Meet Andy

Andy Smith - Founder & Director

Andy is a B2B sales expert, specialising in consultative selling.

Andy has held the position of Sales Director for a number of companies, mostly operating internationally, before going solo. He also has extensive experience in training, using digital platforms.

Andy is an award winning trainer, with adult teaching as well as behaviour change intervention qualifications.

Scroll down to read Andy’s story, as told by him...

I had always wanted to sell, following in my father’s footsteps.

 

I applied for a few sales jobs but I had no relevant experience. I had previously been interviewed by a sales manager who told me that he was so good that he could “sell ice to the eskimos”! I didn’t fancy working for him but I didn’t get the chance to find out, either!

On another occasion, I applied for a job with an office systems specialist, who I knew would give great sales training. This was via an ad’ in one of the ‘Daily’s’ but they called for a minimum age of 23; I was 21! I applied and got an interview. This turned out to be an all day group interview, in a London hotel, to see who performed the best. It turned out to be me and I was invited for a second interview. I arrived and was told that, although I was the best candidate, nationally, they could not hire me because of my age. I knew then that I was destined to sell but unsure how to get a sales job, without any relevant experience. Like many before me, I talked my way into my first sales job, in the mid 1980’s.

Fast forward a few years; I sat in my first board meeting, as Sales Director, feeling like an imposter, a little confused that, after everything I’d been through to get to this point in my career, it could all end here…

I had been selling for about 6 years, when I was invited to become Sales Director, after the company was sold to an acquisitive group plc. My lack of formal sales training was flushed out only after I was invited to join the board of directors.

 

I did not want to highlight my own shortcomings but they were quickly realised by my fellow directors - I was a ‘by the seat of the pants’ type of sales person. I gave the wrong answers to questions and left everyone with a poor impression of me. I had taught myself to sell, the hard way - through the ‘school of hard knocks’ (or should that be ‘hard knock-backs?!’. I had very little finesse and no idea how to forecast or strategise - I was never asked for this, previously. I felt that I was not worthy of being a sales manager, let alone a sales director.

I had hit a wall in my career and it was possibly all about to collapse from under me. But then I found the answer to my problems…

I was in awe of my fellow directors’ confidence and expertise, realising what they had that I lacked. My epiphany was that I lacked knowledge and that’s when I learned of all the different training courses that my peers had been on. I knew that I had to get some sales training.

My boss recognised I had the right attitude and that I could be taught the skills I lacked. I attended my first ever sales training course and have not looked back since. After each course, having learned new skills, I felt more confident and the positive results followed. I was delivering the answers and results the board were looking for, in line with accurate sales forecasts, through improved management of, not just myself, but my team, too.

I was well on my way to gaining a reputation for being a sales and sales management expert. What I have learned and put into practice has worked. It is not rocket science but a collection of methods, experiences, mistakes, as well as successes that I want to share. What’s more, it works when I hire people; I pass on my knowledge and skills to them. What I did not expect is

how helping others presents me with opportunities. In fact, it has changed the quality of my life. One of these hidden benefits is that I have extensively travelled the world, seeing parts that are not the usual tourist destinations. I have met new people and experienced many different cultures. I have worked with many great companies, sometimes on groundbreaking projects.

Perhaps the biggest hidden benefit, for me though, is seeing how peoples’ careers flourish when they have the knowledge and they use it.

If you have the right attitude, we can teach the skills.

 

“Success is not the motivator for me; recognition of my team’s achievements was and always will be number 1.”

- Andy Smith