My first sales job was at the age of 12. A couple I had babysat for ran a promotions company and hired me to help them sell their products at Chin Picnic. Literally, at the age of 12, I had to sell people a pen! So cliché, but so much fun – and I was hooked. I held multiple sales jobs throughout high school – sometimes even 2-3 at a time – often retail or restaurant oriented; but I was the only one out of my friends that took a job selling ‘unbreakable dishes’ on 100% commission in the middle of a mall for 11 hour shifts. It was that job that showed me that I had what it took to make it in sales. To realize that there was no limit to what I could achieve or how I could be rewarded for my hard work and success- just like that, I was sold. However, much like with any good sales rep, you need to know when to walk away. When I realized that the ‘unbreakable’ dishes were in fact breakable, I could no longer stand behind the product. Thems’ the breaks. (really!)
I have been in recruitment and sales my entire career and have been exposed to sales roles at all levels across several industries. Through it all, I still believe recruiters have one of the hardest sales jobs out there. We grind it out. Every. Single. Day.
After working in Corporate HR & Recruitment at Pizza Pizza and TD Bank, I found my home at Sales Talent Agency. Since joining STA in 2008 as its second employee, I have had the pleasure of watching – what was once a small budding niche recruitment firm, become a world-class leader in the industry. Today, I am Vice-President and oversee a team of hard working Account Directors, Account Managers, and Account Executives and working with many of the clients I brought on years ago.
What I have learned as an individual contributor, as well as a leader, is that you must be passionate about what you do if you are going to be in sales. You need to love the hustle, take pride in your resilience, and be determined to push yourself every day to achieve your goals. If you do this, you will find that there is no limit to your opportunity, your ability, or your success when in sales. There truly is no greater career and no greater reward. What is even more meaningful than that reward is being able to take pride in the product that we sell. I am proud to say we really are the experts in sales recruitment.
For the love of sales!
