Richard Fearon, sales director for Venture Computer, describes Graham Brett, national business manager for supplies and media, as "one of the most exceptional sales performers Venture has seen".
This accolade seemed deserving of some further investigation, so ITWeb visited Brett to pinpoint the reasons for his personal success and the continued growth of Venture Computer, the South African distributor of Lexmark products.
At 29, Brett is hot property among headhunters although he has been with Venture Computer for more than seven years and is not even considering greener pastures. "I intend to be on the board of directors of Venture in the next couple of years," he says. "That is my goal. I would like to see Venture through a listing on the stock exchange."
Brett believes in mutual benefit: vendors must add value to his products, and in return he creates brand awareness and demand. He admits that he expects a lot from the people working under him, but says he asks nothing he would not do himself. And it seems to be working.
Seizing the future
He started at Venture when it was a company of 24 people. "I had no training, no IT background whatsoever. I didn't even know how to turn on a computer." But he had glimpsed the future, and wanted to be a part of the IT explosion. "I knew it was going to take the whole world by storm."
A natural salesman, his first position was in customer service as a sales assistant, entering orders as they came in and generally doing the dirty work. "At the time the sales people were only working on the big players, Siemens Nixdorf, ICL - those were the only area of focus. I thought 'Why aren't we dealing with the smaller companies?'" He approached the sales director and received permission to go after the smaller market segment, which has since become an important part of the market, and he still has a soft spot for it.
"There are many loyal but small guys that add value to the customers and have strong relationships with them. It is as important to service them as it is to service the big guys. They weren`t big guys when they started. Everybody with a sound business policy can grow."
Brett does his best to regulate the market and sees Venture as the South African custodian of the Lexmark brand. Vendors are screened before being appointed to ensure the market is not being saturated. "There are price wars out there as it is, and that makes it unprofitable. So I want to know what market he is addressing and what value he adds. Otherwise I am only cutting from one and giving to the other. There must be something tangible they put around my box that justifies the margin they make."
As loyal to the channel as he is to the company, Brett does not see direct marketing as an immediate threat. "Somewhere in the infrastructure there has to be a place for value. If a big corporate that buys a product has the internal skills to install it, they are adding their own value, so they don't require a middleman."
Working together
Venture does, however, have a direct presence in the market, by way of its corporate relationships. "We work hands-on with the corporates. We still don't sell to them, though. The idea is to work together in terms of their business plans, to become such an integral a part of them that they don't make decisions without you. And then you source the product through an integrator."
Money, he notes, is not everything. "Sure, money is important in sales, but so is job satisfaction. You have to enjoy what you do. I love my job, and most of the people here are my friends. Being part of a team is its own reward."
Hewlett-Packard might still be the number one seller in the country, but Venture is proud of its impact. "Lexmark was an unknown entity in this country a few years ago, and we have taken it to a household name," says Brett.
So what does he attribute his success to? "It's good people. It's identifying people's good points. Everyone has strong and weak points, and I believe in honing and developing strong points, and dealing with weak points. It's having people work with you, not for you."
And what is the key to Venture's success as a company? "Our independence and our quick reaction time."
Share