Confessions of a sales rep

Its 2020! Happy New Year! A new year comes with anticipation and excitement. New goals are going to be put in place for me to try and accomplish over the next 365 days to (hopefully) make myself happier and more content with life itself. I know, for a fact, there are a few things that I need to change. So I thought blogging it out would help me get my thoughts in order.

First, I gotta lose some weight. I gained about 15 pounds over the past year, which isn’t cute. It’s not like I am overweight, but I feel like I am becoming lazier and with that I’ve started to not give a shit about the consequences to a poor diet. But now, I see it every time I look in a mirror. Looking at myself and not liking what I see affects more areas of my life than I would like to admit. A lack of self confidence can hinder my work, relationships, and overall well-being. So its time to do something about it.

Second, I gotta make more friends. I will be turning 27 this year and I cannot safely say I consider any girl I know to be my best friend. My best friend is my boyfriend, but I need girl time. I plan to join a group at a church so I can get myself back out there, and hopefully find a group of girls who accepts me for who I am. I’m a bit past the stage of partying every weekend, so I am learning to adjust to this new level of maturity in my relationships.

Third, I gotta keep kicking ass at my job so I can make more sales than last year. I will be going into my second year of employment this April, and I need to reignite that passion I used to have for my job. This can begin with setting boundaries, taking necessary breaks, and finding ways to make the job fun and interesting. A lot of my performance and success is based on how I feel at work everyday. For instance, I’m not going to be my “best self” if I am tired, undernourished, or fatigued. Getting enough sleep, exercise, and healthy meals will be the key to making myself feel good and ready to take on the world.

Fourth, I got to adjust with living on my own. I move into my new, single bedroom apartment next weekend! I am nervous about feeling lonely in a one bedroom apartment, and I hope that it doesn’t make me more depressed than I already am. Suffering from depression and anxiety can be tough without a distraction or an outlet. Therefore, I plan to make a schedule for everyday during the week to keep myself busy. This includes tasks like: yoga, journaling, cooking, cleaning, chores, etc. to do everyday after work so when I get home I’m not just sitting around doing nothing and becoming more depressed. I hope living alone will bring out my inner Miss Independent and helps me thrive during my last years of being in my 20’s.

I think these goals are very doable. A little bit of work everyday will help me become the best version of myself. Bring it on, 2020!

Isn’t it ironic? I’m killing myself… to make a living. My job allows me to afford a lot of things I never was able to before. But I have pushed my body and mind to its limits like never before either. I can feel the day-to-day tasks of applying myself at my job are taking a toll on my mental health.

I have always feared failure. I have always hated being judged on how I look. I have always been known as the bimbo blonde who drinks too much. I hated that too. Finally, I have found something that I am proud of, but in the process, it has cost me much more than just money.

I’ve gained 10 pounds. I have trouble sleeping. My anxiety has sky-rocketed. My depression is worse than before. I have trouble eating. I always feel exhausted. I know its because I’ve put my health aside to succeed at this job. It is the most frustrating thing for me, because I will work and work and work to make a sale… and then nothing happens. But I have always overworked myself. All for nothing?

It makes me wonder if its worth it. I’m trying to imagine myself 5 years down the road… if I keep putting my health aside I’m going to end up dead by the time I’m 40. I need to ask myself, “is it worth it?”

I think there are ways to balance my lifestyle and create barriers for myself, but with the job I have with the constant deadlines, administrative tasks, and pressure to perform, its hard to create those boundaries. If I get lazy, my quota is going to reflect that. I was performing astonishingly when I was first hired, before the damage took its toll. Now, I feel like I’ve aged 10 years in about 1 year.

I write this as my head is throbbing and my body is craving sleep. I don’t want to quit, but I’m afraid if I don’t, my health is only going to get worse. Sales is a dynamic and engaging career choice, but it is not for the weak of heart. I found a few things online that help destress at work:

1. Take a walk
2. Take a Deep Breath
3. Stretch
4. Meditate
5. Make a checklist and action plan
6. Talk it out
7. Use essential oils
8. Listen to music
9. Take a reading break
10. Drink tea, not coffee

On my grave, it will say: Holly Patterson. 1993-20??. Death by Sales Career.

Starting a sales job is tough. Learning to sell the product and make lots of money is tough. What they don’t tell you is how to stay in a sales role, especially when the excitement from being a beginner is all gone.

