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John Care is currently Managing Director of Mastering Technical  Sales, having spent numerous years building world-class Sales  Engineering organizations at companies such as Oracle, Sybase,  Vantive, Clarify, HP, Business Objects and  most recently Vice  President and Area Manager of Pre-Sales at CA. John has a BSc  with Honors in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College,  London and is a contributing member of the MBA Advisory Council  for the Fox Business School of Temple University, Philadelphia. He  has been published in CIO, InfoWorld, Touchline and The Wall
Street Journal and is the author of Mastering Technical Sales: the Sales Engineers Handbook.
 
For more information about John visit masteringtechnicalsales.com

Thank you John for taking the time to answer some questions for us!  To start, please tell us about the latest project you've worked on.
 
The 2nd edition of Mastering Technical Sales came out last year. So now my current project is "Are You Really Paid To Read 200 Emails/Day?"  I originally posted a short 4-pager on my website ranting about the amount of email I received as a corporate VP.
It was such a success that I'm looking to turn it into both a book and a HR-type course for large corporations.
 
Have you received any awards for your work?
 
Just from my family!
 
Do you also do speaking engagements, or seminars?
 
Yes I do. I work with the sales forces of high-tech companies and teach them how to sell high tech stuff to low tech customers. In fact, my niche is the technical
sales engineers who support the direct sales people.
 
How has your education, profession or background helped you in your writing career? Or conversely, how has you writing success helped you in your  profession?
 
Having an engineering background helps me to understand complex concepts and simplify them for non-technical people. Clear and concise communications are essential in business. Being able to write and express yourself is a much under-rated skill in the corporate world.
 
What kind of other works have you had published?
 
Well, I had a limerick published in a British comic book when I was eleven! I’ve also written numerous local sports articles and some restaurant reviews. I was also one of the first members of Epinions.com, the first online review-it-all website, back in 1999. CIO magazine published a few of my business articles which initially gained me the contacts for my book.
 
Is there any aspect to your profession that gets you in touch with your readers directly?
 
Absolutely. When I run my seminars and workshops I get to meet some of the people who have read my book, and subscribe to my monthly newsletter and blog postings. From a purely ego-boosting point of view, that is the one time I get to autograph my book.
 
What will your next project be?
 
Finding a publisher for the 200 emails project, and then I’m actively working on something a little different. That’s a mystery novel about a murdered soccer coach. I have plenty of material for that!
 
Who inspires you on a personal or business level?
 
The written word is one way of leaving behind a legacy and helping other people. Last month I received an email from someone who said “I wish I’d read your book five years ago – it would have saved me a lot of painful mistakes.” I also have to say that my son’s annual tuition bills from Princeton University are also very inspirational and motivational.
 
What type of work is the most rewarding or satisfying for you?
 
Working one-on-one with someone to illuminate their literary light bulbs. Being an author it’s amazing how many friends and family members ask you to “just have a look at this and see if it can be phrased better.” I try to give them the idea and use their own words rather than mine.
 
What can you recommend for writers who are just getting started and are trying to make a name for themselves?
 
Choose a niche, and become a guru/expert . It is very hard work being a generalist. Of course, sometimes you have to start as a generalist so that you can find you area of specialization. Not everyone has that one great idea or character to kick off their writing career.
 
How did you get started as a writer?
 
Back to that limerick at age eleven. Really I was always “that guy” at college or work who was asked to rewrite something or come up with the executive summary. Finally it dawned on me that I had some talent and should find a way to utilize it.
 
Which is your favorite book/work published? Is there a favorite?
 
That’s easy – it was one of my first articles. CIO Magazine published “Act Like You Care” back in 1997 as an op-ed piece. The premise was that companies should treat every potential employee during the interview process as if they were a potential customer. It generated more emails and letters to the editor than anything else that year. More importantly it helped me get my break by introducing me to other people in the publishing business.
 
What does a typical work day look like for you?
 
There is no such thing. I typically try to fit in about a 60 minute walk with iPod, a trip to Starbucks, a bunch of conference calls, a few meetings and somewhere between 500 and 1,000 words. I also read a couple of books a week, varying from beach trash novels to philosophy to quantum mechanics to business magazines.

Have you ever had a mentor, or someone who sparked your passion for writing?
 
Firstly there was Mr. Bax, my high school English teacher. I also went to school with Simon Cowell but that didn’t help much. Secondly there is my wife Allison, who has unbridled confidence in my ability to knock James Pattersen off the #1 spot when I do publish my murder-mystery. There are also my two muses – Karen and Suzanne - who constantly harass me when I’m not writing much.

Who is your favorite writer/author?
 
I’m currently reading Lee Child for fun and Marcus Buckingham for business.

Finally, a most important question: what was the last song you sang out loud when you were by yourself?  :)
 
Build Me Up Buttercup. Last week. In the garden. It scares the deer away.
 
(the limerick - in case you are interested was:
 
There was a young fellow called Neil
Who went to sea on a seal.
He might have survived,
If the seal hadn't dived
And a whale hadn't wanted a meal. )

Thank you John! We're looking forward to your new book "Are You Really Paid To Read 200 Emails/Day?"