I Started Out...
In a small town in Northeast Georgia during a time where there were limited career opportunities for women. Most finished high school and entered down one of three paths. They either got married, took a job in some sort of administrative role, or went on to college.
I ended up going down the last path and attended a local college. I finished early and had completed a degree in Psychology. But, even after that, the path to overall success was very unclear. So, the only thing I could think of that would help was to go to graduate school - in Chicago.
Needless to say, I got a lot of push back on the geography change. People said things like, "Don't you know Chicago is where all the klllers live?" and "You will never be able to make it there, especially without a man."
It was at that moment I decided sometthing....
Whatever happened next, the man was not the plan.
So, I did go to Chicago, finished graduate school while working full-time. Being a clinical counselor was satisfying and I helped many children, families and couples work through issues.
Eventually, I did get married and started having children of my own. My next challenge became time. Most people wanted to see their counselor when they were not working. And, that was typically nights and weekends.
And, when you have small children, the time that you don't want to work is usually nights and weekends.
So, I found myself at a career and life crossroad.
My Next Step...
I was speaking with a friend about my dilemma. He told me, "You might be good at sales. You are ok with people."
I was a freaking counselor for goodness sakes! As you might be able to tell, I was a little offended.
He knew a guy who had an opening for a sales "guy". I didn't like the sound of it at all.
The mere thought conjured images of used car sales guys with slicked back hair speaking in a condescending manner to any woman in a five mile radius. Reluctantly, I took the interview.
There were only men in the office who were very loud and boisterous bragging about every little accomplishment they had.
Then came the offer. The owner wrote something down on a small yellow sticky note and slid it over to me.
He said, "Here is where we can start you out and, if you are any good, you should be able to make another 40-50% on top of that."
I couldn't get past the first number because it was double what I was earning as a counselor. DOUBLE!
As much as I didn't want to take that job, I found myself saying "Yes."
It was just like what I thought it would be.
Dudes jumping around, yelling, giving high fives, and talking in some sort of bro code that I didn't understand.
A couple of weeks later, I was "trained" on their sales process (which I didn't believe would work) and was set loose in my territory.
I broke their rules because they were just extremely fake and simply did not work.
Sales My Way...
That was when the magic started happening.
Once I started doing sales my way, I exceeded all the quotas and was consistently the number one performer.
I was questioned many times by others about how I was getting these sales because they just couldn't believe it.
In reality, at that point, I didn't know exactly how I was doing it either.
But, I knew it involved making authentic connections with your future customers and leading them in the direction you wanted them to go, one step at a time.
And, if at any point, they were no longer a fit for your offering, you provided them with other options - even if it didn't benefit you.
Fast forward almost a decade. I was recruited out of every sales position and climbed the corporate ladder all the way to the C-Suite of an international technology company using this same process.
After that, I expanded it to include a cohesive marketing strategy and superior customer experience. It was successful EVERY time.
That was the moment I realized I needed to share these processes and training with others on a larger scale.
