On Valentine's Day, everyone's thoughts turn to love. That's why I thought it would be fun to share why I'm so passionate about this crazy profession.
The truth is, Sales seduced me.
I never expected to like it. It had a bad reputation and I didn’t want to be seen as one of “those kind” of people. I took the job at Xerox so I could learn how to sell. I committed to doing it for one year. It didn’t take me long though to discover that my perception was totally inaccurate.
But love? I can assure you it was not love at first sight.
What ultimately hooked me was its never-ending challenges. From the onset, I was always looking for ways to get better at prospecting, engaging people, eliminating obstacles, giving more effective demos, handling complex decisions and beating tough competitors.
Every day was a puzzle that needed solving. I loved immersing myself in learning new things, experimenting with new approaches and analyzing the results. I was on a personal mission to find the most effective way possible, for everything that was sales-related.
The more I learned, the more my clients loved working with me. And, the bigger paychecks were frosting on the cake. How can you not love a job like that?
Amazingly, what hooked me at the beginning still keeps me going today.
The challenges are different. But I'm still searching for better ways to connect with buyers and deal with their changing expectations. I'm fascinated by how to leverage technology for greater productivity and increased effectiveness. And I'm intrigued by the impact of brain research, meta cognition and rapid learning as it applies to Sales.
Like I said, I never expected to even like Sales, much less fall in love. But its never-ending challenges seduced me into devoting my entire career to this field.