Sales Speakers Should be Sales Reps First

Sales Rep: "Katie, your keynote was really great and what made it stand out was that you've been in my shoes before and that makes everything you said so much more meaningful."

Me: "You mean you've had these talks before where the person didn't have a sales background?"

Sales Rep: "Oh yeah. Many times. They'll bring in an 'expert' on some topic but it's always kind of fluff and you know they've never really had to grind the way we do. You're different."

I have had this conversation many times and it always amazes me how often people are being paid to "teach sales" who have never really done it. Who have never had to drive four hours to do a presentation and then four hours back home for an early meeting this next day. Who have never sat and made 100 calls in a day. Who have never labored over a prospecting email, wondering what subject line to use.

I've done it. Many times. I was proud to be in sales and now I'm proud to use my experience and more importantly, my research, to speak about it. To all my customers, past, present and future: thank you.

What has your experience been like? Let me know in the LinkedIn comments!

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