products as their first salesman on the 1st of October 1981.
1989 The Force Awakens
1989 was when the ‘Force’ was awakened inside of me, having built what I thought was a successful career in sales over the previous 15 years.
2002 A New Hope
2002 proved to be a very special year. The opportunity presented itself for a management buyout of the company I had grown up with these past 20 years,
2006 The Return of the Jedi
In 2006 I set up Blackmask to offer my services as a Sales Mentor.
2015 The Sales Jedi
In December 2015 I accepted an invitation to Join Elevator and the Business Gateway, and since then have worked with hundreds of clients looking to grow their businesses and access the abundant portfolio of Business Gateway’s support services.