“Why I’m So Interested In Selling,” Chloe Wold

Preface: I’m departing from my normal process of introducing a new story about selling. Every once in a while you see something so special, moving, and important, you have to change things. Chloe’s story is just that. I’ve told the story of a variety of others. Some with very distinguished leadership and selling careers. People who have managed 1000s and led multi-billion efforts. People who have been individual contributors, learning, growing and achieving great success.

Chloe Wold is different. She’s been in sales for less than a year. It’s her first real sales role. But of all the stories I’ve read and that I anticipate reading, this is the most impactful. Chloe reached deep inside herself and is sharing perspectives few of us would. It takes tremendous courage to share these deeply personal perspectives, but I’m so glad she did. It’s caused me to reflect and look deeper into myself than I might have. I hope it drives each of you to do the same.

I first “met” Chloe Wold a little over 3 years ago. She was a student in the Digital Prospecting Class at UT Dallas. I had been invited to discuss a number of issues around the change in customer buying. After the class, she sent a note thinking me. I knew she follows much of what I write. This past December, she re-engaged. She was interested in my views on AI and how I use it. She was experimenting with AI, both professionally and in her poetry.

Then about a week ago, she reached out again, struck by this series. We started exchanging notes about some of the stories. I invited her to share hers. She was uncertain, but wrote it. Then she sent me a note:

I finished my story behind my interest in sales, but it’s very different from most of the ones you’ve posted. Not sure if it’s what you’re looking for, but my story behind sales is different than most and I found myself unable to explain it without starting from the beginning and being honest about my journey. If you’re interested in giving it a read just let me know the best way to send it over!

I was stunned and moved. I asked if she was comfortable with me publishing it, and I am so thankful she said, “Yes.” It is such a privilege to share this, thank you Chloe!

Why Am I So Interested In Selling

Why am I so interested in selling? To be completely honest with you, I wasn’t for the longest time. I was actually absolutely terrified of selling. I had convinced myself that I was no good at it. That I was unable to perform at such an outward facing, tedious role. That I would just end up failing. I thought that I was nothing more than my struggles, so I recognized my failures more than my potential.

After losing my father to alcoholism at the age of 21, I reached a breaking point. My clinical depression, high functioning anxiety, CPTSD, and other mental health disorders stood no chance once I was forced to swallow a level of grief unexplainable. My support system was limited, being that my family had shrunk down over the years to nothing more than my 4 other immediate family members. However, all 4 of us were too focused on not drowning and needed to be saved, so we could not save each other. I was forced to survive alone in the darkest times of my life while being self aware that I was in no condition to help save anyone around me until I got help.

What saved me? First, it was a decision that I made for myself, and then it was sales. After trying to figure out life alone for a few years, I had made the decision in September of 2023 to finally seek out a level of help that I’ve probably always needed. I chose to check myself into a mental health crisis prevention center where I was able to stay surrounded by professionals who helped me see the light. My life was forever changed, and after this moment I had realized that I’d spent my entire life holding my own self back. I started to believe in myself for the first time again and I had this insane passion and drive to help others now that I finally knew how to help myself. The professionals I worked with emphasized how important it was for me to find something in life that keeps my wandering brain busy and motivated. I threw myself back into the world of sales immediately, and once I did I quickly got hired by a company that aligned with my values in a way that I never thought possible.

Suddenly, I loved myself and the life that I was living. Something I once thought would never happen. Sales gives me the space to continue growing myself while also being able to aid in the growth of others. Sales is a place where I’m able to continue filling my own cup while simultaneously being able to fill the cup of others.

I’ve learned to love sales and it’s nature of being a role where I may hear a “no” more than a “yes”. Why? Well, because I switched my perspective and realized that sales is built off of the idea that failure is not only an option, but sometimes it’s the prominent outcome. You mean I can fail over and over again until I finally learn ways to change and make it right? Sign me up!

Now, I embrace every no I receive because I realize that it’s redirecting me onto a path of potential growth and success. Selling saved me. It gave me a purpose. It allowed me to embrace my failures. It pushed me to grow while also helping those around me grow. If I can help a buyer in even the smallest ways possible, then at least I know that I’m doing something right in this world. I’m making a positive change in someone else’s life and that’s all I could ever ask for.

I may not be able to change or save the world, but it doesn’t mean I should stop trying. Sales is my small act of trying to change and save the world through simply showing up for myself and others in a curious, kind, empathetic, and compassionate way. Having a job in sales gives me hope that each day holds the possibility of me being able to positively impact others.