Rediscovering My Sales Mojo
In the summer of 2013, I talked my way into an MBA scholarship with the meltwater entrepreneurial school of technology: out of over 1000 applicants, I managed to be amongst the 25 chosen ones to undertake the 2 year Fully funded software enterpreneurship program; that singular event revealed the salesman in me, something I never would have imagined as a career path.
Looking back to that day, I try to recollect the series of events that led to the zeal and enthusiasm with which I handled those sequence of events.
- First of all, it didn’t feel like work at all. I mean standing before a panel of investors cum astute professional some of whom had travelled across the globe for this singular event; for some reason it felt as if I was in my natural habitat. Each question that was asked, I managed to answer it to the satisfaction of the panel; even in group sessions, amongst some of the best young brains that Ghana had to offer, i managed to pitch myself as the business and sales guy with the necessary know-how to close that deal.
- Secondly I believed in almost everything I said; I remember one of the funniest moments when I was asked if I had any weakness, and my answer till this day amazes me; I replied “the only weakness I have is my inability to cook rice without burning it”. Funny as it my seem, or proud as it my seem, I really sincerely believed in the abilities I espoused and I had no doubt in my mind that I will be able to achieve whichever goal or objective the program will bring: overtime I’ve realized , that’s the kind of believe that makes an excellent salesman.
- Finally I knew my flaws and I owned up to them; From the very first day the program began, I knew I had to horn my sales skills if I wanted to come out on top, and evidently I ensured that everyone identified with me as the “sales guy “. I needed to live up to my dreams and the only way to do that was to learn whatever it is I had to, and to most importantly practice it as often as possible till it became a natural part of me.
Fast track 4 years down the line and I seem to have dropped the ball. As the CEO of a promising software enterprise, sales is a very critical part of my job; it seems however that the zeal and enthusiasm I had in my first sales expose seems non-existent. The only way to rediscover my sales mojo is to go back to the basics; the tenets of what made me love doing sales, what made it feel so natural, and what made me want to improve day in day out; until there was nothing more to achieve. It’s a challenge I am willing to take up because I believe it’s an essential part of my personality and what defines me.