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Why be average in business when you can be authentic? If you ask us, average is overrated, and the importance of being yourself far outweighs fitting the mold. True authenticity allows you to shine. You set yourself up for opportunity. You surprise people. You’re memorable. You’re relatable. You’re happier. You get to create your own unique story. Ultimately, you thrive.
Let’s take a look at a few specific ways that being yourself at work can be your very own secret weapon in your growing career.
Being yourself is a powerful way to attract the right people. When you are transparent with your intentions and open about your goals, it’s easier to find people who are aligned with your vision. In building a team, this minimizes turnover and ensures that you are spending your time and energy with the right people.
Authenticity is crucial in winning hearts and minds. When you’re true to yourself as a leader, you stick to your principles no matter the time, place, or circumstance. For the most part, you behave the same in your professional capacity as you do in your personal life. You say what you mean and you mean what you say. Your consistency, trustworthiness, and strength of character make people want to follow you.
There is power in vulnerability. Openness and transparency are qualities that make you magnetic as a leader. Your team members want to know that you’re fallible, like they are, and that you can admit to your mistakes. They want the assurance that you’re in this together; and by being yourself, you show them that you are. Not only does your realness earn you the respect of your team members, but it inspires them to make mistakes and keep going too.
Being genuine is essential to being persuasive. Whether or not you’re in a ‘sales’ role in the traditional sense of the word, sincerity is the most effective way to convince another person to act. Many salespeople believe they have to speak in a special tone of voice or adopt a sugary demeanor to be effective – but it’s exactly the opposite. Customers hate a cliché sales pitch – and they can tell when you’re not comfortable in your own skin. Being your (professionally mannered) self reduces skepticism and allows for natural conversation to flow, which in turn, sets the stage for a sale.
When you’re comfortable being yourself, you’re less sensitive to the opinions of others. While you appreciate the well-intentioned advice of your loved ones, you don’t feel the need to please everyone. You have the confidence to make tough decisions about what’s best for your future – even if those decisions are unpopular with your family members and friends. The ability to follow your own path is a super power that will take you far in your career.
Being yourself increases positivity. Why? Well, firstly, because embracing your individuality just feels good! It is incredibly freeing to stop trying to be someone you’re not. But secondly, instead of wasting your precious energy trying to fit in, you get to focus on building a life that has meaning to you. Tackling your authentic “why,” rather than emulating what’s popular, gives you purpose. This purpose transcends whatever bumps you face along the road and inspires you to get back on the horse after facing a setback. When you’re honest with yourself about what you really want in life and you’re actively taking steps to achieve your goals, you can’t help but to be .
Do you have a story about how being yourself at work has paid off in your own career? Tweet us at @Cydcor. We’d love to hear it!
You’re not alone if you have a love/hate relationship with email. As much as we’ve come to rely on it for efficient communication, no one enjoys an overwhelming pileup of messages to read. Thankfully, learning how to manage your email inbox can be quite simple. Let’s start by taking a look at the six inbox management tips listed below.
It’s 9am. You sit down at your desk, power up your computer, and you’re greeted with three dozen new emails. What should you do? Should you start at the top and just work your way down? Should you pick up where you left off yesterday? No and no.
The best way to tackle your inbox in the morning is to start by opening emails from a specific set of people. In most cases, this will be your manager or a small list of high-priority business associates. Though it may require some will power, leave all of your other messages unread until you’ve at least taken preliminary action (more on this in #2) on what’s most important.
Do not use your inbox in place of a schedule or to do list. We repeat. Do not use your inbox in place of a schedule or to do list. This widely used practice is one of the main reasons that so many people struggle to control their inboxes.
Instead, think of checking your email as a time to get organized. Start by creating a sorting system that allows you to easily keep track of your emails by either subject matter or priority level. Then, come up with a plan for swiftly tackling new messages. If a response will take you two minutes or less, go ahead and handle it right away. But, if a new email requires more extensive action on your part, move it to its respective folder, and block out time on your calendar to handle it.
