Richard Harold Smith – Australian Legend
- Replies 1
Note from the Editor:
This article was written for the SDC by the wonderful member Alan G.
I first met Dick Smith when I worked for Warburton Franki in Sydney in 1973. I was a very new salesman of small electronic components – quite a tough market. One of the hardest people to deal with for a salesman that hadn’t learned to be ‘pushy’ was an astute businessman – and few were more astute than Dick Smith.
I went to his office at Gore Hill, behind his shop. I think it was a meeting that my manager, Colin Edwards, had arranged. I always respected Colin. He would go out of his way to make new salesmen more comfortable. I really don’t remember much about that first meeting with Dick Smith, apart from the fact that I don’t think I did very well. With small electronic components like ‘Beckman trim-pots’ or ‘Siemens miniature relays’, 1 cent can make the difference between a $5000 order or nothing, and a green salesman like myself had little idea how low he could go in price to secure that all-important order – and you can’t keep running to your boss to find out.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Quisque in diam id erat facilisis consectetur vitae vel urna.
Ut lacus libero, suscipit auctor ipsum sit amet, viverra pretium nisl. Nullam facilisis nec odio nec dapibus. Integer maximus risus et velit porttitor ullamcorper
This article was written for the SDC by the wonderful member Alan G.
I first met Dick Smith when I worked for Warburton Franki in Sydney in 1973. I was a very new salesman of small electronic components – quite a tough market. One of the hardest people to deal with for a salesman that hadn’t learned to be ‘pushy’ was an astute businessman – and few were more astute than Dick Smith.
I went to his office at Gore Hill, behind his shop. I think it was a meeting that my manager, Colin Edwards, had arranged. I always respected Colin. He would go out of his way to make new salesmen more comfortable. I really don’t remember much about that first meeting with Dick Smith, apart from the fact that I don’t think I did very well. With small electronic components like ‘Beckman trim-pots’ or ‘Siemens miniature relays’, 1 cent can make the difference between a $5000 order or nothing, and a green salesman like myself had little idea how low he could go in price to secure that all-important order – and you can’t keep running to your boss to find out.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Quisque in diam id erat facilisis consectetur vitae vel urna.
Ut lacus libero, suscipit auctor ipsum sit amet, viverra pretium nisl. Nullam facilisis nec odio nec dapibus. Integer maximus risus et velit porttitor ullamcorper
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