The history of technology cannot be written without using the name of Steve Jobs. The co-founder of Apple, and therefore the father of iMac , iPhone , iPod and iPad , is still very present in the minds of all lovers of electronic devices. So much so that, almost nine years after his death, he is still -by far- the first person that comes to mind when the company of the bitten apple is named.
Despite the fact that, normally, his figure is usually linked to the design and functionalities of the products launched during his time at the head of the firm; There are those who believe that his main quality, well above the others, was to seduce the masses.
This is how Bill Gates expressed it a few years ago. The co-founder of Microsoft, that company that now wants to transform the Internet thanks to artificial intelligence, does not hesitate to refer to Steve Jobs as someone capable of “charming” people. Although, at the same time, the businessman dropped that, deep down, the father of the iPhone always seemed to him “an idiot.”
Michael Hageloha former worker in the sales department of Apple -where he spent more than 20 years of his life-, does not dare to fall into disqualification, but, like Gates, affirms that Jobs’ ability to seduce the masses was his main skill.
Thanks to Jobs, Apple’s sales, marketing and design teams understood consumer psychology better than perhaps any other company in history. We knew that nobody likes to be sold. People despise the feeling that they’re just one more target a sales rep needs to do their monthly numbers, and who can blame them? So for me, selling was about the relationship. When I called the rectors and deans of the universities, I sold myself first. Then to Apple. Finally, we talk about products,” explains Hageloh in an article published in ‘Fast Company‘.
The former Apple worker, and author of the book ‘Live from Cupertino’, adds that Jobs was completely clear that the consumer he is not interested in the most technical aspects of a device: neither the ability to process data nor the memory.
On the contrary, what you want to know is how this product can be able to “transform your life”: “I was lucky enough to represent a brand that put design and functionality before everything else. I will never forget a meeting with Jobs where he was asked about the use of technology (computers) and he simply replied: ‘They are still too difficult to use’. With that simple statement, we stopped being Apple Computer and became Apple.”
Hageloh points out that this idea of prioritizing functionality above all else was key to the company’s meteoric rise in the mid-1990s: “In August 1997, our company was on the ropes. That year, Microsoft invested $150 million and supported a Mac version of Office to keep us alive, probably as a favor to Jobs from Bill Gates. Of course, we were fortunate to create a number of epoch-making products, including the iMac, the iPod, and the iPhone.”
The former employee of the company Cupertino He also explains that, to dazzle users, one of the main keys was Apple’s determination as a company to create products that were capable of enchanting.
“Apple products had to look and feel magical. The tactile experience of using an iPod or iPhone had to be… Well, it had to be exactly how I envisioned it, from the texture of a laptop case to the feel of the AirPods in your ears. Even the texture of our boxes and bags had to be just right. We wanted people to be able to touch and own a bit of magic,” says Hagelogh.
