Name
Tom Willis

Title
Senior Manager, Program Development

Organization
Office Depot

Location (where you work)
Delray Beach Florida

Educational background
I did most of my undergrad study at Mississippi Valley State University, but finished at Chicago State with a B. S. in Business Management.

How long have you been in the field?
Over the past 24 years I've enjoyed positions at different levels of sales, sales management, and sales training.

What is your primary area of expertise?
During the eleven years I've been involved in sales training, I've studied closely every major sales approach from PSS to SPIN.

Why did you join SMT?
When I first started in sales training at the national level, SMT was introduced to me as a way to enhance my skills and establish working relationships with leaders in the field. It has done that and more for me.

How long have you been a member of SMT?
I started attending conferences in 1992, and became a member in 1995.

What do you hope to accomplish as a member of SMT?
I have to develop new objectives, because my original objectives have been accomplished. I wanted to develop my knowledge of the profession to a level where I could think strategically and do a comprehensive analysis of the sales process against different selling challenges.

What do you see is the most pressing issue for sales/marketing trainers today?
Proving our value. We are still facing an uphill battle for the full appreciation of top management. That is mainly because it's still very difficult for sales training to get credit for success, and easy to cut the sales training budget in tough times. Today, many executives are getting the idea that you can train a sales person on a computer.

What professional book would you recommend to other sales/marketing trainers?
It's very difficult to stop at one book. I'll admit that the pure research and process development work done in "SPIN Selling" was a breakthrough for me. However, I would not have been able to fully appreciate Dr. Rackham's work if I had not already been exposed to Larry Wilson's "Changing the Game", David People's "Selling to the Top", or Michael Bosworth's "Solution Selling".

What is your favorite book?
I have favorites based on the learning objective. If the objective would be to teach a neophyte about selling capital equipment, it would be "Selling to the Top". For how sales forces ought to work, I like "Rethinking the Sales Force" by Neil Rackham. If I may mention one more, for how to live a good life in sales, I recommend "The Greatest Salesman in the World" by Og Mandingo.

Who is someone who has influenced your life and why?
That would be my dad. However, for the purposes of this article, I'll tell you about someone in the business. Jim Knight, a former President of SMT, sponsored me for a seat on the Board of Directors. From there I became President in 2000. It was a pivotal year for the society. We held our conference that year without spending money because we didn't have any. People did favors for me, and others who owed me favors came through for us. Without Jim's help, I would never have stepped up to that level, and we might not have an SMT today. I would also like to mention Gary Connor, who directed my career in sales training at Pitney Bowes, and played a key role in helping me during my term as president.

Tell us about one training success and describe why the process was strategic for your organization.

When Pitney Bowes decided to change the structure of its sales force, I was challenged to create a new sales strategy. Obviously, the new strategy would have to be one that helped people in new roles accomplish things that many of them thought impossible. To be brief, what resulted was a five-day program that mirrored the sales process deemed most effective for their best sales targets. Today, there are millionaires whose fortunes were made from that program. Many of them sent me letters, and I still have them.

Have you been a salesperson in your career? If so, what did you sell?
In September of 1978, I began my professional sales career at Pitney Bowes, selling mail-handling systems, parcel shipping systems, and copiers. I "carried a bag" for seven years, becoming a full time sales manager in 1986.

A quote or words of advice you give to other sales/marketing trainers.
First, join SMT. Go to every conference and call often on the veteran members for help. Second, take courses on Managing the Sales Training Function and Instructional Design, among others. I took mine from a company called Practical Management Inc.

Any other personal information (family, hobbies, sports)
Delores (my wife of 32 years) and I have two grown children of whom we're very proud. I LOVE to sing songs from the great American songbook, currently performing every weekend and often during the week. Also I like to play golf, but must admit that I rarely get out on the links because I use up all of my spare time singing.

See www.TomWillis.com.