Learn Sales, & Your Life Will Change Forever

Learn sales, and your life will change forever.

Cool quote, but why is that?

Before I got into sales, I used to work in retail management. 40-60 hours a week. Working almost every weekend. Stuck at a store in a physical location.

Don’t get me wrong, I think this job was foundational for me. I wouldn’t trade my years there, because they taught me so much: how to work with a sense of urgency, managing many tasks at once, and dealing with high emotions from customers, employees, and just overall how to be a good manager.

There were many things I could have done better, but in my mind working somewhere like retail or service industry in your younger years will always set you up with a foundational work ethic.

It will give you a great understanding of stellar communications and standards and how to be comfortable in high-stress, high-intensity environments.

However, I couldn’t do it forever.

After 7 years, I was so burned out. All my friends would be having fun on the weekends. Pool parties, going out to see the city. I would be at the store.

After 7 years, it got so repetitive. I knew if I wanted to keep going in this industry and get promoted, it could take another 5-10 years. I wasn’t down for that.

When I worked in retail, I had a friend that worked as a part-time associate. I always told him, you could make so much more by working somewhere else.

He was working for an hourly minimum wage with no way to earn more money. He finally got another job at a different store where he had the ability to upsell customers on the store’s credit card. He was selling multiple credit cards per day to people and making way more money per hour as well.

I was proud of him for doing something that allowed him to actually make money based on his abilities.

A few years later, that same guy recruited me for a sales position. It was a B2B position selling pest control supplies to companies who provide the services. I had no idea or understanding of what the job would entail. I couldn’t wrap my head around it.

But I took the leap on the advice of my wife and showed up to the interview. I didn’t even think I did that well in the interview, but I was offered the position.

I took it, and my life has never been the same. Instead of being stuck at a store all day with no location freedom, I’m able to work a flexible schedule and determine how to use my time.

In 7 years at this job, I’ve doubled my territory and won 5 sales awards. The reason why? The standards I learned in retail.

B2B sales is all about standards. If you have high standards for your performance and customer service, everything else will fall into place. Because sales is more about building relationships and taking care of people than trying to make a quick hit selling someone something they don’t need, which is a common misconception.

It’s 100x better to take care of a customer, make them appreciate your service, and get a lifelong customer instead of a one-time customer.

Relationships. Standards. That’s all it is.

But as a result of getting this job, I am now making 4x what I used to make in retail about 10 years ago. I have multiple income streams, and every day I get to decide how to work my own territory. I get a company vehicle, take customers to lunches, and even events like Astros games.

I have an investment portfolio instead of consumer debt now, and I have multiple side hustles that give me opportunities to make more money, because I have more freedom. This would have been 1,000x times harder staying in retail.

And every day I am motivated because I’m doing something I’m naturally good at or at least have developed a skill enough to be successful at. And I know every day if I don’t perform, I’m making less money. That is one of the most underrated things about sales.

It’s human nature to be discouraged and less motivated when you know every day you go to work, there’s no way you’ll make any more or any less money based on how successful you are. If you have the best day ever and work 12 hours, you still get paid the same at some jobs. If you barely work for 8 hours but are sitting in the office chit-chatting all day, you still get paid the same.

I can totally understand why people get discouraged and demotivated at jobs like this. Human nature over time will course correct to do the least amount of work. Show me the incentive, I’ll show you the outcome.

Sales has it all. I think it’s one of the best, if not the best ways to make a living when you factor in the freedom, the autonomy, and the rush you get from hitting your sales targets. I used to daydream of one day being able to give a presentation in front of a room of people, to be the guy on the treadmill taking a phone call, getting paid to be working out.

I have that now. All because of sales. People have negative connotations with sales sometimes because of their own experiences. But my Dad was in sales. And he sold used cars at that, which is looked down upon in most circles. But he always sold quality vehicles to the best of his abilities, and customers came back to him! When we would be out at restaurants, people would always see him and say hi. That is the opposite of the typical used-car salesman persona that we generalize.

You can be different. You can set your own course. You can develop lifelong customers. You can change your life. With sales.