I worked with Derek when he approached me to discuss how he could help my company with its commercial vehicle requirements. His approach was very different, with his focus more aimed at our business issues than the features of the Nissans.

Derek’s commitment to helping us, the excellent level of service we received from him and his team and his desire to ensure every single requirement was met resulted in my placing an order for 380 commercial vehicles with him.

We had always favoured Vauxhall (Opel) for our fleet vehicles, but Derek ensured that such a key business decision, and our transition to Nissan, was effortless and painless.

The entire experience from start to finish was one of total professionalism, respect and transparency. Highly recommended.

Mark Ganger
Commercial Director, Electricity Supply Commission

Derek was recommended to me by a colleague, and I flew out to South Africa to meet with him personally.

His “think business” approach to selling was exactly what we were looking for, and I had no hesitation in hiring him to help me with our sales effort in the UK.

Derek’s client engagement is unique and very professional, and I experienced first-hand how he went about getting meetings with Executives in the Finance Sector, where our focus was.

Once we were in the door, Derek helped the client to quickly understand the value we would bring to their business, and that was that.

One engagement in particular stood out for me, where Derek, upon uncovering some quality information in an Insurance Trade magazine interview, called the IT Director who had been featured, and secured a 5-minute meeting within two minutes. He had used the information to quickly create a Value Proposition that sizzled and compelled the Executive to meet with us.

The next morning we were in the company’s reception area, where we literally had a 5-minute conversation with the Executive before being invited to become a key supplier. I was astonished! No buying cycle, no messing about. Just a “value conversation” that made perfect sense to all the stakeholders.

Melvyn Burgoyne
VP Sales (EMEA), IMR Global

When Derek knocked on my door and asked for a job in my sales team, I hired him because he actually showed me how he would add value to my company by linking his projected sales to my office costs. Nobody had ever sold themselves that way to me before. He had no sales or IT experience, but he had an instinct for understanding what was important to me and my team.

He did not disappoint, and progressed within our company very quickly. He had a flair for generating new business, a real passion for his work and a desire to succeed. Most importantly though was Derek’s commitment to learn, not just from me or his peers, but from his clients. He built up an impressive contact list of decision-makers, and he made a point of tapping into their experience and knowledge to keep improving his own ability to sell.

His role in helping to grow our corporate sales was extremely important to us, and he was very effective selling our cutting-edge Unix solutions to companies nationally. Whenever we had a new software product we were considering for our portfolio, I would hand it to Derek to test the market for us. He was successful in creating sales and establishing the product for us thanks to his ability to quickly link the technology to business value for our clients.

Vernon Kirsten
Sales Director, Silicon Computer Corporation

Working with Derek was an absolute pleasure, and he made it very easy for us to engage with his company. He made a real effort to understand our business from the boardroom to the manufacturing lines, even spending time in our factory to see how our products were made.

He looked at our business from product design to testing to approval to final manufacture and sales. Once he understood our business, he came back with a proposal on switching our fleet cars to Nissan and showed us how we could improve our bottom line by moving from cash purchase to operating expense. Nobody had sold vehicles to us this way before.

There was a funny moment in my office one day when the Sales Director and the Fleet Sales Executive from a competitor called on me to see if I would consider buying from them. As they sat down they saw Derek’s business card on my desk, and without hesitation they stood up and excused themselves, saying that I was already in very good hands and they were wasting their time trying to get my account away from him.

My dealings with Derek were always very professional, to the point and value driven. In my role as a business leader, I appreciated his business focus and directness, taking care not to waste my time with frivolous meetings but rather looking to help me and my company.

David Fothergill
CEO, Gossard SA