One of my first jobs during college was working at a bath and beauty supply store that shall remain unnamed. I don't know what universe I was operating in, because anyone who knows me should know this was a terrible fit. But somehow I got the job, and somehow I managed to keep it for a relatively long time.
But I never got a raise. Plenty of people who started with me received raises. But I never did, and honestly, I'm not surprised one bit.
It's not that I didn't work hard. I always worked hard to answer people's questions and I always did what I was told. I had plenty of product knowledge, too, but there was one thing I could just never bring myself to do. I just never could meet my goals. My boss would pick a product and we would have to try to sell 5 or 6 of a certain product during our shift.
This never made any sense to me, because what if no one came in that wanted or needed that particular product? I had plenty of coworkers who were spectacular at doing this. They could sell anything! I guess that is just not in my blood.
This is part of the reason that I felt like Usborne was a good fit for me. First of all, when you join to be a consultant, there's no minimums. Basically, I can't lose. It's not like I have a boss writing me a goal that I have to meet and sell a product regardless of if it's a good fit for the customer. In fact, if there's no customers, it's okay. I'm allowed to take a break and still remain a consultant.
This immediately took a huge amount of pressure off and made the decision to join much easier. What did I have to lose? Worst case scenario is I get a bunch of books for about a third of the retail price and a lifetime 25% discount for Usborne Books. This seemed like a no brainer to me.
As bleak of a picture as I've painted of myself in terms of selling stuff, I'm not a complete cast off. In a strange, backwards sort of way, I do have a gift for selling things. But, my gifting isn't really in sales, it's more in connecting people.
Another great personality test is the Right Path personality test. I'm a networker. When I told my sister-in-law that I'm a networker, she had to do a double take. "I'd have never imagined you as a networker," she said to me. Well, that's because I'm kind of a unique networker.
Remember, I love information and research, so one of the greatest joys of my life is connecting people to opportunities, products, or other people that I feel would greatly enhance their lives. That's why I love tutoring. It's an opportunity to find an individualized method to connect people to important information. That's why when I love something, I literally tell EVERYONE that I know how awesome it is.
All that to say, Usborne will be an awesome opportunity for me. I'm connected to so many people both locally and around the country who are looking for quality literature to put in the hands of their children, students, and communities. As I go along with my posts, you're going to see that the sky is the limit as far as how Usborne Books can benefit your personal circle of influence.
I'm seriously bursting at the seams with ideas of how we can bring so much good into our communities through fostering a love for reading in the next generation, but if I write them all down in this post, I won't have anything fun to say in my future posts!
Stay tuned...
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