The Most Interested Man In The World
A fascinating life story, and a Master Class on the habits and mindset that drive enterprise sales success.
This week my guest is fellow G20 member Craig Spitzer. Craig’s the CEO of a2c Boston, New York and Philadelphia, an IT consulting and staffing company he co-founded in 2007 with the mission of assisting clients who need new talent and technology to achieve their business objectives.
Craig founded his first company — Alliance Consulting Group — in 1994, at the tender age 29. By 1999 ACG was ranked in the top ten of the Inc. 500, an honor it earned again the following year, becoming the only consulting firm ever to do so. Ernst & Young recognized Craig as their 2000 NYC Entrepreneur of the Year in Consulting and Outsourcing Services, and by age 36, he was recognized as one of Philadelphia’s top 3 CEOs under 40. ACG was sold to Safeguard Scientific in 2002, after growing to 720 employees and producing annual revenues of over $100 million.
What makes Craig‘s story and life remarkable, though, is its sheer scope. He’s produced or co-produced three feature films; was a founding investor in businesses including two successful nightclubs, and sat as Director and Chairman for Halcyon Jets and on the Board of Trustees at the Kiski School, which he attended as a boy. Our conversation ranged from the streets of Pittsburgh to the beaches of St Barth’s, from the summit of Kilimanjaro to a pre New Year’s Eve party on the Octopus. He counts high school buddies and fraternity brothers among those closest to him, but maintains intimate friendships with people including Dick Vermeil, Michael Strahan, and Billy Bob Thornton. It’s a life touched by the triumph of a hugely successful business and the tragedy of 9/11, in vivid personal terms. It’s not an exaggeration to say our conversation was one of the most fascinating I’ve had so far, and I think you’re really going to enjoy it.
Our second segment features Craig’s unique insight on the role of relationships in selling. As a student of enterprise selling myself I promise you this is a master class in the approaches and personal habits that lead to sales success. Relationships are at the core, of course, but Craig goes way beyond the usual blah-blah-blah to share his thoughts on the importance of being both interested in and interesting to the people you want to get to know better, and his secrets on how to seed, harvest and just enjoy the kinds of relationships that propel a business and a life forward.
I really think you’re going to enjoy this one, be sure and subscribe to How Hard Can It Be? on Soundcloud, iTunes, Stitcher, or Pocket Casts:
