I never thought of becoming a salesperson when I was at school. I did not even know the world of Business to Business (B2B) selling existed. Also, you would have argued if you knew me back then that I was an unlikely candidate for selling as I was introverted and a bit socially awkward.
During my 2nd year at Wits, I got a bursary from the Altron group and then joined one of their group companies, National Data Systems on completion of my degree. Here I had the opportunity to work with top B2B salespeople working in the banking sector and had the thrill of winning large contracts as part of the sales team.

Then I moved to Dell Computers when they came into the country. This was an incredible journey of nearly 19 years, where I had the opportunity to sell as an account manager and then fulfil various leadership roles, including being the country manager. In all these roles, selling was a key element.
After Dell, I became the country manager of Citrix, a USA based software company. It was also a great experience where I was able to hone my sales abilities.

As I look back on nearly 30 years of B2B selling, I know it has provided tremendous opportunities and financial security for my family and me. And it has been fun and rewarding. You can be incredibly successful when you are driven and have courage, believe in your product or solution, and act with integrity. I truly believe the words of Mahan Khalsa “Sales skills are life skills. What makes us better at sales makes us better in life. And vice versa.”