Nick started in sales in CFO South Africa, moved to CHRO South Africa, hopped over to CIO South Africa, and now heads up sales for the whole country.
Nick Smith’s route to Head of Sales at Executive Communties began eight years ago after he had left a corporate job without a new place of employment to go to, because he was looking for a place where he could make a more meaningful contribution.
Armed with a BCom Accounting from UJ and a good few years in sales roles in the motoring and related services industries, he approached a sales recruitment company and was soon sitting in front of Graham Fehrsen, the MD of what was then still called CFO Enterprises, a relatively young start-up with six or seven employees – and a lot of heart.
Says Nick: “I walked out of that interview with no idea what the company did, but sure I wanted to work for it.”
Nick was offered the job, selling partnerships for the CFO South Africa community, but proved quick on his feet when he was redirected into CHRO South Africa sales role after two months.
Two years ago, now under MD Joël Roerig, he was promoted to Head of Sales and took up a seat on the management team, which gives direction to the South African business. He now has a small team of two salespeople and an after-sales consultant reporting into him, and he’s proud to say they’ve hit their targets every year so far.
He now looks after CIO South Africa’s partnerships, meaning that uniquely among his team, he’s had direct workplace exposure to each of the three South African communities.
Getting to grips with Executive Communities
Despite his progress, he still recalls the lessons from his first months with Executive Communities. His biggest “ah-ha moment” was when he truly came to understand that what he was selling was such a unique concept: building communities for learning and knowledge sharing, and asking partners that share this vision to come on board to engage the leading executives in their target market.
It was his job to convey that these interactions would take place in an environment of trust on a neutral platform dedicated to networking and the exchange of ideas.
In his first months working on CHRO South Africa, he had the opportunity to sell partnerships for the inaugural HR Indaba, which ultimately boasted 60 partners, a full programme, and thousands of attendees. “The successful launch of the HR Indaba is one of my proudest moments, and now it sells out every year,” he says.
A growing role in a growing business
Executive Communities has now grown to 28 employees, and CIO South Africa, Nick’s latest sales baby, was launched in 2022. “I was intimately involved with that, and last year, we hosted the IT Indaba for the first time. With 2,000 attendees, and 40 happy partners, it was the next big success story.”
The secret sauce, in Nick’s opinion? “I found that the summits and events were not a place to be cattle-herded or sold at, but are instead a community for IT execs by IT execs, where they can strategically meet, supported by our partners. Our executives and partners believe in what we do, and that helps me enjoy my job so much.”
He adds that executives know it’s lonely at the top. “That’s why meetings in an atmosphere of mutual respect are so valuable. It’s rare to see the top competing leaders in an industry brainstorming together – but we see it so often, with top industry leaders, even competitors, discussing issues of mutual importance and bounding ideas off one another. This is the crux of how unique we are – we really are a safe space for knowledge sharing and networking.”
As an aside, Nick notes that his time spent with CIOs has seen his view of them evolving. “They’re not necessarily just IT professionals, but rather business leaders – and they are the most fun bunch, always staying at events for a couple of drinks after the formalities.”
Where he came from, where he’s going
Nick, who believes salespeople have to be born extroverts, credits his childhood as a singleton to slightly older parents with helping him grow his sociable side. “You have to have a passion for talking, for meeting people where they are at, for telling a good story and delivering on your promises. As an only child, if I wanted to have fun, I had to go out and find it. I was trained from a very early age to be outgoing and adaptable to the situation I’m in.”
In terms of future goals, Nick says he’d like to be around to see Executive Communities continue its growth trajectory to 2030 (and beyond) by expanding into East Africa and South Africa’s neighbours, and possibly even further.
“I love the team; I love what we’ve built; I love what we do.”
What else does he love? When he’s not working, Nick enjoys the bush, camping, and fishing and planning holidays with his partner, and most importantly, “investing in memories, not things”. His “end goal”, he says, is to build a house on a piece of land he’s bought in St Helena Bay on the West Coast. And knowing his enthusiasm for whatever project he settles on, there’s no doubt he will bring that dream to life too!
