A couple of weeks, I wrote about struggling through my week with several days with no sales. I now can understand a little how realtors feel by going to lots of open houses or car sales people feel after going on lots of test drives. The good news is that I did make a substantial sale by the end of the week which made up for several of my non-selling days. So as of this post, I am still in the black. 

While I’m excited about my new career venture. It’s a lot of change. Changes at this point in life are usually very gradual. I’ve been doing similar things for a long time, but this is really, really different.

Not only is the job different, but my level is different and how I approach the world is different. When you are a teacher there is expectation from the students of learning and a rapport that builds over a semester or year, but in sales it’s a lot of short-term relationships. You have to convince people over and over with no memory between. There are methods and scripts, but each individual or couple is unique, time is short and the stakes are substantial. 

Another difference is the independent nature of commission-based sales. When I taught, there was a class of students waiting for me. In sales, most people aren’t anticipating my call. In fact, a good number would prefer me not to drop in. However, if I do my job well though, most of my clients will find value in what they buy.

Overall, I am finding that if lean into learning, and study the successful ones, I can do better myself. Then, you have to put what you’ve observed into practice. Everything is harder than it looks, at first. So far my theory that anyone can learn anything is holding up. You just have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable long enough to earn back your comfort.