I suppose this happens with any job, but in sales you need to stay as excited as you were when you first started the job, or your success in the role is going to start falling gradually, like mine has. You may not notice it at first, but a bad tone of voice and lack of excitement could be costing you some serious $$$. That is what I have learned after being in this position for 1 year and 7 months.

Research says that the longest people stay in a sales role is an average of 2 years. Only two! Salespeople have personality types that require mental stimulation. If we get bored with what we are selling.. then we aren’t selling. Sometimes I find myself doing things half ass and letting things slip because I am simply too tired or have a lack of motivation to do a task.

Being in sales and staying in sales is like being in a relationship. You’re going to have your ups and downs, no matter what month or quarter it is. You also have to keep working at it. Its so easy to pick up on bad habits and get lazier the longer you’ve been employed. Just like being in a relationship, the lustful excitement eventually fades and it takes a lot of work to maintain it. Some days I love it, and some days I can’t stand it! But just because I had a bad day, doesn’t mean I am going to give up on the whole “relationship.”

When it comes down to the wire, the most important thing about my job is…. me. I need to keep taking care of myself so that I have enough sleep and nourishment to accomplish my day-to-day activities. When I got too mentally involved with this job, I started to forget to eat and get enough sleep, and I ran my health into the ground. This caused me to look at my job in a different light. I personally need to make sure I do my job but still set barriers for myself about how hard I am working each day.

I’ve learned a lot about myself while in this position, and I am going to keep learning. In conclusion, I need to make sure I am maintaining my relationship with work by continuing to have the desire to grow, while also taking care of myself. After all, only happy people make sales.

Sometimes, I feel silly for being so excited about my job. Even my coworkers are starting to notice. But this excitement, drive, and motivation is not forced. It is the most natural thing I’ve come to know. It’s a kind of energy that makes the veteran reps laugh, and the managers excited. Its called passion.

Passion is such a hard thing to come by in life. Hell, half of us don’t even know why we’re alive. Just like how you can’t choose your blessings and your inherited genes, We, as human beings, spend a lifetime searching for passion. Finding your passion means finding complete fulfillment and satisfaction about your life’s purpose. It gives us a reason to live another day.

I believe there are people out there who go through life without finding something they are passionate about. I’ve realized passion and purpose are directly intertwined. Our purpose is the ground upon which we build our entire lives, and makes up the bulk of our happiness and hope about life.

This job has awakened the passion in my soul that has been dormant for my entire life. I’ve never wanted to work, but I found something that I want to work for. I took it upon myself to become the best I could be. Because of this, and because I went out of my comfort zone, I’ve become a better person. I am so thankful that God led me to a job that is not only a source of income, but a big source of my happiness. I’ve awakened this passion through repetitive behavior, active listening, desiring a change in the way I think, being humble enough to desire the changes, especially about rejection and never giving up. I’ve also awakened my passion from the constant support from my coworkers, positive reinforcement from upper-level management, and satisfaction with my personal performance at work. Did I ever think selling advertising was my passion in life? Hell no! But I’ve come to love it, because I know it so well.

The external motivators triggered my internal motivator (myself) to work a little harder, stay a little later, arrive a bit earlier, take more risks, say what I need to say, volunteer to do more and stand out among the rest.

Discovering  my passion has allowed me to cater more to my personal relationships instead of only focusing on myself. I can honestly say that I am finally becoming the person I’ve always wanted to be. Passion, I have found,  is ignited when you take a risk, and dare to be a better person than you were before. It is not found in your comfort zone. 

So, before we do anything else, lets talk about the passion.

I usually hate Mondays, but I didn’t today. I came into work ready to jump on a conference call for a corporate-wide discussion between the corporate and regional sales managers, and all reps employed under 24 months. My name and one other name was requested to speak up and give advice about our pre-call planning.

I am viewed for the very first time in my life as an inspiration to others. They want to learn my same habits. They want to pick my brain for knowledge. They want to know how I do it. They see me as a prime example to all the new reps at the company who have never been in sales before.

This absolutely blows my mind. I didn’t even know what its like to be admired for my brain, up until now. I never got any recognition for my intelligence all throughout school (including college) because I didn’t think it was my strong suit. People usually only treated me as good as how I looked,  and so I thought that was all I had to offer. I moved through life thinking I wasn’t that smart. So, I set those standards for myself because of how others treated me (both men and women) and how I treated myself.

The day that people started treating me better was the day I started treating myself better. I valued myself on more than what meets the eye, and believed more and more that I could do anything I set my mind to (this includes activities outside of work).

