Working in technology sales jobs, I thought I had it made. You see, I am naturally charming. Since I was a little kid, I have always been able to get my way with just a word. I can read people pretty well, and I can say what I need to say with cold-blooded precision. Nonetheless, once I got my sales job things started to fall apart. My first week, of course, I did very well. They congratulated me on my excellent sales techniques, and made me out to be a maverick. What I did not know is that they always give you a golden route the first week that you work, to build up your confidence. They figure that, even if your sales technique isn't all that, you will still think that it is. This will give you the confidence to continue on when the next few weeks aren't that easy.

I managed to hold a pretty consistent level of sales for the next couple weeks, but it certainly didn't rise much. My boss was a little bit worried. My sales training was going nowhere, and after a few weeks he decided that he would send me to a seminar. He told me that my sales techniques were raw and unrefined. I was too confident, and that confidence was not always an advantage. Sometimes people saw me as cocky and arrogant, and as a result I was not closing the sale. I could keep people on the phone for a long time, but they didn't want to buy from me. My retail sales techniques, in short, needed improvements.

I took this all in stride. I have always had a good sense of self-esteem, and I knew that he was only trying to help. I had listened to all of the sales tips that he had given me, but still my sales were stagnating. I wasn't doing that bad, and my boss assured me that he would keep me on. Nevertheless, I was working on commission. Unless I could get my sales techniques together, I would not make enough money to make this job worth it.

When I got back from the sales training seminar, things were much different for me. It was like night and day. My sales techniques were much more refined. I still had the old confidence, but I could also put people at ease. I was not so aggressive and forceful with my sales techniques. I was more laid back, and this made people like me.