Sarah Salpeter
Zebra Technologies
"A positive outlook on life is critical - people want to be around positive people."
Career Roadmap
Sarah's work combines: Business, Technology, and Problem Solving
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Here's the path I took:
High School
Arthur L Johnson Regional HS
Bachelor's Degree
Marketing/Marketing Management, General
American University System
Here's the path I recommend for someone who wants to be a Sales - Government and Education Manager:
Bachelor's Degree: Marketing/Marketing Management, General
Learn more about different paths to this career
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
My first sales position was knocking door to door in the garment district in NYC...for 10 "no's" you received 2 "yes".
2.
After succeeding in that "hunter" cold call role I was asked to be a Sales Mgr - training and motivating sales people on what it takes to be successful in the role
3.
After experiencing success in the Sales Mgr role I realized that I did not enjoy managing people, but I did want to manage large customers...so I moved into a Major Account Mgmt role.
4.
I did this role for 10 years - for a large telecom company. I was let go in a large layoff...so I now had a reason to try something new. I found myself selling software to Law Enforcement.
5.
This new job entailed traveling to Midwest to meet /do presentations to PD's & Sheriffs - I had never traveled for work...& never presented to large groups. This combination was exciting & terrifying
6.
I then learned how Govt purchases through an RFP process - with formal vendor selection. I also learned about selling to multiple decision makers in 1 customer environment.
7.
The larger the deals you sell the larger the responsibility to the org you represent. Greater rewards and risk, so there are success and failure stories that are memorable.
8.
The toughest part of a Sales career are the up's and down's - how do you handle the down times are more important. Easier said then done...I have many tips to share.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
Sales has always had a stigma of a person who pushes products to consumers - that picture in ones mind of a used car salesman. Over the past 30 years I've learned that professional sales is one of the most creative and rewarding careers, & very lucrative
How I responded:
Nothing happens in business until someone buys something. For products that cost over $50,000 into the millions it is an intelligent, creative business centric professional who helps people and organizations solve problems with technology, products...anything that has a significant price tag. But to start in this profession you sometimes need to start at a low level - in retail, over the phone...& move your way up to meeting with and influencing leaders in business, government, etc.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I wanted to have a family but was not able to get pregnant naturally - we used technology and thank g-d have awesome kids. Working and being a new mother was challenging for me, but I knew that I needed to continue working & thankful that I did.
I chose a position w/a start-up that was considered big risk/big reward. Unfortunately it did not manifest for all involved, & my income was reduced by half during this time which put me into severe credit card debt for 5 yrs...a very stressful time