The first time someone told me I'd have to sell, I walked out of the room.
I was touring a design school. The instructor said, "There is no design without the sale." I left.
I spent four years believing selling was for other people. Those four years cost me $5.2 million.
Then I gave sales one chance. I built a book: before and after photos and handwritten notes from my clients. I skipped the referral script. Women saw the book and asked to be in it.
I became number one out of more than 2,000 sales reps. I stayed number one for seven years, in a field that was 98% men. I sold $1.3 million a year and won more than ten national awards.
When I mastered the skill of sales, everything doubled.
There is an old belief, found in cultures all over the world, that a red string connects you to the people you are meant to serve. I built my whole sales system on it.