One of the easiest ways to simplify the sorting process, and in turn, control your inbox, is to use descriptive subject lines. For example, instead of the ambiguous title, “Question,” write, “Question About XYZ Project.” This way, when you get a response, you won’t have to open the email to remember what the exchange was about. Not only will this make it faster to sort your messages, but it will also ensure that the email is easily discoverable if you’re searching for it again later.
Another simple way to manage inbox clutter is to simply reduce what’s cluttering it. This starts with the obvious: hitting the “unsubscribe” button. While it might seem faster to archive or delete promotional emails as they come in, it’s better to avoid future distractions altogether by yanking weeds from the root.
As for the subscriptions that you actually want to receive, set up a dedicated email for this very purpose—one that’s safe to check much less frequently. Use this email address for social media notifications, newsletters, online shopping, or in any instance where you expect to receive follow-ups, such as when making a donation or engaging in a political cause.
Speaking of reducing distractions, you’ll make your life much easier by using each of your email accounts solely for their intended purposes. While this sounds obvious, many people, especially the self-employed, end up intermingling their communications. The result is a daunting “Unread” number and an unnecessarily long sorting process. Keep things simple by using your work email strictly for work. Don’t share it with your friends or family, and never use it to subscribe to anything, unless it’s truly necessary to do your job.
Even if you do a phenomenal job staying on top of your emails, it’s a great idea to dedicate time each week to dealing with messages that might have slipped through the cracks. Many people like to do this at the end of the week so they can start the following week fresh. Schedule an hour on Friday, or however long you need, to delete, archive, unsubscribe, sort, schedule, or respond to whatever remains in your inbox.
Did we miss any of your go-to inbox management tips? Tweet us @Cydcor and let us know how you manage your email inbox!
We all wish we had more hours in the day; that’s pretty much universal. After all, time is a finite resource and once it’s gone it never comes back again. How can you make sure you’re making the most of the 6,720 waking minutes you get a week? Time tracking! That’s right, tracking your time is an invaluable tool to help you maximize your productivity and help you craft the ideal life for yourself.
Time tracking isn’t a new phenomenon. But have you ever tried it for yourself? Looking at how, when and where you devote time and energy can give you an objective view of your days and a baseline from which to make positive adjustments.
Choose Your Time Buckets
Designate different categories―or buckets―for tasks you perform throughout the day. For example, they may have headers like Client Meetings, Administrative, Professional Development, Fun, Relationships, Distractions and so on. Aim to have no more than ten different time buckets. This will help to give you a strong and easy-to-digest data format to work from while you are tracking your time. Also, be sure to record how exactly you are spending your time within those buckets. It helps to know that the specific thing you were doing in the Relationships time bucket last week was making dinner with your partner.
Envision Your Ideal Schedule
Next plot out how much time you would ideally like to devote to each of your categories by percentage. If career growth is a big goal of yours, you may want to devote a larger percentage of your time each week to your professional development time bucket than you currently are. If you are looking to increase your sales number, maybe you add a bit more to your client meetings time bucket. Remember, this schedule should represent what you want your life to look like, not how your time is currently spent. Turn this data into a spread sheet so it can be transformed into a pie chart. (It’s helps to have visual aids when time tracking!)
Track that Time
There’s no one right way to track time. Rather, you need to find an approach that works for you. You can simply jot your records down in a pocket notebook, or you can use a high-tech solution like the app Toggl. It really depends on what your personal preference is. You also need to decide when you are going to track your time. Some people find it easiest to check in every hour or 15 minutes. Some prefer to log the exact time they start a task and then when they switch to another task. Again, find what works for you. The most important thing is to make tracking your time a habit, so find an approach you feel you can stick with. Remember to be honest with yourself. Your data is only as good as it is thorough. Track you time for at least two weeks to a month. This will help account for any normal day-to-day fluctuations.
