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030 INTERVIEW Julian Young of WMA with Francis and Dean Standing


of Rane presenting WMA with an award ‘In Recognition of Outstanding Sales Growth in Rane Products 2009’


can claim ownership of The Moon, just as the Antarctic Treaty of 20 years before specifies that no country can claim ownership of The Antarctic, but it doesn’t specifically bar individual people. The Homestead Act was the one that allowed the founding fathers to lay claim to measured plots of land without visiting them. So he invoked both laws to proclaim The Moon as his own property, just as his ancestors had probably claimed parts of Texas or California. “Naturally his claims were ignored by the authorities, but that was their mistake. Without official reply he began a scheme selling off individual plots, and immediately made some money. Something like two million people have subscribed, which shows you how many people support his claim, if you like. As it grew he needed agents, and because of a fantastic deal for us negotiated by Sue we decided to give it a go.” Hence, after 400,000 sales and counting, a Channel 4 programme whose producers thought it would be a whacky idea to put Williams in a space suit and film him driving around in an expensive car. Ever one for alacrity, he agreed while Sue fielded more sober scrutiny such as the BBC’s Working Lunch business slot. “Plenty of our pro audio colleagues saw it and were spraying coffee across the table,” says Williams with a glint in his eye, “but it’s only a sideline. We’ll make more money from the integration market over the next few years - especially in places like Kazakhstan.”


NEW FRONTIER Yes, Kazakhstan. You can be sure it won’t be the final frontier, but the relocation of this huge Central Asian country’s capital city from Almaty to Astana has already launched the latest Williams expedition. As he says, he’s just good at “hanging out in places you can’t spell and eating horse.” At this early stage of negotiations it’s a case of being there, being the face of useful integration technology and being remembered by those with Government budgets at their disposal. It also reflects a shift beyond mere product sales to a deeper level of project management, including security and integration, leading to a level of trust that might explain the £14,000 watch given to him at one point by a prominent Russian politician. The art of selling, he says, is really the art of becoming the salesman - and this remains his primary motivation. What’s inside the box is almost irrelevant: his satisfaction comes from knowing that he’s got the gig, and that he’s pushed all the right buttons to get it. “I know a company that got Behringer distribution by borrowing someone else’s huge warehouse, because they were actually quite a small operation, to impress the guys from KPMG. That actually happened. And that’s the clever bit: getting yourself in a position to sell. Anyone could sell Nexo, or any of the leading brands, because they’re so good. The important thing is to get into that position.”


www.mondodr.com


“Plenty of our pro audio colleagues saw it and were spraying coffee across the table,” says Williams with a glint in his eye.


Oleg Ivanoc skiing in the Caucus mountains on the boarder of Russia and Chechnya


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