There is a lot of planning associated with creating a new business, and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business was no exception. But the adventure associated with a new venture is about the things that happen that were not planned. Our first District Manager or sales representative was one of those stories.
When we secured our first office on Mt. Pleasant near Eglinton, we had 400 square feet of space, and worrying about being able to pay our rent, we let out a small room to a tenant who was very interested in what we were trying to do. He suggested a friend who was an experienced sales person looking to change jobs that might be interested in coming to work for us. His name was Bob Brouse, a Spitfire pilot in WW2. And that is how we hired our first DM before we began a formal process of recruiting, selecting and training sales personnel.
Although I was a national personality at the time and associated with the fight to oppose the Benson White Paper on Tax Reform, the new organization was unknown. So, when we put an ad in the paper to recruit sales personnel, the quality of people that responded was a huge shock. It took us two days to clear out the smell of beer breath in the office after a day of interviewing candidates.
For the period November 1971 to April 1972 we just could not seem to hire people who could do this kind of work, selling small business owners on becoming active in our political system. I wondered if our type of sales operation was an American idea that would not work in Canada. And yet every Friday night when I checked on our sales performance it was the same story. Bob’s sales were $600 and the rest of the sales people combined were about another $600. Bob convinced me that we were doing something wrong and that there was nothing wrong with my vision.
Those early years were dramatic and emotional as we struggled to create a viable organization and Bob gave me the right kind of feedback to persevere until I could figure out what I was doing. What a wonderful night we had together with his wife celebrating his five years of employment. His history was our history. His wife Marjorie, who we called Teddy, was a great CFIB supporter. And Bob and Teddy were a great team.
Although our first member was my father who gave us our first cheque in the summer of 1971, at our five-year anniversary we gave special recognition to Mr. K B Bennett, the first member signed up by Bob Brouse.
Twenty-five years after Bob had left CFIB I noticed his obituary in the Globe and Mail. I went to his funeral and reception in Oakville and with great pleasure met his family. No one at CFIB at that time knew Bob, but I never forgot him.
An organization that grows as CFIB has over the years, is a story about people. But ask the founder who the most important people were in the past and are today, and the answer will always be the same–your sales people. They connect you with your membership. They keep you grounded. They pay your bills.