Analyze
After you finish the time tracking period you decided on at the start, it’s time to dig into all that important data you unearthed. You can also make a pie graph out of this data to compare against your ideal. What you find may be surprising. Everyone is different, but there are some common time tracking insights that you may see in your own life. They include:
Placing your time tracking data side-by-side with what you envision as your ideal time management structure will give you a solid understanding of how you spend the limited amount of time that you have each week. This baseline knowledge is helpful in moving yourself in a positive direction and achieving your life goals.
If you’re interested in a job in sales, developing and nurturing skills to catapult your career can help you achieve your career advancement goals. Whether these fall under the umbrella of growing in task-oriented skills or getting to know your strengths, below we show you “the road” to standing out as a leader in your respective role.
Begin by understanding the benefits of problem solving and how that skill can help you become an effective leader. With a leadership position, you’ll also want to hone in on trusting yourself and building confidence as your network grows. Finally, lean into the interpersonal skills developed along the way, such as communication, trust, and your tenacity as you tackle challenges along the way.
These strengths and sales skills can help you in your job and several other disciplines. Perhaps even more important is that they can cross over into your daily life, your personal wellbeing, and state of mind. We hope this infographic on career advancement in sales jobs ultimately helps take your strengths and productivity to the next level!
Knowing what makes a great salesperson is the first step to becoming one. At their core, great salespeople have empathy and drive. They know the prospects’ wants and needs and have the perseverance to win them over. But when you dive deeper, you discover that’s an oversimplification—great salespeople have five actionable qualities that make them superstars: high standards, curiosity, tenacity, passion and consistency.
Take a look at the infographic below and keep these qualities in mind when you’re engaging a prospect, from writing a cold email to knocking on their door. These personality traits are small things that anyone can do to stand out and become a great salesperson.
When it comes to business travel, the stakes are usually high. Whether you are attending an industry conference, meeting with clients, or scoping out a new market, opportunity is at your fingertips.
Your conduct and the decisions you make will ultimately determine whether a business trip is successful and all of that starts with the awareness of certain do’s and don’ts regarding professional etiquette. Check out these four essential tips on business trip etiquette to ensure that your next business trip is the best it can be.
Business Trip Etiquette Tip #1: Your appearance matters – and there are no excuses for that wrinkled shirt.
You should always dress to impress when on the job whether you’re in your regular workplace or out of town. This is especially the case if you know you’re going to be making a first impression on a new client or colleague. The way you look dictates how others perceive you, so take any competitive edge you can get.
Here’s the thing about traveling that’s important to keep in mind: Nobody’s clothes make it from A to B without accumulating some wrinkles – even for expert packers. It may sound silly, but it’s important to actually schedule a chunk of time to iron your clothes. Get all of your ironing out of the way on Day 1 so you don’t have to think about it for the rest of the trip. (Alternatively, if you’re willing to spend the cash, find out if your hotel offers pressing services. Just be careful to take note of turnaround times).
Business Trip Etiquette Tip #2: Don’t be late – even a little.
Tardiness is poor professional etiquette in any situation, but when you’re on a business trip, you should go above and beyond to be on time to meetings and events. Again, first impressions are key. Lateness sends the wrong message – and it can be a lasting one.
Plan your schedule carefully and be sure to allocate enough time to get from one point to the next. Keep an eye on the clock to ensure that unanticipated conversations don’t flow into time where you’re expected elsewhere.
Business Trip Etiquette Tip #3: Watch out for the slippery slope.
The great thing about business trips is that they present the opportunity to spend time with co-workers outside of the regular working hours. This makes for a second-to-none team bonding experience.
That said, be wary of letting happy hour turn into an unhappy tomorrow. Always use your best judgement. Don’t be afraid to call it a night if you sense that professional lines are getting too blurry. No single evening is worth sabotaging your career.
Business Trip Etiquette Tip #4: There’s a time and a place for your phone, tablet, and laptop.
You may be an incredibly talented multitasker, but all that matters in a social setting is that others perceive you to be fully present and engaged. Do your best to make calls, send texts, or respond to emails during designated working sessions or alone time. Show respect and a genuine interest in others by keeping your phone in your pocket or purse, particularly during meals.
