Birth of a Saleswoman: “Hi, I’m Wani.”

I started a job in door-to-door sales today.

I was cold and shivering, I fumbled a little bit while doing my intro, and I kept asking myself between tiny shivers, “Is this what you want to do?”

Did I mention I was shivering? I'm in Winnipeg so I must mention the nasty cold at all times. I must also blame my shivering on the cold and not the fact that I should have worn my scarf. But that's a Me thing, not necessarily a Winnipeg thing.

The photo I took after 1 hour of knocking.

I’m still getting used to the morning routine at work (it was day one after all), but before we go into the field, my boss gives us a brief talk. I'm sure these talks have a name but I don't know what yet. Today's talk was about motivation.

"What gets you up every day?" he asked. "There are two types of motivation."

Here are the cliff notes:

Extrinsic motivation:

An external reward.

Some examples shared: a beach house, two Bugattis, money.

My personal example: my apartment. (I didn't share this one with the class but I'm sharing it with you. Mwah.)

Intrinsic motivation:

Inherent or personal fulfillment.

Some examples shared: pride, survival, growth.

My personal example: Being alive. (What I actually said was, "What gets me up every day? I do things because what if something fun happens?" And it made it to the board, albeit paraphrased. Therefore, I believe For The Plot is valid intrinsic motivation.)

Both extrinsic and intrinsic goals can be motivating; however, at a certain point, extrinsic goals reach a motivational cap. In his words, there's only so hard a person can work, and at some point, it's not as worth it to work as hard for an extra $1500 than it was to work for the first $100.

I'm starting to find my own truth in this.

***

While we were out in the field, I left the question of whether this was something I wanted to do unanswered. I didn't know the answer. And how could I after barely one day?

At the end of the day, we got back to the office and my team leader broke my day down for me.

What were my wins?

• I did 15 intros (I wasn't counting but he was). The goal was 5.

• I watched a sale.

• I started to segue into a pitch/presentation a few times (that's tomorrow's goal).

What were my losses?

• I spoke a little too slowly. (How to turn the L into a W: speak faster. I am a little hesitant because I like how I speak, but I also want to do a good job so I must suck it up.)

What is my short term goal?

• 1 sale by the end of the week.

What is my long term goal?

• Consistent $1,000 weeks.

I came home, had dinner, then sank into my armchair to process the day.

Setting those goals filled me with glee. They seem achievable. I want to achieve them and set new ones that I will also want to achieve.

I do have an edit for my long term goal in order to make it more specific and measurable. "Consistent $1000 weeks" is extremely vague.

What is my long term goal?

• C̶o̶n̶s̶i̶s̶t̶e̶n̶t̶ $̶1̶,0̶0̶0̶ w̶e̶e̶k̶s̶.

• Earn $1000 three weeks in a row.

I can then adjust it to five weeks, seven weeks, and so on and so forth.

It is now 24:47 (12:47 am) on what is technically my second day as a saleswoman. I'm going to sleep happy. Not because I know whether this is something I want to do, but because I have goals I'm excited to achieve.

I have no choice but to be positive. I have no choice but to accept multiple rejections and move on because someone will say yes.

Today alone we had people slam doors in our faces. We had people not come to the door (even after making eye contact while we approached the door). We had multiple dogs bark viciously and lunge violently at us through the window. I had a lady ask, "Why the heck are you doing this?" when she heard it was my first day. But I also had a cat wink at me. We had a kind man invite us in because it was freezing. We had a man thank us for coming out and giving him this information even though he wouldn't be buying.

I have no choice but to know that despite all the rejections, I will achieve my goals. Someone will listen and someone will buy.

That feels Nice.

Me and my team leader after the first sale (mid-way through the day) - it's extremely hazy, I know.