Revenue Builders The Importance of Service in Leadership with Greg Fairbank
SHOW SUMMARY
In this episode of the Revenue Builders podcast, our hosts John McMahon and John Kaplan talk to Saratoga Systems CEO and President Greg Fairbank. Greg, who served in key positions in the US Army for 26 years, talks about the intersection of military training and sales, and how his army background has immensely contributed to his success in the technology industry.
Greg also talks about No One Left Behind, a non-profit organization working on evacuating the tens of thousands of U.S. government employees and interpreters who remain in Iraq and Afghanistan, and providing them critical assistance for housing, transportation, food and household goods.
Additional Resources:
- Support No One Left Behind (NOLB): https://www.nooneleft.org/getinvolved
- Saratoga Systems is hiring! To apply, connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregfairbank/
- 5 Traits of Successful Leaders: https://forc.mx/3BrMkHh
- Listen to More Revenue Builders: https://forc.mx/3bfW5Od
HIGHLIGHTS
- How military training can prepare you for sales
- Earn the right to build rapport
- Leading with competence: overcoming the Seller Deficit Disorder
- Hiring a military vet can be a rare but golden opportunity
- What is commander's intent?
- Advice for companies that want to take on government contracts
- No One Left Behind: aftermath of the Afghan exit
GUEST BIO
Greg Fairbank is the president and CEO of Saratoga Data Systems. With an extensive background in enterprise software development and sales at high growth technology companies.
Prior to Saratoga, Greg developed Endeca Technologies, which was acquired by oracle. Prior to that, Greg was a software development manager at Sapient Corporation. He managed Sapient's first offshore development effort and delivered online banking and commerce applications to Fortune 500 clients.
As a colonel in the United States Army, Greg held battalion and strategic commands, as well as serving in the Joint Chiefs of Staff. During his tenure with the Joint Chiefs, Greg represented his unit to the US Congress and provided briefings to the senior leadership of the departments of state and defense. Greg holds degrees from Cornell and Harvard, and is a distinguished graduate of the US Army War College.
QUOTES
Greg on the similarities between military training and sales: "Think about the things that you learn in your sales training. Not asking leading questions. Asking open-ended questions and not interjecting in the conversation. Letting silence be a good thing. These are all things which they unquestionably teach in that world and there's direct analogues in the sales world."
Greg on commander's intent and why military vets are excellent hires: "It is core to our good non-commissioned officers and our officers that listen, I'm not gonna give you every little detail on how things are gonna happen. I'm gonna give you my intent, and you figure out how it's gonna happen. And it works really, really well."
Greg on the goal of No One Left Behind: "Our goal is to get these people here and make them productive members of society. Get them over here, we try to set them up with apartments. We also try to get them vehicles. We're giving cars to these folks so they could get to and from work or be an UBER driver, be a Lyft driver, do some of these on-demand delivery functions. They can make a living and not just be reliant on any sort of public handouts."
Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064