When taking notes during a conference or meeting, the old school method of pen and paper is still your best bet. You don’t want others to misconstrue diligent note-taking for texting or updating your Facebook status.
Remember, as with all opportunities, business trips are what you make of them. The next time you get to travel for work, make the most of it by planning, maintaining professionalism, paying attention to social cues and keeping your professional etiquette top of mind.
“I’m not a morning person.” We hear people say this all the time. But guess what? Becoming a morning person might be the extra edge you’ve been looking for to skyrocket your success. With few exceptions, most people who’ve reached high levels in their careers have developed a daily morning routine that they stick to religiously.
An effective morning routine sets you up for a productive and positive day. While hitting the snooze button three times, showering quickly, and rushing out the door might be easier, most top performers will tell you that you’re missing out on a major opportunity to improve your life.
There is no “one size fits all” grouping of successful habits. Certain activities that work wonders for one person might be fruitless for another. It’s important to experiment with what works best for you and to pay attention to what behaviors are and aren’t adding value to your day.
But first, coffee.
Okay, not necessarily first, but certainly before you head to work. Numerous reputable studies have shown the long-term health benefits of drinking coffee; and certainly, the immediate benefits are plentiful as well. Even just one cup can kickstart a healthy morning routine, increasing your energy levels and giving you the boost to follow through on the next steps.
Get the blood flowing.
One of the best things you can do for yourself is get moving in the morning. Whether this means a walk around the block, some light yoga or stretching, or a full-blown work out, you’ll enjoy the benefits of increased energy and focus during the rest of your morning routine—and throughout the rest of your day.
Peaceful solitude.
Give yourself a few minutes (or more!) each morning to enjoy the calm before the storm. Turn off the television, close your laptop, and put your phone away. Perhaps pull out a notepad and jot down what you’re most grateful for. Think about the day ahead and what you’d like to accomplish.
Do something small that makes you happy.
Maybe it’s swinging by Dunkin’ Donuts for your favorite caramel latte on your way to the gym. Maybe it’s snuggling with your kids or tossing the ball for your dog. You know yourself best. Having something to look forward to not only makes it easier to wake up each morning, but it also gives you a major mood boost that will carry through to the rest of your day.
Look good, feel good.
We’ve all had those mornings when all there was time for was a rushed shower, followed by a haphazard “whatever’s clean” outfit selection, and dashing out the door. When our clothes are mismatched or wrinkled and our hair is a mess, it can be hard to feel good about ourselves. Avoid this unnecessary hit to your self-confidence by setting aside sufficient time to look and feel your best, whatever that means for you.
Cue up a podcast or audiobook.
This is a fantastic way to not only awaken your mind in the morning but to ensure that each day you are learning something new. Try listening to an interesting podcast or audiobook while you’re exercising or commuting. It will make the time fly by and might even give you a useful idea to implement in your work day.
As with all new habits, getting started is the hardest. Establishing a healthy morning routine is going to require self-discipline and patience. Facing a few setbacks is normal and shouldn’t keep you from getting back on the horse. The good news is, once you get going, it will become easier and more automatic.
It’s also important to note that your morning routine might evolve over time. Perhaps you’ll start with a 15-minute walk and work up to a longer session in the gym. Maybe you’ll find that you can shower at night instead, skip the coffee run, or add something completely new to your plan. Either way, don’t let the idea of a “perfect” morning schedule keep you from getting started.
There is no tool to have in your professional arsenal that is more universal than the elevator pitch. No matter your industry, you will always need to be able to sell yourself, your idea, your product or your business at a moment’s notice. That means an elevator pitch, so named because it should tell your would-be client everything they need to know in the 30 seconds or so that they may be riding up an elevator with you.
Crafting the best elevator pitch possible can be tricky. While you may know in advance that you’re going to have a minute of someone’s time and can prepare accordingly, this will not always be the case. You may bump into someone at a social function, on the train, or, quite literally, in an elevator and need to be able to make your elevator pitch to them there and then, or possibly not at all — and do it concisely to boot!
