A partner in an international training and development company heard of a young woman who was seeking a career change. Although she had no real experience in sales, she came highly recommended for her strong work ethic and impressive interpersonal skills. She was soon hired but provisionally. The company was just willing to try her out and see what she could do.
But the partners in this enterprise were so consumed with selling and servicing their accounts and running their business that they were too busy to provide any real sales training at the time. They scheduled her for training six weeks down the road. Until then, our young protege was given scripts to memorize, coached a bit, and told, “You’ll get in-depth training in a couple of months. For now just jump in feet first and learn as you go. Don’t go after any big corporate accounts yet. You aren’t ready.”
Achieving Success in Sales: “You go, girl!”
This young woman, competitive by nature, decided that she was not going to wait to go after big accounts. She not only wanted to prove that she could be achieving success in her new sales position, but she needed to make money fast since she had been unemployed for a few months and was a single mother. She dove in feet first by cold calling. (What else could she do? She had no accounts of her own and was not in a position to ask for referrals.) Being persistent and using her interpersonal skills, she managed to get an appointment with the Director of Training and Vice President of Human Resources of a major bank.
The majority of the bank’s training was contracted with a well-known national training and development firm. This noted firm had a reputation for delivering some of the highest quality training in the U.S. but they were also a Goliath compared to the company this woman represented.
After hanging up with the bank representative, the aspiring saleswoman rushed to one of the partner’s offices. She was very excited to tell him she had managed to get an appointment. His response was less than positive. “We’ve called them before but they said of their training is done by XYZ. You must have charmed them into the appointment. I don’t think it will result in business. It’s too bad I’m too busy to go with you in case you need help.”
Sales Success – Turning a dream into reality – This woman had something to prove-not only to her bosses who doubted her ability because she was inexperienced, but also to herself. Maybe, just maybe, she could land one of the biggest accounts the company ever served and secure her future at the company and in the industry at the same time.
She did. She proved that she could land a big account-one that would eventually contract numerous training sessions over a three year period, earn her large commissions, result in referrals to other training and development and human resource professionals in the banking industry, and create long-term profitability for the company she represented.
The woman is ended up starting her own firm and has trained literally thousands of professionals on Achieving Success in Sales.
She even wrote a book on The ART of Influencing Customers to BUY From YOU.
The woman is the writer of this blog.
About Christine Corelli
