Patti Perspective Spotlight: Gerry Weinberg
This month meet Gerry Weinberg, of Gerry Weinberg & Associates. Gerry is a longtime sales coach to Sam Hoff and Patti Engineering and an involved member of the Patti sales team. Gerry runs the company’s sales workshops and sits in on their sales meetings as coach and mentor.
Gerry Weinberg is passionate about the sales process. He has been in sales management for his entire career. “I grew up in sales,” Gerry says. “My dad was a sales guy.” He knows that most people who are in sales are there by accident, or they are in another position and have the realization that “I need to sell.”
Gerry attended Boston University and received his bachelor’s degree in business administration. Early in his career, Gerry spent 14 years at Sealy, becoming the company’s vice president of sales and marketing for Michigan. Looking for a new opportunity, Gerry went to Baltimore and learned about Sandler Training which is now the largest sales organization in the world. Gerry Weinberg and Associates now consistently ranks in the top 3% of franchises. Started about 40 years, ago, the Sandler Method is a unique program whose core belief is that sellers and buyers should be equally invested in the sales process.
After learning about the Sandler Method, Gerry purchased a franchise. His company, Gerry Weinberg & Associates recently celebrated its 25th anniversary in the Sandler business. Gerry describes his job as helping businesses grow with an ongoing sales training program to unlearn bad habits and replace them with Sandler methodology techniques. Gerry summarizes his teachings, “It’s asking the right questions of the right people at the right time.” His clients report huge success with the program, typically seeing a 30% increase in business during the first year of sales coaching.
When asked for advice, Gerry outlines the following:
- Figure out what you want to do for a living and set goals.
- Learn to fail; see it as a learning experience.
- Continue to have a passion and ambition for success. Never rest on your laurels.
- Play sports to hone your competitiveness.
- Be a lifelong learner. Put reading into your routine. Gerry reads ten magazines, one business and one fiction book per month, and takes 4 daily newspapers.
Gerry Weinberg & Associates has had a very successful 25 years. The company was recently at the Sandler annual conference, where the team was “honored and grateful” to receive a standing ovation for their achievements. Gerry is proud that his daughter Alana has been in the business with him for 13 years and is president of the company. Gerry Weinberg and Associates has clients on four continents and in such diverse industries as automotive, engineering, manufacturing, accounting, law, and software.
On the personal side of life, Gerry enjoys spending time with his wife, four children and three granddaughters. Gerry loves competitive sports; he grew up in a small town in Upstate New York playing sports every day. He currently plays squash 3 mornings a week, and says he has always been active. Gerry says, “I’m a very competitive person. No one wants to lose, and it drives me to be the best.” He believes staying healthy is important, and his goal is to live to 120, and both of his parents made it to 97. With his passion and drive for helping others, our guess is that Gerry will be a sales coach and mentor for decades to come.