All of this means that your elevator pitch needs to be well-rehearsed and field-tested without being so rigid as not to allow you to adjust on the fly based on your contact’s response. It needs to get immediately to the point while still allowing you to build a narrative. It needs to be so compelling that your contact will want to know more and yet clear enough that they understand the idea then and there.
It can be a balance that’s hard to strike, but don’t be too discouraged. Crafting your best elevator pitch may take you longer than its breezy nature implies, but with the help of these key details from Cydcor, you’ll be well on your way. Don’t sell yourself or your business short and start crafting your best elevator pitch today!
If you are looking to advance your career, you will definitely want to consider the power of positive thinking. While it may sound hokey at first, adopting a positive frame of mind can have a real impact on your potential for success, not to mention, making you feel good! Actively working towards positive thoughts in your everyday interactions with yourself and with others can improve your confidence, strengthen your relationships, and lead you to your life’s goals.
What is positive thinking?
Positive thinking involves a mental attitude that expects good and promising results. Incorporating positive thinking into your mind and your life can lead to a great deal of benefits because it can transform positive energy into reality.
You may not think of yourself as a positive or a negative person—you’re a realist. While that may be the case, even realists can get bogged down by a negative train of thought. Harnessing the power of positive thinking will train your mind to consider a positive outcome and then truly believe that that outcome will come true.
The problem with negativity
Negative thoughts are incredibly limiting. Henry Ford once said, “If you think you can, or you think you can’t—you’re right.” If you don’t think you can land a sale, you won’t. If you don’t think you can advance to your dream job, you won’t. Negativity will make you overthink your interactions, your work, or your effort, and it will make you believe that none of it is cutting it. A negative mindset can also make you comfortable with failure, which certainly won’t do you any favors.
Negativity doesn’t let you see the forest for the trees. It narrows your thoughts, creating stress and a flight or fight response. It can make you fixate on a single problem without giving you the room to consider alternative possibilities. Learning how to counter negativity with positive thoughts is essential for maintaining an upwards career trajectory.
How to use the power of positive thinking
Thoughts create your reality. Harkening back to another one of Henry Ford's most motivational quotes, "if you believe you will land a sale, your confidence will shine through, and you are more likely to achieve that goal. Additionally, a positive mindset doesn’t come naturally to a lot of people; it takes concerted effort to rewire your brain to think in this manner.
Try the following actions in your day-to-day in order to reap the benefits of positive thinking:
The benefits of positive thinking
When you actively work towards a positive attitude, you will begin to experience more joy, contentment, and love in your life. Furthermore, the power of positive thinking has a tendency to create what some call an “upward spiral.” Like a downward spiral, which is associated with the slippery slope of negative thoughts, an upward spiral can provide the momentum for broadening your horizons and increasing your rate of success. Use the baby steps tactic that you learned about to help propel you into an upward spiral.
Another great benefit of positive thinking is that you will be able to handle feedback and conflict in a new way. If constructive criticism used to make you squirm, positive thoughts can help you reframe that feedback into a learning experience. The same can be said for conflict: you can create new pathways in your brain to handle additional setbacks or issues so you can approach conflicts with a level head.
While many people think that success is a result of work ethic, persistence, or drive, behind it all is the power of positive thinking. Few of the most successful people would be where they are today—whether elite athletes, CEOs, or business owners—without the positive mindset and confidence that they would eventually attain their goals. Replace your negative thoughts with positive ones to start believing in yourself and believing in your own success. You will probably be surprised by difference positive thoughts can make.
You may wonder what athletes and salespeople have in common – it’s more than you think. Whether you’re trying to win on the field or in the field, sales people and athletes have many common characteristics. Think of the superstar athletes you idolized when you were growing up. Maybe you dreamed of making slam dunks like Michael Jordan, winning Wimbledon like Serena Williams, or hitting home runs like Ken Griffey, Jr. You recognized in them what so many others have too – not only do they have the talent to succeed, they have the drive to make it happen.
