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