Natural-born salesman

He’s come a long way from selling penny apples on Moore Street but,
writes Dearbhla Acheson, Bill Cullen is still the same man he always was.

HE’S come a long way from the days his mother made him get trousers that were too big for him so he’d get more value out of him but renowned entrepreneur and latter-day TV star Bill Cullen still holds on to his basic values and morals.

Dr Bill, star of the hit television series The Apprentice, was in Ennis recently at one of his Renault dealerships, to coincide with the conclusion of the Renault scrappage scheme.
Born and bred in the rough inner-city area of Summerhill in Dublin, Bill was the eldest of 14 children. He sold anything he could, but mainly fruit, flowers, newspapers, Christmas decorations, football scarves and programmes, on the streets of Dublin and at the markets in Moore Street, in a bid to help his mother put food on the table and clothe him and his siblings.
He finished school at 13 to go on the street full-time, but has continued his education by grafting through various different sales roles, from the markets, right up to running the hugely profitable Renault business.
He got his first “real” job as a messenger boy for a pound a week at Waldens Ford Dealer in Dublin in 1956.
“I worked hard, really hard and basically for the first few years did exactly what I was told and what was requested of me. Then I found my feet and became innovative and clever with sales ideas and got really savvy about what made good business sense. But that came from my previous experiences selling on the streets of the capital,” Bill said.
He was appointed director general of the company in 1965 and went on to set up the Fairlane Motor Company, which became the biggest Ford dealership in Ireland.
In 1986 he took over the troubled Renault car distribution franchise from Waterford Crystal. His turnaround of that company into what is now the Glencullen Group is a business success story – the group now has an annual turnover of €350 million.
Bill Cullen is also a director of the Irish Youth Foundation and in 1998 was a recipient of the Lord Mayor’s Award for his work with the disadvantaged young people of Dublin. In September 2004 Bill was awarded the inaugural Princess Grace Humanitarian Award.
Having come through a bumpy period for a number of years, Bill is thrilled that car sales are once more on the up now.
“Car sales for Renault are up 30% on last year and that’s because of the Government scrappage deal. The scrappage deal is a no-brainer for the Government. Every new car has €5,000 worth of revenue for the Government, so even with them providing money for the scrappage deal, the Government still makes a huge amount from the sale of new cars. It’s a win-win-win for car dealers, the Government and for the customer. It’s also keeping jobs in place. This year, we are starting to re-hire people again and I am personally very relieved at that,” he said.
And despite years of experience at all levels of management in business, he does not find the task of telling someone that their job is gone easy at all.
“Telling someone that they are losing their job is very emotional and as much business experience as I have I don’t find it easy. But the simple reality is that harsh business decisions have to be made and there is no getting away from that. No decent businessman can cut costs and keep all of their staff. But it certainly wasn’t as simple as just telling some you’re fired, like on The Apprentice.
“In the main, however, any of the Renault staff that lost jobs in the past two years or so, knew that it was coming, so it didn’t come as as much of a bolt. All that I could tell them that when things improved again, there would be jobs for them again.
“Now we are beginning to re-hire people and will be able to give some level of bonuses this year, so things are on the up, and I think we will be happier as a result,” Bill said.
Since clocking in for his first official job 54 years ago, Bill has never been out of work.
“And I’ve never been out sick either and never a minute late for work. That’s my personality. I plan out every hour of my day in terms of work, because being so busy that’s the only way I can operate. But the first thing that you look after is yourself – not your family, your partner, your children, but yourself. Because if your not 100%, nothing you do will be, nor the people around you.
“If I didn’t have the focus or the energy that I have, I wouldn’t succeed in business as I have done and am doing. But I have to look after myself health-wise to do that,” he added.
He admits that he learned to graft and to recognise value for money or value in a service from his mother, whom he describes as a “warrior”.
“As a 10-year-old I remember going down to Cleary’s on O’Connell Street, Dublin, where my brother had bought me a pair of short trousers. And what did my mother say, they’re too small – she felt I should have got a bigger pair so we’d get more value out of them.
“So I learned about values and hard work the tough way, but I keep the basic principles the same even now. I have never forgotten my roots,” he said.
And while he admits that he certainly isn’t short of money, he doesn’t believe that it’s all it’s cracked up to be.
“Money really isn’t as important as your health and happiness – it’s nice to have it – but it really isn’t as important. If I was really sick in the morning, yes my money could get me great treatment, but I can’t bring it with me when I die. Happiness and fulfilment is a lot more relevant,” Bill said.
Even though there’s many in business who would aspire to being even half as successful as Bill Cullen, he doesn’t feel anyone should look up to anyone else.
“My mother always told me that there’s nobody better than yourself, but that doesn’t mean you’re better than anyone else either. Everyone has their thing – their good points and their strengths – and I think the more people acknowledge and accept that the more successful they’ll be in life, not just from a business point of view, but in their personal space too,” he concluded.