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A Legend In Business Sales – Clyth MacLeod

Octogenarian Clyth MacLeod has been in the business of selling businesses for more than 55 years. His love of the art of real estate sees him behind his desk bright and early every morning.

 

Clyth (pronounced Cl-ii-th) found his way to the industry which was to fuel his career passion for life by accident. “I started out selling food markets and supermarkets,” he remembers. “In doing that I was dealing with real estate agents and I noticed some of them were doing very well. I was married with a young family so I switched careers. It was pragmatism really.”

 

Clyth says business sales are very different from residential real estate. “It’s not rooted in land and buildings, rather it’s the expectation of future profits and earnings. We’re selling a dream,” he says. “It’s very rewarding. Not just from the financial point of view but from the relationship aspect. I’ve sold businesses to people who have gone on to make their fortunes and that’s very satisfying.”

 

Clyth started out as a one-man band. “Then one agent approached me, then a second. Now we have 25 people working in the company,” he says. “We’ve got 50% male and 50% female staff, which is great. We’re also 50% native Kiwis and 50% other nationalities. We’re nicely balanced.”

 

Nowadays the 83-year-old also has a business partner — Glorianne Campbell. “She’s entrepreneurial and methodical and we complement each other,” he says. “Glorianne’s owned her own hospitality businesses. She also believes with me in sharing knowledge with other brokers and putting back into the community.”

 

The business has a large focus on the hospitality industry as well as manufacturing, IT, service and wholesale. “Restaurants and cafes account for 70-80% of our sales growth,” says Clyth. “There’s a balance between service, manufacturing and retail in hospitality which makes for an interesting mix. There’s not a lot of stock involved, it’s generally a cash business, doesn’t require any technical expertise or qualifications and it’s colourful. There’s actually a huge revolution going on with it and the variety of foods out there is great. It’s getting to be an art form. It’s exciting doing the R&D, which involves eating and drinking coffee. I went to Winona Forever the other day and the food was an artistic display. It’s exciting. I love it.”

 

Clyth says he’ll retire in 2033 when he’s 100. “I still enjoy what I’m doing — what would I do if I retired?” he says. “I like golf, but I wouldn’t enjoy it if I played five days a week. For me this isn’t work. I’m the first or second one in to the office most mornings and I still get a kick out a doing a deal.”

 

That said, most of his time these days is spent on supporting his team and on marketing, but he still sells a few businesses each year himself. “It shows the sales team I’m not just blowing smoke,” he smiles.

 


Traits Of A Great Business Salesperson:

  • Self-motivation
  • Discipline
  • Enthusiasm
  • Empathy
  • Understanding of people’s motivations
  • A desire to do well
  • A little bit of a competitive edge
  • Energy

 

“It’s simple but it’s not easy,” says Clyth. “Attitude is more important than skills. Our agents come from all walks of life: retail, construction, hospitality, large wine companies and more.”

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