How I Found Sales
“To know who you are is the greatest power of all.”
–Sherrilyn Kenyon and Dianna Love
Who am I? What do I do and why am I qualified to speak about sales? How did I get started in sales? What do I actually do? Great questions. In fact, I get these questions so often, I decided to record my answers and start a blog.
I usually respond with, “Long ago in a galaxy far, far away…” Just joking, although the real story does have to do with physics class, a knife, and a guy in a Lamborghini, which does sound like the beginning of a pretty decent joke. But, this isn’t my memoir, it’s a blog post that you probably want to finish before your coffee gets cold, so I’ll skip ahead to the main points.
If you want to be in sales, there isn’t a conventional path. At least, not as conventional as being a doctor or lawyer. Those careers have a clear-cut path through education. Sales is different. There’s no perfect blueprint. It’s working hard, looking at things from different angles, finding a way to get what you want, and not taking no for an answer.
Everybody gets to sales through their own door. Here’s mine:
The truth is, I didn't know I wanted to be in sales. All I knew is that I wanted to make a lot of money. That may not sound altruistic or heart-warming, but it’s the truth. (And wanting to make money isn’t necessarily a bad thing – if you want a higher salary, stop beating yourself up for that. More on this in later posts.)
I wanted immediate, tangible rewards, and began, as many others, selling…you guessed it, Cutco Knives.
I remember it like was yesterday. I walked into physics class—which I was never really good at by the way. It took me two tries to pass with a C. School isn’t for everyone—and saw a bright yellow flyer. It said to come to a seminar later that day to learn how to make a lot of money. I couldn’t focus the whole class—I had trouble focusing anyway—I had to get to that seminar!
I arrived that afternoon with a few other students and this guy, not much older than me, said that if we worked hard enough, we could be driving a Lamborghini just like him in no time. I was intrigued. All you had to do was buy a knife kit and start selling door to door? Sign me up buddy!
So I began my illustrious sales career. I was going to get that Lamborghini. I was phenomenal, during my time with Cutco, I made one sale! Yep. One. And that sale was to my mom, bless her heart. So…I wasn’t exactly an instant success.
After school I had a few jobs, nothing very exciting. At first making $30,000/year and eventually working myself up to a job as an engineer at Cisco for a salary $60,000/year. Well above the poverty line and well below my dreams.
It was a Friday night. I was at the GM building, being nerdy working on networking configurations on a Cisco catalyst 6500. I would have rather been out with friends or at home watching “Sex in the City”, but I wasn’t. I was alone, in a cold, dark basement room on a Friday night…and I realized I couldn’t keep this up. I did not want to be an engineer any longer.
Monday morning, I went to my manager and boldly announced, “I want to do sales!” I explained that I needed a job where I interacted with people and one with higher earning potential. And bless his heart, Rick supported me.
Over the next couple of weeks, I feverishly inquired about people in the sales division, determined to learn whatever I could. Once I heard people were making upwards of 300K a year, I was “sold”. If they can do it, why couldn’t I?
I began applying for jobs everywhere, and I didn’t succeed right away, but refused to take no for a final answer. I improved my interview skills; I gained mentors along the way who could help me learn and were further along than me in their careers; I picked up momentum, like an avalanche, gaining skills and knowledge about the field of sales. Eventually, a position opened up for a product specialist, and I was ready to tackle it head on.
Have you joined our mailing list yet?
No?! Don’t worry, we’ll get you caught up on all the latest posts, advice, and personal tales from Keril by joining our weekly newsletter below.
PLUS, we’ll send you Keril’s FREE streamlined checklist when you sign up!
So, you meet someone at a happy hour, you’re killing it at small talk, making a real connection (great job networking by the way), talking about your job and what you do. Maybe you mention how you’re looking to make a change soon because you’re ready to move on from your current position.