I just needed to say that out loud. I work in an industry (financial) where large portions of the non-sales employees get screwed, so I’ve felt the pressure to go to sales for years to finally have a ticket out of poverty. But I always viewed a lot of the opportunities with skepticism because a lot of that industry is basically like a big pyramid scheme. I fantasized however about joining let’s call them The Mutual Fund Company just to have a concrete goal.
I fought for months to get in their interview process. I was talking to a well meaning manager who said their job isn’t really as much about sales as financial planning and coaching people. I got in their interview process and at first I was amped. They talked about sales but it was with sales training and lots of opportunities to grow, so I said “ok, wouldn’t mind learning to sell.”
But then it just got lame as the interviews went on. Each interview focused more and more on sales and topics that I can spot probably aren’t to the client’s benefit (annuities, pushing them to rebalance based off news stories, etc.)
Finally, I hit the third interview and I could tell by the time I started on Zoom that guy has a totally smug attitude to me. Which didn’t even make me mad because I had a totally smug attitude in the back of my mind right back. Where’s your sales experience, how would you sell this, let’s do a roleplay of you selling to me, that’s not instilling enough urgency, blah, blah, blah. “In our organization, we work as a team and are thick skinned and coachable and work hard all day and don’t sulk.” Wtf is that, your defensive reaction that you’ve scared away my last buy-in for the role, oh great Mr. Sales Guru?
I’m so glad I just got their not moving forward e-mail. I would rather not “make it” by hawking financial products at people like a gym membership. I don’t want people who like that as co-workers or supervisors. I certainly don’t want to deal with them when everything is blowing up in a situation like a major economic downturn. I’ll take my weekends and evenings with my friends who will help me in a real emergency situation over that number on paper I’d probably be screwed out of anyways.