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Confessions of a Reluctant Saleswoman
By: Joyce M. Coleman, Thu Dec 1st, 2005
This article may be reproduced in its entirety as long as the
resource box at the bottom in included.
Confessions of a Reluctant Saleswoman
By Joyce M. Coleman
Like many of my generation and upbringing, I never thought of
myself as a saleswoman.
When I was growing up in Mississippi, insurance salesmen and
others who managed to find their way to our home way out in the
country were met with skepticism. While we were happier to see
the Watkins man (yes, they were men) who drove from county to
county to sell bedspreads, blankets, Watkins products, candy,
and you-name-it from the backs of their station wagons, it still
was a pretty risky business, all things considered.
Can you imagine making a living driving unpaved, country back
roads, dodging farm animals, and rugged hunters with large guns?
Ugh!
As a black girl in pre-civil rights Locust Hill, Mississippi, I
grew up believing that selling was not a desirable or dependable
profession. Through example and overt instruction, I was taught
that my goal in life was to get an education and become a
teacher. If God intervened, I might get a good, solid job with a
strong, reputable company and, through association garner even
more respect than teachers and preachers. Couldn't get any
better than that!
But selling? Not an option. (No one ever explained why sellers,
including local fishermen, always had cash!).
So, the notion of selling never entered my mind. Although my
brother and I were constantly tinkering, and hoped to one day
write that great novel, new song, or develop the ultimate
gadget, it never dawned on us that we'd have to sell our
creation. I guess we thought that if we built a better
mousetrap, the world would magically find out about it and beat
a path to our door. Ha!
Childhood notions of our great creations took a back seat, as I
made sure that I could get "a good job" (no selling). I earned a
degree in Chemistry and Mathematics, but soon discovered by
trial-and-error that being a chemist or traditional teacher did
not fit with my spirit. That reality check sent me searching for
an alternative. While searching, I figured I'd have a good time
and see the world. I landed squarely in corporate America, where
I learned lessons that were not taught in Locust Hill.
One of my first lessons was to live is to sell! The first
product I sold was ME. Imagine! It's 1968 and I am convincing an
international world-class airline that an afro'ed young black
woman is the ideal candidate to be one of its stewardesses
across the Atlantic. It's 1969, and that same young woman is the
ideal candidate for a management position. This process
continued every few years, including selling them on the notion
that I should be the industry's first black corporate female
executive.
In corporate America I earned my stripes by selling my
employees, bosses, and customers on the reality that I brought
better than a square deal to the table. I promised a lot, and
over-delivered on the promise. However, I never thought of it as
selling. I simply practiced what I'd been taught during my
childhood - put your best foot forward at all times, know your
stuff, always give more than you take, and show respect for
others.
I have learned that no matter what we do, we must sell something
- our ideas, our capability to produce a product or service, or
someone else's ideas, goods and services. Even the heroes of my
childhood - teachers and preachers - must sell their customers
on the notion that they bring value to the table.
In effect, all of us sell each day of our lives. Those who excel
at it deliver on their promise; their products and services
bring added value to their users. Those who purchase them tell
their friends, who tell their friends, and so on.
For me, it has been a long road to realizing that one has little
control over one's destiny and wealth as long as there is
dependency on a corporation or some entity (other than oneself)
for employment. At the end of the day, we must look to our
personal capabilities to support our family and ourselves. Just
ask any of the hundreds of thousands who were recently laid off
through no fault of their own, or read lessons learned by
millionaires.
It has been an equally long road for me to become sufficiently
confident to develop some of those creations my brother and I
attempted back in Locust Hill. I've known for some time that
people who need my expertise, and who will be happy to trade
money for its value, will not find out about it through osmosis.
I must let them know about it, just as I happily touted the
goods and services of my corporation all those years. Expertise,
brainpower, or product, no matter how wonderful, must be
successfully marketed, or "sold."
As I more closely examine my evolving notion of selling, I
realize that it isn't "selling" that makes me such a reluctant
participant in an arena that creates wealth faster than any
other. (By the way, it is also the fastest way to get ahead in
the corporate world). It is my link to a childhood
misunderstanding of the wonderful act of providing people with
something that actually fulfills a dream, makes lives easier,
and provides financial freedom for so many. Each time I receive
a thank you for sharing my opportunity, book, time, or words of
wisdom, I am so thankful that I've learned to appreciate the
marvel of selling.
My reluctance has turned into eagerness and gratefulness as I
continue to discover ways to put my own brainpower and skills to
good use, on what I consider to be relatively close to my own
terms. Each day I seek out new opportunities that I share with
my new and lifelong friends. Together, we are embracing the
wealth-building wonders made possible to each of us through
modern technology.
Copyright 2001 Joyce M. Coleman. All rights reserved, except as
noted above.
http://www.locusthillpublishing.com. Joyce Coleman is author of
acclaimed book, Soul Stirrings - How looking back gives each of
us the freedom to move forward. Subscribe to her newsletter, The
Business of Life at
http://www.locusthillpublishing.com/newsletter/newsletter_subscri
be.html for practical tools that enhance living. Includes self
improvement, wealth- building, family issues, recipes.
About the author:
Joyce Coleman is an acclaimed author, online publisher, speaker,
and consultant. She lives in St. Louis, Missouri. Her articles
are widely published, and some of her other works can be found
at the Mississippi Museum of History and Archives.
