Selling this pen again by Tony Green

I described the scenario in an earlier entry when I asked to ‘sell the pen’ question during an interview. As you may recall from my previous entry I was on a quest obtain a sales position. The question is a good question to ask because it tests a potential salesperson persistence to overcome rejection and their listening skills, key components of any successful salesperson.

When I was asked the question I failed miserably as I stumbled to describe how this was the pen that they wanted. I resolved that would never happen again reading everything I could get my hands on how to answer the question. Now that I was prepared for the question I figured that I would never be asked again.

Of course, I was asked. Since I had learned from my previous nightmare I was going to jump all over the question. I remembered that I needed to focus on the benefits and not the features and if I got an objection, naturally the interviewer would make it challenging, so I tried to convince the interviewer that a pen was what he wanted regardless of how many times he objected. Once I finished I took a breath.

After I answered the question I thought I was in good shape until the interviewer asked me had you considered whether he wanted a pen? The wind went out of my sails as clumsily tried to recover. I guess I will be asked the question until I get it right.

An Engineer After All by Tony Green

A few weeks ago I took a day off from work to attend a Comsol hands-on workshop at their Silicon Valley office in Palo Alto, Calif. Comsol, formerly Femlab, sells engineering software that models the governing equations of mass, heat and momentum transport using numerical methods to the differential equations that govern many real life processes.
I was considering going back to graduate school to pursue my Masters in Engineering and wanted to see I could really delve into engineering at a higher level.
During my Chemical Engineering undergraduate studies I was not the best student, looking back after 15 years in retrospect. It was not that I had not learned anything but there were so many things going on my in life at the time, mainly growing up, that my main focus was not where it should have been.
During the half-day session a demo version of the Comsol Multiphysics was installed on my laptop and the participants and I were able to work through an example where the voltage of was simulated on a wafer after it had been processed.
I enjoyed working through the technical topics such as Navier-Stokes equations and convective heat transfer equations with my fellow participants. I had been a while that I had used by ebgniernig background since I left my position where I was an application engineer part-time.
Of course, Comsol was not offering demos for people to tinker around with its software. The application engineer whose job was to get people to buy software following the demo period did a wonderful job of following up and giving every opportunity to see the full value of the software. For the record, I would recommend the software for anybody thinking about using it. Ultimately, I felt almost sad that I could not buy the software. The price tag was a bit pricey to buy just to fool around with it once every few months.
Currently I am trying to get into technical sales and marketing and though I have worked to prepare myself I am not sure that it is meant to be. While I explore other career options going back to my engineering roots seems to be an option I should examine closer. Maybe I am an engineer at heart after all.

The value of an M.B.A. by Tony Green

I have been reading in various publications recently about whether the value of having an MBA was not what it used to be. In the past the conventional thought was that getting an MBA was the surest route to higher management. From what I have read in magazines the degree is becoming dime a dozen and not the rite of passage that it was.


Part of the reason is that graduate school enrollment has decreased with the strong job market and universities are offering watered down programs in attempt to encourage enrollment. The value of getting an MBA, in my view, depends on what a person was seeking to get out of the earning the degree.

In my case, I had a technical background and wanted to complement my background with business knowledge. At the time I had lost my job and wanted to do something positive in the event it was a long time before I found employment.


As a veteran the GI Bill could finance the $18,000 price tag. It seemed like the logical thing to do at the time. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and as I was the sole earner for my family I could not afford to take two years off to go back to school and make my mortgage payment.
After 22 months of classes of evenings (and papers during the weekends) I completed the requirements for my MBA. During my classes I leaned a ton of useful information which proved most helpful in position eventually landed after a three month job search. As it turned out it was my first management position.


In the end I am unsure whether I am on the road to path to success that people earn MBA to achieve but ultimately I feel that I am a better professional/person as of the experience. In my estimation the value of that is much more than dimes or dollars.

Selling this Pen by Tony Green

I was in an interview for a technical sales position at a company a few months back. I have never been a salesman and was trying to earn my first opportunity to enter the world of professional selling.

After the interview I was optimistic about hearing when a second interview could be scheduled.
I followed up with the recruiter I was working with to try and get some feedback. I never heard anything from her or the company so I assumed that they decided to not go any further. I was slightly curious as to why.

Later I was reviewing Martin Yate’s book “Hiring the Best” in preparation for another sales interview and when I read the following passage I discovered why my interview was a failure. In his words,”At the root of a successful sale is the sales person’s ability to identify a need and subsequently demonstrate how the product will fill that need. This is commonly known a feature/benefit selling. Here is the feature, and this is what it can do for you. This questions test your candidate’s awareness of an essential sales skill and his or her quick thinking. A salesperson is no good if he or she gives up after your first objection.”

I flashed back to the interview and remembered when I was asked by the interviewer to sell the pen that was on his desk. I was surprised by the question and caught totally off guard. My scattered nature of my response must have reflected that. I rambled about the pen and about its features, how well it writes the color of its case, etc. and failed to mention the benefits that he got out of using the pen.

It was then not surprising why I never got a call back. As I am still looking to enter the world selling this was available lesson that I am sure I will not forget anytime soon. The key is to not make same error again……

A view on the Professional Certified Marketer certification by Tony Green

I have been reading various takes on the American Marketing Association’s Professional Certified Marketer’s examination. Here is mine.

I agree with the questioning of the value of paying for the examination and the benefits of the certification. I made my own Google search when I was debating of whether I should take the examination and was unable to find much information. It is the only marketing certification that I have heard of that only requires taking a test to get the certification. The prerequisites to take the exam are either a bachelor’s degree with four years of relevant experience or an M.B.A. and two years. The P.C.M. folks assess whether you have enough relevant experience to take the exam once they review your application.

