What I learned from my career in sales!

When I first gave a sales "job" a shot, like many, I didn't have a great experience.  I wasn't trained well, had little to no mentorship, and within 5 weeks my confidence that I could succeed in sales was gone.  Since then I have met many people and conducted countless interviews with people in the same shoes, so it's easy to see why people can be a little nervous about taking a career in sales.  The uncertainty in what you may make, how the economy may affect you, and "stabilty" in the workplace are all things I have been told as to why a sales career isn't the right fit for others.

I would have agreed 10 years ago, based on my initial experience, but am glad I didn't stop there.  It is true that in sales, you must work for yourself and have the determination to work through the learning process.  9 times out of 10 you write your own paycheck, which sounds scary but the core values and principles you learn will teach you to not only make more than you would elsewhere, but also give you the confidence to succeed in other aspects of life.  I have also found that when you get the right mentorship, you don't have the fear of the unknown anymore.  Hopefully, my experiences can help someone as they start their career in sales.

Here is a few things that looking back, I can say with confidence that I gained from sales.

1. Communication:  As I growing up my Dad told me that every profession is about sales, he is a school teacher and a coach.  As a teacher you are not only selling to your students the value of education, but also to the parents the value of their kids focusing on homework and getting good grades.  Think about it, we always hear about a doctor having good "bedside manors."  A good doctor will get many referrals, because of their ability to communicate.  In sales, you have to learn how to overcome objections, and communicate to others while getting outside of your comfort zone.  When I started my own company in April 2006 in Dallas, I had to be able to communicate with my team and my clients.  Having the ability to give a clear vision and understanding of where my company is going and how we are going to get there helped my company grow to 7 offices in less than 4 years. 
2. Competition:  Growing up I always played sports, and I loved being competitive.  As I focused my career to business, I was glad to find that in sales you can still have that competitive edge in the workplace.  It goes without saying that integrity is the foundation in every strong company, and living by your word and following though.  I found that learning to be competitive in sales taught me to fight to come through for my customers and provide them the best service possible.  That taught me to set goals, personally and professionally and look to excel in every aspect of business and life as well.  It has helped me learn to push myself to be a better son, brother, husband and friend by wanting to come through to be best of my ability for others.
3. Confidence:  Having self-belief is important in everyday life.  I could personally see a difference in my everyday life because of how I was forced outside of my comfort zone by being in sales.  In sales you learn how to not take a "no" personally and would take that as a challenge to improve daily.  I was able to use that inital sales experience to have the confidence each day to know that I could create something out of nothing.  I remember getting to work each day, not always knowing who I was going to come across, but a confidence that I didn't have in my first sales job.  That was the confidence that I had in myself to make an income and help others by doing so.  The wasn't a fear of the unknown.

Over the past 5 years, I have been able to helped mentor several others start and succeed in running their own company.  Also, my company is in the sales business representing the 2 larges telecommunications companies in the U.S.  I have been asked many times, what I enjoy most about my job, and I always say, it's when I can help someone out and see that "lightbulb" come on, and that's when I know they have the confidence to succeed, not in sales, but in business and life as well.

Book of the Month



In 2011, I empowered our team at Evantage, Inc. to put an emphasis on personal development.  I believe that the best companies have the best employees, and to become the best, we must all continue to learn and become better.  The challenge is to read a book about self development, become a better husband, wife, son, daughter, parent, leader, co-worker or to learn a new skill.  The fist book I read was "The Mentor Leader", but Tony Dungy.

I always respected much of what he accomplished as a coach, and he always seemed to like a great life as an example to others.  I also learned some specific principles that made him great.  Here is a few things that I learned that may help others.

Our job as leaders is to develop others.  It can be hard for us to see others take the credit, but at the end of the day, by helping others succeed, you succeed.  Some basic principles to keep in mind are to have an open door policy, which will engage others around you to have open communication.  Follow that by being a teacher.  I grew up in a family of teachers (both parents as well as 2 uncles) and as a leader, if we are going to help others succeed we must educate them on what they need to learn in order to succeed.  After that we must give them the tools they need to use the knowledge to be confident and successful.

Another big factor is to encourage and praise others when you catch them doing something right.  We all like to be recognized, and it makes us feel good, which leads to confidence.  Other steps are to empower and energize your team.  Turn them loose and inspire them to be the best they can be.  If you can do all these steps right you should be seeing people around you hitting the goals they set forth.

If you want to be a great leader to others, keep in mind that you need to practice what you preach.  Get in the trenches and don't expect others to do what you aren't willing to do yourself.