The call to sell
Steve Jemmott studied Multimedia with Media Communications at the University of Gloucestershire but changed direction with the help of graduate recruitment and sales training organisation meta-morphose International. He has progressed to Telemarketing Manager at Snowdrop Systems.  I began my career as a freelance designer in my final year at university, before being taken on full time by Titan Interactive. When the business went into liquidation two colleagues and I bought the company and embarked on running our own business.
After two years I decided I was no longer interested in running my own business and managing software development. I spoke with a number of friends, who work in recruitment, and they all came back saying my personality and attitude suited sales. Realising that if I wanted to build a successful career I would need to start at the bottom and work my way up I came across meta-morphose who offered a route into sales and the necessary training. I passed their assessment day and was fortunate to secure a place at Snowdrop Systems. For the first thirteen months I worked as a Trainee Sales Executive before being promoted to Telemarketing Manager. From here I have continued to grow the role as well as the team. I look after a team of telemarketers whose primary tasks include lead generation and booking meetings. My working day is so varied that not one day mirrors another, however it does involve a lot of liaison with my team and others in the company. My main tasks include planning (both weekly and monthly) against targets and marketing activities. The key task however is offering full support to the team with development and targets. I work at my best when I am extremely busy and have plenty to do and I also get a real buzz from being involved in many areas of the business. My current role allows for all of this. Probably the most enjoyable part of the job however is seeing members of the team progress into other roles. Saying YesWhen I was applying for a sales role, I watched a television programme about a gentleman who decided he would say yes to everything for one year. This really inspired me, and I decided to (within reason) say yes to every task/request/opportunity in my new role. I personally think this attitude combined with a hard-working approach has helped me progress quickly in the company. I set a goal of a management role within my first three years, and I achieved that after the first year. My next goal is to continue to develop both my core skills and my experience and be in a senior management position within the next three years. The advice I would offer to other graduates interested in sales is to think about whether you want to live to work or work to live. If it is the latter then sales is not the career for you. If you are prepared to work extremely hard, endure a rollercoaster of emotions and love the smell and taste of money, then sales is definitely the career for you! More articles about sales and recruitment careersReturn to Prospects Sales and Recruitment Community
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