With that said, whether it is in someone’s interest to take the exam depends on your perspective.

Currently, I am the Vice President of workshops in the Silicon Valley’s chapter of the American Marketing Association (SVAMA) and most of my fellow board members either have degrees in marketing or at least 10 years of marketing experience. In their view getting the P.C.M. certification would seem like overkill and would not provide any additional value.

In my case, I have an engineering background and decided I wanted to get into technical sales and marketing after completing an M.B.A. With no direct experience to market I thought that completing the certification would prove to any prospective employer that I was serious about entering the profession due to the fact that I would make the effort to become certified. In preparing for the exam, which I passed earlier this year, I was able to learn a lot which I am sure will help me in the future. While becoming a P.C.M. does not provide benefit to everyone, I feel that in my case it will be worth it down the road.

Gallup Sales Personality Test Part 2 by Tony Green

I have now completed the Gallup test but did not earn myself an interview. It is something you can not prepare for but not for the reason I had originally thought. The difficulty is not that you do not know the questions. (I got coached by my recruiter) The problem is that you do not know the correct interpretation of your answers. Case in point one of the questions was,” Are you a perfectionist?” Depending on what answer you are looking for the correct response could be “No” if they are looking a realistic person who realizes that no one is perfect or a “Yes” if they are looking for someone who strives to do the best they can. Lots of people could go both ways on that one, including me. After more thought, if you read Part 1 of this blog the idea of using this test to identify candidates seem even sillier.

Marketing Thought by Tony Green

A few weeks ago, I attended the SVAMA’s first annual Marketing Thought Conference. The conference was created to promote the ground breaking thought in the field of marketing. The keynote speakers were Guy Kawasaki (Art of the Start) and Andy Sernovitz (Word of mouth).
During a break in my duties as a volunteer I spoke to a gentleman who worked the semiconductor industry who remarked that the Chinese in high-tech based in China did not understand marketing.

It caused me to begin to think how that could marketing not be understood because in my opinion provided the backdrop for the large upswings in high tech. Did the technology provide the fuel for that growth? No, it was the benefits that the technology could provide the parties who were using the technology. In short, the adoption of these benefits is made by consumers like you and I. Furthermore, technology that is not available to provide a benefit will have no growth. Or revenue.

Marketing in its simplest form is providing a demand for a product or a service. High tech defined by innovative products and services being sold with rapid product life cycles. Since adoption of the benefits provides the growth how can one function without the other?

After the conference one of the attendees contacted our president and requested a workshop on this topic. I debated whether to go forward, however, I thought about the SVAMA’s motto “Stay Connected, Stay Informed”. How else could we better advance our motto by promoting and conducting a workshop on this topic?

Gallup Sales Personality Test Part 1 by Tony Green

I was contacted recently about an open Marketing Manager position in the Bay Area by a military recruiter. Before I could speak to the company I would need to discuss the Gallup Personality test before speaking with the company. At first I wondered how relevant it was. But if the recruiter was taking almost an hour to walk me through it that it must have some importance. Honestly at first though, it seems kind of silly to me. I will add my additional thoughts once I complete my Gallup test and hopefully earn my self an interview.

Feeling the Aloha Spirit by Tony Green

A few weeks back I had the opportunity to attend a going-away party for one of my wife’s Halau (School) members who was moving back to the big island of Hawaii.
The purpose of the party was to wish them well in their future endeavors as the invitation specifically requested no presents other than your presence. The entire Halau were gathered with their families and friends to celebrate the spirit of Aloha.
As expected, everyone there was friendly and supportive in true Aloha style and was the Hawaiian band played melodies that added to an already relaxed atmosphere. The warm atmosphere was a refreshing way to spend a Sunday afternoon before a hectic week of work in Silicon Valley. After I thought about it was not the first time I felt touched by the Aloha spirit. I recalled noticing the first-hand about the spirit of Aloha while I was stationed in Hawaii.
During my time in Hawaii I met many warm people who imparted the ways of the islands more. After examining its rich history and the so it was clear why Hawaii is such a special place. One of the major things I noticed on this afternoon was how many peoples of different ethics backgrounds could come together and fellowship as people.
It gave me some hope for the future that my children and their children could live in world where that could be judged for the type of people they are and not their racial heritage. I wish that the warmth and openness of the islands could make more appearances on the mainland.

Ex Navy Nuke in Silicon Valley by Tony Green

Last Tuesday I decided to leave work early and attend the career fair held by militarystars.com at the Santa Clara Convention Center. It was the first year for militarystars.com in the Bay Area and, as expected the turnout was rather light as only those with military were allowed in. The premise of the fair was to connect ex-military personnel with positions in Corporate America. I used one of these agencies to find my first position in Silicon Valley after I left the Navy in 2000. As I walked around I met with the other potential job seekers and I realized how much those with military background are needed in the workplace. The primary character that I have come to miss in Silicon Valley after six years in the Navy is accountability. From my experience in the Valley often when something goes wrong the finger pointing begins by all of those involved. That is the reason why I believe in the motto if you make a mistake admit it, fix it, and move on. If I get no further leads as for as employment that reminder was well worth the trip.

What is on my mind? - By Tony Green

Now that I have had a few days to think about what I want to write on my blog I have determined that I was making much more of this than I should have. I will go with what comes to mind: I am still trying to find a job where I can use the skills I have spent the last three years obtaining, i.e., M.B.A.- Technology Management and P.C.M. (Professional Certified Marketer) But the important thing is that my family is fine. Professionally, I believe everything will fall into place, eventually , it is just taking some time.

My First Blog by Tony Green

I have now entered the world of 2.0. Now what, oh , yeah find something to write about....