Door-to-door sales helped me to developed the “eat what you kill” attitude

At the beginning of the summer between school and starting university, I won a cash prize for academic excellence. As an excited 18 year old who also studied German, I used these funds to solo travel around Germany. This sense of freedom and adventure made a profound impact on me, foreshadowing the independence and exploration I would seek in my future. However, I spent nearly all the money I had saved up. When I returned, I needed additional funds for holidays I promised my girlfriend at the time, and despite finishing school, I couldn’t expect any gifts or any financial support from my mother, who worked minimum wage jobs. To raise funds for my first “grown up” holidays in the Canary Islands, I took a door-to-door, commission-only sales job which promised good payday IF you work hard. That sounded like a fair deal to me. While my peers were stacking shelfs or folding clothes with a guaranteed compensation, I was walking for hours, banging on doors, pitching, getting rejected, and closing. The product or “campaign” we were selling were randomly assigned depending on the group you end up in. Unfortunately (or luckily), I was assigned to the most difficult campaign, selling a nature-based charity (during financial downturn) to plant trees, while the other group received free tablets to promote a free, not-so-well known service called Netflix! However, over the course of those two months, I was promoted to a leadership position. This experience was transformative; I learned sales, embraced the “eat what you kill” mentality, and realized the importance of 100% accountability. It strengthened my work ethic and ignited my passion for sales and psychology.