The sales I make are all over the phone, with cold calling being a large chunk of my daily calls. I have not met one client face-to-face, but was able to generate over $100k in sales my first year at the job. Men once only wanted me for my body. Women once thought I was a bitch before saying hello. Well guess what? No fucking more!

YOU are more than what you seem. Even if you think, “I can’t do it,” or “I’m not enough.” Stop. Stop right there, because that is the first problem. The more you think you’re not enough, like how I thought I wasn’t smart, the more you will believe it. Its not until you tell yourself, “I AM that, I AM enough, and I CAN do this,” then you will be able to get the right mindset, and absolutely nothing can stop you.

Don’t do it for the awards and recognition. Do it for yourself, because YOU want to do well, and YOU want to succeed… because nobody is going to want this more for you, than you.

… question I’ve gotten asked often around the office lately.

I really love helping people, so I always give advice any time I’m asked what my so called ‘secret’ is. But to be blunt, there is no real secret. The product I sell isn’t easy to sell, so to be good at this job you have to sell yourself.

I think the reason I’ve been successful in my sales career is because of the extremely unique way that I sell. Most of my life I pictured sales people to be pushy, loud, annoying, lying, and complete bullshitters. I’d like to consider myself the complete opposite of that, because I treat people the way I want to be treated.

The way I sell is in a very consultative manner. I don’t believe I have ever tried to combat a prospect with too many objections, because I know I’ll find someone else that will buy what I’m selling. That is the confidence that I showcase to all my potential clients. I never give the slightest hint of desperation. When a salesperson comes off desperate, red flags start popping up everywhere for the prospect. Sounding desperate raises concern about value of the product, possible scams, and overall trust in YOU. You see, my first secret is that I sell in the complete opposite way that you’re supposed too. 😉

Don’t get me wrong, I know how to use urgency when I need to. But it’s also so important to be respectful of other people’s time. Your top priority is definitely not theirs, and harassing them until you get an answer from the decision-maker is just going to make them run for the hills.

Another huge… huge…. HUGE secret of mine is… ya’ll aren’t going to believe this… it’s… Be Fucking Polite.

That’s right. I’m telling you just to be fucking polite. Being polite is becoming increasingly rare, because of the society we’re in that has designed us to be obsessed with ourselves. People also are selfish when it comes to their money and their time. These are two valuable things you ask from every single person you call. You must make the conversation valuable, and don’t be pushy, annoying or rude.

With that being said, I am absolutely elated because I am having my best month ever, with over $18,000 in sales and climbing! Be a salesperson that (for once) doesn’t waste people’s valuable time and money. You can guarantee a return on your investment for just being a good person.

Tuesday, April 16th was my one year anniversary at my current sales job! A one year anniversary of employment might not be a big deal in the typical corporate world, but when you’re in sales, its a different story.

There are plenty of perks of being in sales that are often overlooked because of the stigma sales careers get. Not to mention the long hours, constant stress, lack of sleep and sanity that is lost along the way. Sales is NOT for everyone. You don’t choose the sales career, the sales career chooses you. After being employed at a sales job for a year I was able to pick up on a few things that made pursuing sales an excellence career choice.

1. You are your own boss.

Your clients are your clients, and there is no one that can take that from you! Your clients do not belong to your work mom, your bff, your boss,  or the company (unless you quit). You are responsible for making your own money. Therefore, you don’t have anyone breathing down your neck and micromanaging you, unless you’re new and aren’t meeting your numbers.

2. The work-life balance.

Going off of perk #1, being your own boss comes with an excellent work-life balance. Sales jobs typically are fair with getting time off of work because if you’re doing your job and making yourself/the company money, you better believe HR isn’t going to hound you if you’re short on your weekly hour requirement (maybe just my job?). Not to mention the guaranteed 40 sick hours, 3 week vacation (plus rollover), and corporate holidays entitled to you every year!

3. The uncapped earning potential.

Are you good at your sales job? Great. Are you okay at your sales job? Not great, get better. Why you ask? The UN-CAPPED EARNING POTENTIAL!!!

If you are good at what you do and you like making money, don’t get too comfortable! Make sure you stay sharp and retain your talent. Stay true to yourself. Keep making new sales until you don’t know where to put all that extra money on your commission check!

4. The job security.

This may seem a bit unorthodox since sales jobs have the highest turnover rate. But, no one tells you how great things get when you pass that crucial 3-month grace period upon being hired.

Sales talent is extremely difficult to find for even the biggest companies. If you have made yourself a credible revenue-generating machine, you better believe that the company needs you more than you need them. That being said, I’ve witnessed upper management bending over backwards for their best sales reps to keep them happy.

