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So, this is my Blog, my thoughts / feelings / ideas. You may comment if you like. If you attack me, I come back at you with reckless / racist / suicidal abandon. If you compliment me, I thank you. If you don't ever visit again I don't care. Other than that, just enjoy what I write, or not.
Salagatle!


LIU - Look It Up!

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Sunday, April 11, 2010

The wheel turns, and then it turns some more.....

So, whilst we were having our sushi dinner the other night, at FTV at the local casino, this guy walks in, with his family. His face lit up with recognition when he saw me, and both I and the Princess saw it. I had, at that point, no idea who he was. He came over, excitedly, and greeted me, "Wreckless Eurofarican!"(not my real name! LOL!) he said, been a long time. "Hi", I replied, meet my wife, "Princess". And he greeted her. Then I apologised for not remembering his name, and he told us who he is. Kaching! The penny drops. So he proceeds to tell the Princess that I am still the only sales person to have ever sold HDPE conveyor rollers to a company called RBCT (Richards Bay Coal Terminal), and since I left the game, no one has ever sold HDPE rollers into that client again!!!! he's been in the roller game for all of 30 years!

Anyway, the background to our relationship is this. About 1988/89, I was retrenched. I decided to go it alone, registered a cc (LIU), and started selling to the client base I had built up before my job loss. I got a supplier, and raped the market. There were companies out there against which I competed who had 10 or more sales people in the market place, had been in business for 5 - 10 years or more, and they couldn't touch me. Anyway, in 1993, I won the 3 year contract to supply Eskom with conveyor rollers for all their power stations country wide. This was at the time probably the most sought after tender in the country, and this one man cc won it. I was pocketing around 30 - 50 k per month, double what I earn today!

It was at this time though, about a year into the contract, that another company, decided that the product I was selling was in breach of their patents. A court case followed, with much costs (not for me though) and after about 6 months, the courts told my suppliers that there were too many "coincidental similarities" and found for the plaintiff, and my supplier closed his doors!!! That's it! Done! I had no manufacturer.

About a week later, the complaining company approached me, and offered me their product to market. However, they already had a few guys and companies out there selling their stuff, and I had been competing against them, so found it difficult to take the offer. Instead, I introduced them to Eskom as a comparable alternative, and walked away.....

This company was at the time run by the father of the guy who approached me in FTV the other night! he remembers, oh, yes, he remembers very well that there was no one to touch me in that game back then!

So we chat a bit, and he asks, "Wanna get back into the game?" He's looking for a relationship manager for their biggest account, one company who has platinum and coal mines locally, as well as abroad. They need "hand holding", want to see presentations on TCO, and life of their equipment. Must be comfortable to present to their C Level management, etc. No problem for me, but what's the pay? Hey, no use entertaining a discussion if they not talking real money! It's ZAR500k per annum. Oh, well, about what I ear now, but no commissions....

So he really wants to chat to me, and I take his number and will give him a call in the week. No harm in looking. But, I think it's worth more! After all, he knows I am the best salesman he has ever known!

Since I left the game, they were bought out by the countries biggest steel roller manufacture, and after that they merged with another company. So, in market terms they are big, very big. he is joint CEO of the new company.

Knowing what I do, and able to operate as I do, I think I am worth more, and can take over most of the marketing / sales operation in their company. Will make that call, and take a look. But I think they will have to talk real money. it's an option!!!!

Salagatle!

1 comment:

Bruthafromanothamutha said...

Good luck Wreckless - you deserve a break from that witch you work for