I Am Sales – Anthony Moreland

Anthony Moreland. Sales Professional, Bell Helicopter

Former Army Warrant Officer Apache helicopter pilot to Executive Director at Bell Helicopter.

Below is the result of our interview with Anthony conducted in the Fall of 2007.

Sales Overview

How long have you been in sales? 11 years.

How did you get started? I started in Sales with a network marketing company which was based on Finacial Services. My main reason was to get out of debt.

What is the impact of sales on your life? I have been positively impacted in terms of compensation, etc, but what keeps me going is the close relationships I have formed with customers.

What do you like most about sales? Winning as large, complex deal that has an impact to our year is one thing I like, but leading my team of 14 is the best part of my job.

What sales method do you follow? We began using Miller Heiman back in the late 90’s. Strategic selling seems to be a great fit for our firm and our industry.

What is the name of your best sales manager ever? (so far!) Tie between Greg Maitlen, Regional Sales Manager, Western US and David Peterson, Regional Sales Manager, Mid-Atlantic.

What made this manager so good? Absolute technical competence in terms of aviation knowledge, sales skills, and finally, killer at developing relationships.

What made your worst manager so bad? Poor work ethic in terms of travel, follow through. Very bad attitude in terms of being objective and growing or learning. Believe it or not, bad with women in some roles.

How do you prepare for a big meeting? Pre-meetings to review finacials, contracts, etc. Basically review every aspect of the transaction to ensure not only that we have our facts straight, but to ensure that we have our story and approach straight. Other items that are discussed are dress code and any other details that might be relavant. On smaller deals, I may simply have a conversation with my RSM prior to walking in the door. I generally do not meet with a customer unless I’m ready. Of course, short notice meetings come up, but major decisions are always made after preperation.

Selling Track Record

What is the most you ever sold in a year? 2006-206 new helicopters, approximately $550 million. New record at Bell Helicopter.

What is the biggest order you ever booked? 2007, 27 aircraft, valued at $68 million. With customizing, $88 million.

How long did it take to book your biggest order? 1 year.

Why did the customer buy from you? Combination of timing, our availability (delivery), price.

What did you learn from the process? How difficult it is to manage expectations.

What is the biggest order you ever lost? 20 aircraft deal valued at $45 million.

Why was the order lost? Price and delivery

What was learned from the loss? You can’t win them all.

Private Life

What is in your library? Mostly self help, flying books and magazines. I just completed an MBA so I’m still adjusting to having my life back. . .

What are you reading now? Best of Eric Clapton.

What is your favorite movie? I have a 2.5 year old son, so I don’t see a lot of movies, but I would say recently it would have to be “The Incredibles”. Reason I like it is that my son thinks I’m Mr Incredible!

Who is a role model to you? My business mentor is a person located on the West Coast who runs a $25 Million Aviation Company. He’s a great businessman, and a great example of life balance.

How do you relax? Run, Listen to great music, read.

What 3 people would you like have over for dinner?

1. Chuck Yeager-Just want to talk about flying and dog fighting.

2. Colin Powell-I just think he is a great American.

3. Jack Welch-Just want to get some career/business advice.

How do you start the day? Gym by 5:30, Office by 7:30. Quick review of my calendar.

How do you end work each day? Quick review for the next day. Clear my desk. Quiet drive home!

Technology & Strategy

What smartphone – pda do you use? Blackberry for the usual e-mails, etc. While we could use Salesforce on our Blackberry’s, we have chosen not too.

What PIM/CRM do you use? Salesforce.com

How do you stay organized? Stay in front of the deal at all times. Preplan when able.

How do you prevent a slump? Exercise to prevent and take 4-5 long weekends a year as well as a 2 week vacation

Changes

How have markets/sales changed in 5 years?

1. Significant Wall Street Money in several segments in our industry. This is driving huge investment in aircraft.

2. Huge demand for military and commercial products-this is crushing our 2nd and 3rd tier vendors. Our backlog is growing to historic levels.

3. Level of quality and speed of change is increasing.

4. Overall economy is strong (Yes I watch the news too), all of our segments are flying and buying.

What industry trends do you foresee? Capacity problems will be around for at least 5-10 years. Continued merger activity in Emergency Medical Service segment as well as oil and gas.

How do you want to be described in a sentence? Anthony is professional.

Alternative Universe

If you were not in sales, what would you do instead? Flying.

Closing Question

How is it to be interviewed by the Sales Whisperer? Great, I love you man!