In all the time I have spent with my father, I have learned a ton of things – most of which I don’t even realize (and some I’m sure I don’t remember). But one thing that’s had a significant influence on my life has been learning the value of selling.

Allow me to explain. My father, Ralph, has been in construction his entire life. At the age of 6, he started working for his grandfather, doing various jobs repairing and building houses. To this day, he is still building and fixing stuff. As a child, I followed a similar path. If I wasn’t in school, I was most likely with my dad, helping him on a job. For all the talent my father possesses, he’s never been much of a salesman. He could build the most amazingly beautiful and functional house, but he couldn’t sell it. As a result, the person who did sell it, in many cases, got the lion’s share of the returns.

I realize this is a huge oversimplification of how things work. In reality, it’s more about taking the risk, financing the activity, and getting a return on your work, than waiting for the output of that work to exceed the value of the input that created it. But in this oversimplification lies a fundamental truth; the company that is better at monetizing their core expertise is the company that will, in most cases, be the one to win the market.

On a personal note, my passion and motivation to be a part of Gemalto’s Software Monetization business unit stems from the simple desire to help others monetize their software. Through our various services and products, we strive to enable all our customers to optimize the return they yield from their technical expertise. If only my dad had the benefit of such a partner in his career.

I recommend that you ask yourself the question: Is my firm optimizing how we package, license, and sell our offerings? If you aren’t sure, talk to us – we’re here to help.