To: ALL
Subject: Tom Roberto - Leaving early
On Monday morning as many of us were headed to the sales meeting, we learnt that Tom Roberto died suddenly the previous evening.
This news was a huge shock to me, and all of us at Multimedia. The next few hours were a blur; anything I thought of just seemed so irrelevant and empty. Unsure of what to do, I called a number of his customers and broke the terrible news. Like many of us, his customers were in shock. Many explained to me that Tom had been their rep and their friend for as long as 20 years. He was part of their world.
Tom has been an integral part of the Multimedia team for more than 10 years. I clearly remember ‘interviewing’ Tom. He had no appointment, but simply barged into my office and asked for a sales job. I told him that we didn’t have a job, but he insisted that there was no choice as he was a distribution sales specialist and that Multimedia was the only company in Melbourne with enough integrity for him to work for. He asked for a desk and a phone, and to be paid only for what he sold his loyal customers.
When I explained to Tom that most of his loyal customers were ‘tagged’ to existing sales staff, he told me that he reckoned our sales guys were pretty slack and there were heaps of customers out there not on our books that he could sign up and develop. Clearly defeated, I agreed that he could start the next day, and gave him 30 days to prove himself.
For those first few years Tom was relentless, building an impressive portfolio of customers. He had a unique style, clearly from the old school; he was effective and worked passionately for his beloved customers. In time Tom was made leader of the Channel Team, and he took it upon himself to guide and mentor a number of young sales staff and teach them some tried and tested sales methods, as well as many cunning tricks he had learnt in the previous 30 years.
There will be many things I will miss about Tom, both personally and professionally. Tom has always been my ‘go-to’ guy when looking for market feedback and help clearing difficult stock. He has always been comfortable coming into my office, closing the door, and telling me what was wrong with certain products and product managers or vendors or other parts of the company, and he was mostly right.
Over the years I got to know Tom quite well, and saw a different side of him. A bit of a lad in his youth, Tom was actually a qualified Electrical Engineer but he preferred selling. Tom was extremely passionate and loyal to me and the company, to his customers, and his team. He was extremely committed to his family, and tirelessly supported his disabled son. He was very proud of his daughter, who is close to becoming a doctor. His poor wife and family … they must be shattered.
It’s hard to believe Tom is gone. It is hard to look at his empty desk without that shallow feeling. A terrible shock like this makes me realise that our lives are not a dress rehearsal, this is the main game, and none of us know when the final siren will blow. It makes me want to live life, and appreciate all that is good in life, especially our friends and family.
My final memory of Tom was an e-mail late on Friday afternoon – Leaving early.
How sad.
| John Hassall |
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| Managing Director |
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