Salespeople are selfish. This opinion is widely held, and assorted other ideas float alongside it. Salespeople are greedy, self-centered, aggressive and pushy.

I chose the profession because I have always been a persuasive and friendly person. Sales seemed like a natural place for me to be. Ever since I could talk in full sentences, I have been selling. My family loves to tell stories about how I would take items from my Mom’s jewelry box and sell them to the kids in my neighborhood. I just loved transacting the sale. (I did not continue that behavior, or right now I would likely be writing this from a prison cell).

Today I am a sales consultant, which means that the “jewelry” I am presenting is really a custom creation that the client and I agree on. I enjoy spending my time uncovering truths about what is not working for business owners. I find out what would be the ideal solution and I try to find a match.

Most of the time I am fortunate enough to win their trust and ultimately make a difference in their lives – not a bad gig if you can get it. Sales for me is not about the transaction but about how everything comes together. Unfortunately, that is not the mainstream perception of this profession.

A valid perception is that salespeople are only in it for the money. We do ask for and take people’s money — that is what is required to call it an actual sale. Sale of services, products, subscription, and more require that one party agrees to pay for those rendered goods.

Another valid perception is we will do anything to close the sale. You see, salespeople have a target to hit, a boss to report to, and if you don’t meet said goal — your job is on the line. In general, you have about a month’s job security at any one time, and sales employees are often the first to be cut or downsized. Sales is equal parts exhilarating, rewarding, lonely and stressful.

Recently I had a shift in my world of sales- something that was delivered to me by my employer. After years of making the daily, weekly and monthly numbers that my managers have always asked me to deliver on, it has recently become evident that all of this effort can actually have another benefit.

Yes, I help people — and yes I do get paid, but what if I can make a difference on the planet?!

I was recently awarded by my employer, for achieving stellar success in the fiscal first half of sales for 2019, the gift of making a difference. My employer (Citrix) teamed up with 4 Ocean www.4ocean.com and made a significant contribution to their efforts to clean up the world’s vastly polluted oceans. This donation was made on behalf of the Digital Sales teams combined efforts and I am one part of this. I have a bracelet I wear from 4 Oceans that is made up of beads of clear recycled plastic. One bracelet represents a donation that can remove one pound of trash from the ocean & coastlines. This is a reminder to me that I can make a difference every day through my efforts.

Spurred on by this, I have become active and joined Sustainable Coastlines http://sustainablecoastlineshawaii.org to help address the issue of single-use plastics in one of my sales territories, Hawaii. I plan to donate a portion of my income to this organization to continue to make a difference.

All in a days work, persuasion and positivity can lead to building a better environment and cleaning up our planet.