Greetings.

My name is Bob Brown, and I'm glad to be part of Learn One Thing.

Mary's right. It's all about learning something new every day so you can sell more and make more. Whether you're involved in product or service, you will always find better ways.

Like Mary, I have moved around since my early years, being brought up on the fringes of Boston. Stayed in the Boston area for several years after my discharge from the Navy as a cryptographer.

Initially worked for a quasi-government agency doing satellite tracking. From there, I ended up in the sales department of the International Record Carriers. Started in Boston, moved to Cleveland (what did I do wrong?), then on to Chicago, Pittsburgh and then Manhattan as Director of Sales. Had 15 enjoyable and educational years there.

From there it was Wang Labs, Cabletron, BBN, GTE and a few start-ups along the way. During this entire period, I was what I call a "peddler." A card-carrying Sales Manager, Regional Manager, Director, or Vice President. The titles may not have always said "sales," but you're still peddling something.

From a Sales Rep to Business Development Manager/Director/Vice President, Global Channel Management. At one time I was VP of Sales handling 16 states, Canada as well as Central & South America, for direct as well as Third-Party (Channels). Some say that's a conflict. I found a way to even keep the direct and indirect sales teams happy and complimenting each other.

I believe that experience outweighs education from a sales perspective. There are some very good sales management training courses out there and I have attended several. However, you need to be on the front line. A sales person must love to be beat up and get his/her daily quota of abuse because when he/she is successful and wins that order, it is truly a rewarding and satisfying feeling. No classroom will give you that. And that's what we want to share with you through these ideas. Real-world experience. Between Mary and our other colleagues, we hope to bring you a rich, well-rounded collection of "learnings."

I am also available to consult with companies that have either stalled programs that need to be jumped-started, or companies requiring someone to come in and design and implement a channels program that can eventually be turned over to a selected internal candidate to manage going forward. I have much experience working side-by-side with the executive team to develop both the plans and targeted territories with the best crop of low-hanging fruit to be picked, thus achieving a faster sales cycle and revenue generation. Most often this is accomplished by working hand-in-hand with the marketing team that develops and articulates an organization's product(s)/services they have or are about to bring to market. What are the most receptive theatres to engage in? This is usually done on a global scale. However I have found that companies most often will seek success in the U.S.A. prior to attempting to enter the very lucrative international market place.

So come along for the ride. We think this is a great way to share knowledge, experience and wisdom that we have all accumulated along the highway of life. Sometimes we hope to sneak in some light humor. There are always humorous experiences we have had that are job-related. Those rare occasions have helped to make the day or week a bit more satisfyng and explain why we sometimes walk around with grins on our faces.

Best to you all,

Bob Brown
[email protected]

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