Athletes thrive on competition, using it as a motivator to heighten their own games. This is what athletes and salespeople have in common. You may never play in the Super Bowl or the World Cup, but you can take a page out of these superstars’ win-at-all-costs playbook when it comes to sales motivation.
To be successful in a competitive atmosphere, similar qualities, disciplines, and tactics to top athletes are required. Here are the top common traits amongst sales people and athletes.
1. Persistence
When Michael Jordan was in high school in North Carolina, he was already a talented basketball player, but his coaches didn’t recognize just how talented he was. When he tried out for his varsity team, he didn’t make the cut, and he was placed on the B-Team instead. Rather than let that get him down, he kept at it and eventually went on to be regarded as the greatest basketball player of all time. This kind of persistence is key in sales motivation. In sales, you may hear “no” a lot. When you’re just starting out, you’re likely going to hear it a lot more than often than you hear “yes”. You can’t let it discourage you, and you can’t give up.
2. Discipline
Tiger Woods was a golf prodigy who began playing when he was two years old and could outplay many professionals before he was in his teens. Despite these innate gifts and all the accolades he’s received, Woods still practiced endlessly growing up and continues to this day. In order to be the very best in sales, you need to have the discipline to work hard every day, to put in the hours it takes to be successful.
3. Competitive Spirit
“I am the greatest,” Muhammad Ali once said. “I said that even before I knew I was.” There’s a reason why Ali is the most legendary boxer of all time. Sure, he’s immensely skilled and talented, but that’s true of a lot of other boxers too. But Ali is as famous for his confidence and competitive spirit as for his boxing acumen. It’s that kind of fighting spirit that’s going to serve as prime sales motivation and take you far in this industry. There’s a lot of other people out there trying to make a sale – you have to want it more.
4. Drive
Perhaps no athlete best exemplifies the drive you need to succeed in sports than Serena Williams. Growing up in Compton, Williams did not have the advantages that a lot of successful young tennis champions do. But today she earns tens of millions of dollars in endorsements every year and she holds the all-time record in countless tennis achievements, from Grand Slams to U.S. Open wins to singles matches. Today, many consider Williams not just the greatest female athlete or the greatest tennis player, but the greatest athlete of all time. The drive to succeed like Serena Williams is part of what athletes and salespeople have in common. No matter what advantages you start off with, you take what you’re given and make it work.
5. Focus on Winning
There’s probably no professional sports team that most exemplifies winning more than the New York Yankees. They’ve appeared in 40 World Series (twice the amount of the next best team) and they’ve won 27 of them (far more than twice the amount of the next best team). Whether it’s the era of Ruth and Gehrig or DiMaggio and Mantle or Jeter and A-Rod, there’s no period in baseball in which the New York Yankees weren’t considered the top dog. That unrivaled degree of success should serve as prime sales motivation for any salesperson. No matter what team you root for, you want to win like the Yankees.
6. Resilience
You can take lessons from teams that aren’t quite as successful as the Yankees too. For 108 years, the Chicago Cubs were renowned as the “lovable losers” of American sports. No professional sports team in America has ever gone that long without winning a championship. Some claimed they were cursed, others just accepted they didn’t have the money to compete with big market teams like the Yankees and the Dodgers, and many accepted the Cubs were always destined to lose… and then came 2016 and one of the most memorable World Series of all time. This resilience is part of what athletes and salespeople have in common. Setbacks happen, and sometimes they’re unavoidable. The key is to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back out there. Eventually, you’ll succeed.
7. Constant Improvement
At the 1936 Olympics, when Jesse Owens set the world record of running a 100 meter dash in 10.2 seconds, it was an astounding world record achievement that made Owens one of the most celebrated athletes of all time. It’s a record that has since been broken over 50 times. Athletes are never satisfied that the best has already been achieved: they’re always ready to run faster, be stronger, and accomplish more. That’s what athletes and salespeople have in common. No matter what level of success you feel you’ve reached in this industry, there are always opportunities to do better, to work harder. This constant drive to do your best can work as powerful sales motivation.
