The high point was the late eighties, a senior salesman now at a direct-mail company selling paper, just like David Brent.

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Soon after, he earned his cred as a canny salesman as senior vice president at the Home Shopping Network.

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"He's an iconic figure that everybody wants around, he's the world's greatest salesman and that's irreplaceable, " said Gene Munster, a senior research analyst at Piper Jaffray who has been covering Apple since 2003.

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