This month Carol Williams and Anna Banana Kruchten are co-hosting the February 2022 ActiveRain Contest titled "What's Your Story". It has been a while since I blogged anything about my past, so this seemed like a good time to share some of my personal and professional life story.
My first entry was about my personal life titled "Our Life Experiences Shape Who We Are". This second blog is about how my life experiences have shaped my professional life.
I have been in sales for 46 years, and during that time I have had three different careers in sales. The shortest was my first sales experience working for John Hancock Life Insurance, selling life insurance, casualty insurance (home & auto), and mutual funds. I did this for about 3 years, and I was what was referred to as a Debit Salesman. What that means is I went each week to the homes of my clients to collect their weekly payment on their life insurance. These polices sold for less than $1 per week, and the policy holders would add on small amounts of life insurance at a time. I was able to get the job because I spoke Portuguese, and the area I covered was predominantly Portuguese speaking people. The area (Debit) I covered was very small, so my growth potential was very limited both in income, and advancement.
The second was in Industrial Sales selling material handling equipment. This was my longest sales career, and lasted 26 years. It was also the easiest of the three careers. It mainly involved selling to manufacturers, and warehouses, which topically work Monday through Friday 8 to 5. So no late night or weekend calls. Also in this type of sales I was not asking the clients I was calling on to spend their own money, they were spending the companies money. Selling material handling equipment involved selling pretty much anything that involved storing or moving materials. So I sold conveyor systems, lifts, heavy duty racks, shelving, hand trucks, work benches, pallet trucks, storage bins, and all other similar items. Very often it required me to engineer the systems I was selling, doing drawings of, and overseeing the installation. The company I worked for also had a catalogue and sold material handling equipment all over the country. I enjoyed doing this, but after 26 years, and was very good at what I did. But the owner of the company wanted to retire, and was negotiating with an out of state company to sell the business to. The other company had their own sales staff, and was only interested in the catalogue side of the business. So the handwriting was on the wall, and it was time to move on.
The third is in the Lending Industry which is what I have been presently doing for the last 17 1/2 years. During this time I have been a Loan Originator, Producing Sales Manager, and Producing Branch Manager. I enjoy working with first time homebuyers, and helping them achieve the dream of home ownership. The other thing I have enjoyed during this time, and have been blessed with is the professional and personal relationships I have made during this time. The hours are long, and the challenges are many. But the smiles on the faces of my borrowers when a loan closes is priceless. Those smiles make all the hours and challenges worth it.
I feel I have been successful during my 46 year sales career, and I attribute my success to the values and work ethic my parents instilled in me from a very young age. Not only has the wisdom of their advice guided me, but more importantly the example they set through their actions.
My parents were not afraid to do whatever it took to create a better life for their children. They were willing to sacrifice everything they had, so myself and my brothers and sisters could have a better life. They demonstrated that by leaving everything they had behind in 1960, boarding a plane to Boston, MA with 4 very young kids. They work long hours as factory workers for minimum wage, and doing without a lot so they could provide a better life, not for themselves, but for me and my brothers, and sisters.
This in turn required myself and brothers and sisters to grow up and take on responsibilities most children our age were not challenged with at a very young age. But these early life challenges taught us to value what we had, and to realize advancement in life requires hard work, personal sacrifice, responsibility, and commitment. They taught us if we wanted something we needed to work for it, and not wait for others to give it to us. Those values have followed me throughout my life, and are implanted in me today more so than every before. My parents not only provided for all the needs of myself and my brothers and sisters, but they more importantly taught us how to provide for those needs as well. I may not be rich in material things, but I am very rich in something far more valuable.
There are a lot of gaps in the two blogs I have written, and maybe someday I will fill in some of those gaps. But for now I hope these two blogs have show those who have read them a little more insight into my past and who I am.
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