We’re not all blessed with the amazing physical gifts of these superstar athletes. But hard work and determination are not things you’re born with, they’re things you work toward. Using these amazing athletes as your sales motivation can be the first steps to an amazing sales career.
What do CEOs John Paul DeJoria, Warren Buffet and Howard Schultz all have in common? They all cut their teeth in sales, and they have used that knowledge to help propel their success! A background in sales can provide you with invaluable skills, as you can see from the work histories of some of the top CEOs out there. Sales teaches tenacity, leadership, discipline, communication skills and so much more. All of the skills you learn in sales can help to fortify you as you move forward in your career path. People who work in sales learn how to persevere against the odds, inspire their teammates, stay on-task and truly listen to the needs of those around them. These top-performing CEOs put their background in sales to good use, and so can you!
John Paul DeJoria, cofounder and CEO of John Paul Mitchell Systems, is truly a self-made marvel. To help support his family at only nine years old, he began selling Christmas cards and newspapers with his older brother. In fact, this CEO’s work history is full of sales jobs early in his career. He worked as a door-to-door encyclopedia salesman as well as an insurance salesman. The job that got him started in hair care was in sales also. While selling Redken hair products door to door in the middle of a gas crisis, DeJoria was making only $600 a month! His tenacity paid off, however. He and his partner Paul Mitchell started John Paul Mitchell in 1980 with a loan of $700 while DeJoria was living in a 20-year-old Rolls Royce automobile. After a few rough years starting out, DeJoria’s sales background truly paid off. Today, Paul Mitchell products can be found on the shelves of over 150,000 salons.
“The biggest hurdle is rejection… When 10 doors are slammed in your face, go to door number 11 enthusiastically, with a smile on your face.” ―John Paul DeJoria
Warren Buffett is a name that is synonymous with success. Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. since 1970, Buffett is widely acknowledged as one of the most successful and wise investors of the modern era. As of June 2018, his net worth stands at $84 billion! This makes him the third wealthiest person in the world. Before all the attention, however, Buffett had an early background in sales. As a child he was inspired by a book he borrowed from the public library, One Thousand Ways to Make $1000, and he undertook one of his first business ventures selling chewing gum, Coca-Cola bottles and weekly magazines door-to-door. Other childhood ventures like working as a paperboy and selling a horse-racing tip sheet helped to inform Buffett’s first adult job after college, selling securities at Buffett-Falk & Co in the early 1950s. His sales background helped propel his career forward. With communication skills and business knowledge gained from sales, in less than 20 years Buffet became a CEO.
“The most important investment you can make is in yourself.” ―Warren Buffett
Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks from 1986-2000 and again from 2008-2017, has his roots firmly set in the world of sales. This CEO’s work history starts after college with Xerox Corporation as a sales representative. There he learned the importance of listening to his clients and networking as well as how to lead. This job led him to become the general manager of Swedish drip coffee manufacturer Hammarplast. Schultz knew his product at the time exceptionally well―like any good salesman should! He became curious as to why one of his customers, a fledgling coffee-bean shop in Seattle called Starbucks, ordered so many plastic cone filters. He was incredibly impressed with the shop’s knowledge of coffee, so much so that he stayed in contact with them over the next year and eventually took a position as their Director of Marketing. During this time, he took a trip to Italy where he fell in love with the coffee shop culture and developed the aesthetic for which Starbucks would become known. He eventually left the marketing position to open his own coffee shop. Not long after, Starbucks management decided to switch focus and sell off their retail division to Schultz. Schultz aggressively grew the Starbucks empire to the over 28,000 international locations they boast today.
"I am convinced that most people can achieve their dreams and beyond if they have the determination to keep trying." ―Howard Schultz
As all of these CEOs’ work histories attest, a sales background can be beneficial no matter what industry you choose. To learn more about how a background in sales can accelerate your career―and for other professional advice―be sure to visit the Cydcor blog today.