5. The coworkers.

My sales job has blessed me with the most incredible coworkers. Although most of us have big personalities, that is what makes happy hour and meetings much more fun. I’ve made the best and most unspeakable memories with my coworkers (and boss!). Let’s be honest, we’re all fucking crazy so we have a ton in common.

If you know how anxiety feels, you would 100% agree with me that it is a bitch to deal with. Especially on a daily basis.

I’m not talking about the anxiety you get when you’re about to go on the first drop of the roller coaster. I mean the constant voice in your head telling you to give up and that you’re not good enough. Anxiety makes me scared to pick up the phone when I’ve been doing it on autopilot for over a year. This is something I have to deal with on a daily basis. Monday is the worst day of it all.

Getting back from resting all weekend and remembering that the deadlines are all very real can be tough and overwhelming. You have to learn to adjust quickly, close deals quicker, and make it happen no matter how you feel.

Dealing with anxiety is especially difficult if you work in sales. When you work in sales, you are supposed to be on 100% of the time. One small slip up can cost you a sale (tone of voice, hesitation, lack of confidence, lack of professionalism, the way you convey your product, and the list goes on…). Nothing is supposed to scare you or hurt you because you are that tough. No one can see you cry or see you weak. You must know how to handle the word “no” and be able to handle the persistent pressure to make your numbers.

Some days however, I feel like I cannot do it. I can’t show up to work 5 out of 7 days a week, 40 hours a week, ready to sell, sell, sell! I’m not a damn robot! Neither do I function off gasoline or fuel. I require sleep, nourishment, love, and appreciation. I’m not a revenue-generating machine with a heart of stone. I am a sensitive human being who is just trying to pay bills and survive in this crazy world.

What I am here to tell you is, despite my battles, I have been able to succeed and earn the name “BEAST MODE” although ironically I’m a humble, feminine, and reserved individual at the office.

Learning how to deal with anxiety in sales separates the men from the boys (or the women from the girls, in my case). These are a few things I tell myself and tips help alleviate some of my daily anxiety.

1. Do. One. Thing. At. A. Time.
2. Get organized. Make to-do lists, and get yourself an agenda to write your deadlines.
3. Be okay with laughing at yourself. You’re only human- not a robot.
4. Don’t focus on one long term goal, focus on multiple small goals that lead you to your overall goal.
5. Remember that it will NOT be like this forever. What you feel is temporary.
6. Write your worries down on paper.
7. Do NOT compare yourself to other reps.
8. It’s a bad day, not a bad month.
9. It’s a bad month, not a bad quarter.
10. Tomorrow is another chance.
11. Never have too much pride to ask for help (this can also be difficult in sales).
12. Never, ever, ever give up. No matter how helpless it seems.

Anxiety is tough for all of us. The most important thing to remember is that anxiety is all in our head. It isn’t something we can touch or see, only an uncomfortable feeling that comes with giving a shit. We must learn how to manage anxiety so it doesn’t get in the way of being our best self. Some days anxiety will win, some days we will win. But overall, be able to forgive yourself. Especially on the days anxiety wins.

This is what my hiring and sales manager told my coworker, Karen, when they were talking about me. Karen defended me and said, “she is, but trust me, she is going to succeed here.”

My sales manager, David, was right. I walked into that office the first day a completely different person compared to who I am now. It will be exactly one year since I started this April 16th. I know that I used to be more reserved and quiet. I had a lot of self-doubt about my intelligence and capability to do great things. The pain in my life had made me weaker, and through the pain I lost my excitement about the future. I had isolated myself so I had absolutely no direction in my life.

Learning how to do the new job quickly was the most important thing to me. I went off the map socially for about three months. All I wanted was for something to go right in my life after so many disappointments. I wanted to succeed, be happy, and prove everyone wrong who ever doubted me. I was sick of the person I was becoming: scared, hopeless and lost. I knew I had to kick my own ass into gear, and learn some strict self-discipline. They gave us everything we needed in the training class to succeed, but whether or not you could sell the product and know how to sell it makes all the difference.

“I don’t even have my own way of selling? What the hell am I doing?” I remember saying to myself as I listened to the other two experienced salespeople talk. My anxiety started to get to me, lying to me and telling me that success at this job is hopeless. It’s too much for me to handle, and that I would fail.

Talking about a product in a passionate way seemed natural to my classmates but completely foreign to me. But, “find your own way of selling,” they said, “everyone sells in a way that works for them, and so will you.”