…and I’m genuinely sorry for you. Luckily, I’ve been around long enough that I got the class.
One of the Lighting Industry’s best salespeople, Dick Smith, has finally retired. That’s a big loss for those of you who will never get to work with him and a loss to our industry.
Dick Smith embodied everything you absolutely want in your Sales team:
· Integrity
· A grand and gentle sense of humor
· A genuine interest in the product, its qualities, how it works, how it’s installed, and the ROI to his client
· The ability to do a lighting layout (Dick and I were both shocked to discover just how many people are selling lighting that have no idea how to layout an application let alone a whole house blueprint)
· Factory negotiations and maintaining factory relationships: the ability to tell a person to Go to Hell and make them look forward to taking the trip…
· Showing respect to everyone in the transaction
· Never AND I MEAN NEVER being rude
· The ABC’s of how to present yourself and your company
· Knowing the difference between Prospect Pursuit and simply barking up the wrong tree
· What real Sales preparation looks like and how to achieve that yourself
Those of you who know him and /or have worked with him are smiling right now. You know I’ve told the truth about our Friend and Colleague.
Those of you who don’t know him…well…perhaps you should copy the list above and use it as your measuring stick of what you should be looking for in your salespeople, be it your own team or the person who calls on you at your company.
This is what they should look like. This is what the “Tiffany Standard” is. Know it when you see it- and stop settling for less.
The Master Class is closed. Oh, how I will miss my dear Friend. Lighting just got a little bit dimmer…and lonelier.
May you find all the happiness in the world in retirement Dick Smith. No one deserves it more!
Jenny Boone
VP IEC Chesapeake, Business Development
January 2023
#youjustmissedmasterclass #IECChesapeake
