Landmark II, moving up in the world

I was a Landmark salesman for 18 months. A good 18 months that taught me a lot about how to talk to clients, present value propositions, close business, and understand that listening to clients was much more valuable than talking to clients.'

But something else much more important happened to me in that 18 months. I met by sweet ever lovin' wife there. We did not "see" each other while working together. As a matter or fact, we were even married to others. But that is how we met, and above all else, for that I am grateful to Landmark Graphics.

But let's get back to work.

The reason that I was a salesman for only 18 months is that Landmark had a wholesale management change at that point. My boss (Laura, mentioned earlier) and Richard (also mentioned earlier) were politely asked to pursue other interests. They did, and a fellow named Larry White was hired from Schlumberger (the new President's old company) to run the North American region.

It was apparent that Larry needed some help with the sales folks, so I approached him and said that I could act as his Sales Manager while he searched for the perfect candidate. He was a little reluctant at first, but soon saw the wisdom of such and approach. I kept one account for a short period (you can't serve two masters) and then starting being a sales manager.

Which reminds me of a joke:


A guy goes hunting and wants to hire a dog to retrieve the catch.

"I have just the dog for you, sir." says the gamekeeper. "He's called Salesman and he is brilliant" Off they go and every time the hunter shoots a bird the dog runs off and brings the bird back just as he was hired to do; a great success.

The following year, the same guy goes back and asks for Salesman as he was so good last year.

"Ah, I'm sorry, sir, but it won't work anymore. Someone had the bright idea of calling him Sales Manager - now he just sits on the porch and barks all day".

I worked as the Sales Manager for a year, but in that year hired two of the best salesmen that Landmark ever saw. Heck, two of the best salesmen that I have ever seen work. They made my job much easier as a manager.

Once you have been in sales, and once you have managed sales people, I believe that you can do just about anything you put your mind to.

We started an industry, and now we were kicking it into the real world.

My next job (and next post) was one of the most thankless positions I even held. Manager of Customer Support for North America.