For 17 years I was the owner/director of a contemporary art gallery. I am also an accomplished designer and book publisher. It was the only job I have ever held as an adult, but the pandemic saw to the end of all that.
After dealing with the depression and rebuilding of my life, I found a job in corporate sales at the beginning of 2021, as there were no design jobs to be had due to client budget cuts.
There is a lot to learn about my industry as we manufacture about 3,000 products which have countless applications across so many industries.
Basically, I sucked at my job for the first quarter because I had 0 knowledge and it was hard to close deals because I barely understood what the customers were trying to do. But the more pitches I saw, the more hits I got and I learned a ton.
Q2 I outperformed my pre-quarter estimate, but it was well below what my assigned target was, so my job was threatened weekly. I stuck to the maxim that relationships + time = sales.
In Q3 with the investment of time and the building of trust with my clients I will meet or exceed their quarter target and outperform my pre-quarter estimate and hopefully end all of management's doubt that I am good at this job.
It seems to me that a lot of the people on here are seasoned corporate sales savages, but in the event you are not, and are struggling, you can fuckin' do it! I made it my mission to prove them wrong while putting up with a ton of bullshit along the way. I have been asked by friends why I put up with it, because fuck them, that's why.
Thanks to everyone on this platform too. I have learned a lot from your comments and posts, it has meant more to me than I could ever say.
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