Why It’s Important To Know Who You’re Sharing Your Goals With
March 31, 2008
When I first came across that piece of advice from most of the self improvement books I read, I seriously thought they were exaggerating. In fact, I thought it was unhealthy. What’s wrong with sharing your audacious goals with your closest friends and family? Aren’t they supposed to be happy for you now that you’ve managed to convince yourself to step out of your comfort zone to pursue something you’ve always wanted to? What harm can they do to someone whom they say they love and trust?
Theoretically, it seems logical. But what happened over the course of the years made me acknowledge that such advice can be true. So true that it actually hurts when the initial realization sets in. Here’s why : Read more
How 3 Days As A Necktie Salesgirl Taught Me About Selling Success
March 26, 2008
I used to think that being able to sell was something you either have. Or don’t have. It’s a talent. I couldn’t articulate as to what it exactly entailed. But there was something I thought I knew for sure. I didn’t have that gift.
When I was in high school, in order to earn some extra pocket money, I tried peddling festive greeting cards with my friends during one of my school vacations. We would carry up to 20 packets of such cards in our backpacks and scour through the residential estates, going from household to household, repeating that same sales pitch to every person we saw over and over again. It was really hard work. I would consider myself lucky if I manage to sell anything at all. Even though I was really lucky once, selling more than 10 packets on one day, I never repeated that feat. Since that vacation, I told myself not to get a sales job. Ever.
In University, I was having a difficult time finding a suitable vacation job and a friend asked me to try telephone sales. For a few dollars an hour, I worked as a telemarketer in a financial planning firm. We were given a list of prospects and for every lead we generate from the list, an extra commission would be given. And if that lead converted to a sale, we would get an additional bonus. For the 2 months I worked there, I didn’t earn any commission or bonus at all. It certainly didn’t feel good. But it worsened when I knew another friend got a commission on the first day she worked! Read more
