How To Do Well In Something Even If You Don’t Seem To Have The Talent For It
April 25, 2008
One of the common grouses I hear, hindering people from going into a particular challenge is that they believe they don’t have the “X-factor” to excel in it. Usually, it’s after one or two failed attempts in that same domain. Or something so new that they didn’t know what to expect. They’ll say things like “Nah, I’ve tried before and I know I suck”, “I’m just not cut out for that” or “I can never be as good as him” and abandon the whole idea just to save themselves the embarassment. Even when it’s something that’ll definitely expand their lives if they’ll just give it a(nother) try. 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
