Category: Business

Technology and electronics, a personal muse.

The amazing development of electronics over 50 years.

The calendar reliably informs me that this is my 65th year.  My brain, of course, lags somewhat in accepting this!

My step-father during my early teenage years worked for Elliott Brothers (the link goes to an interesting history of the firm that started in 1804) in Borehamwood, just north of London.  He encouraged me to fiddle with ‘steam’ radios and

Frederick and sa Elliot

try and understand how these basic circuits worked.  It was then a small step to deciding to become a radio amateur, popularly known as a radio ham!  In those days it was a case of some pretty intensive studying to pass a Theory exam as well as being able to pass an exam in sending and receiving Morse code.

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Selling – finding customers, Part 1.

Prospecting with pin-point accuracy.

One of the classic ways of catching business students out is with the following:

Question:  If I am conducting a direct mail campaign, what would represent an excellent response?

Typically, students will answer, “2%”, “3%”, etc.  In fact any form of percentage response would miss an important point.

Correct answer: An excellent response, nay magical response, would be if only those that had the money and motivation to buy responded.

Impossible?  Yes!

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The lessons in Chrysler?

Chrysler, investing, entrepreneurism and common sense.

Many, many years ago I went on a course on starting your own business.  It was held in London and caught my eye because just a few months previously I had resigned my sales job with IBM UK Ltd and commenced a journey of being self-employed, in the sense of being responsible for my own income. A 31-year journey that has provided so many riches in a non-financial sense.

Since we are talking about an event so long ago, it is not surprising that few memories are intact about that single day in a smart hotel in the centre of London.

BUT, one thing has stayed with me, and served me well.

Never get involved in a business where you don’t really know the marketplace.

So a recent article in the New York Times (Saturday, 8th August) about Cerebus, the private capital investment company that purchased Chrysler two years ago wasn’t short on lessons for us more down-to-earth guys.  Here’s a extract from the interview that Louise Story with the NYT (cool surname, by the way, for a journalist!) did with Steve Feinberg, co-founder of Cerebus, in his smart office on Park Avenue.

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The attributes of top (sales) performers

Sales, training and top performers

Reluctantly, it has to be admitted, because it ‘dates’ me, my career spans selling, in a business-to-business environment, from 1963 until 2008, a period of 45 years!  That has included large corporates such as ICI (UK and Australia) and IBM and two start ups, Dataview Ltd (sold in 1986) and Aviation Briefing Ltd, still plugging away.  In recent years, there has been a regular teaching assignment at ISUGA in Quimper, France.  Even semi-retirement brings a flow of coaching clients!

Anyway, to the point of this Post.

A number of people have suggested that it would be valuable to many people out there if some of my experiences could be documented.  Grateful for the idea.  Let’s start with Top Performers. Read the rest of this Post