Why I’d Never Be a Successful Salesperson

To say that I am not motivated money is a half-truth — I’m not motivated by money in the sense that I don’t long to obtain more of it in order to buy nice things or to feel better about myself.

But, I am motivated by money in the sense that I would only want to make more of it in order to get myself to a point where I don’t need more of it in order to survive.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a hermit. I enjoy doing things that require spending money — After all, living in New York is not cheap.

Though, if I don’t have the money to do something, the obvious option is to simply not do it.

But, at the same time, I need to get from point A to point B.

When it comes to my career, a six-figure salary was never something that I had at top of mind. It was never something that I necessarily strived for.

Sure, extra cash helps, but I’m able to get by with what I currently make.

If I strive for it now, it’s only because I want to pay off my tremendous amount of student loans and other miscellaneous debt as quickly as possible so that I’m able to live my life more comfortably.

However, this isn’t a conversation I like to bring up too often.

Money is always a sensitive topic to talk about. By way of common courtesy, we don’t generally discuss our earnings because it’s impolite.

It’s impolite to talk about the fact that we have a lot of money while at the same time, impolite to talk about the fact that we don’t have a lot of money.

But, I’m personally not offended if someone else makes a larger salary than me. I’m not envious of it either.

I work in Sales, so for me, talking about money is never a low-key topic — It’s talked about frequently and openly.

However, for me in my life outside of work, I don’t see money as a goal. I see it as merely a form of exchange.

I used to think I would end up being a Salesperson — I was always very personable, easy to get along with, and really good at reading people.

When I was in high school, I worked in retail and when I graduated college, I went into Advertising Sales.

But, there was always one thing that I was missing in order to be a really successful Salesperson— I didn’t have that Salesperson drive; that innate desire to make more money.

It was never my end goal. I just liked the “talking to people” part.

So, instead of being in a forward-facing role, I always stayed behind the scenes in sales support roles because at the end of that day, if you’re not motivated by money, you are ultimately not going to succeed as a Salesperson.

And not only Sales, but in any job where your primary responsibility is to make sure that the company is bringing in large chunks of revenue.

What I do know is this —

I will succeed in any role that involves working with, communicating with, and genuinely helping people.

And this is not necessarily involving paid roles.

So, I guess this is why I write.

I don’t necessarily need to be paid in order to write — I do it because I love it. Because it’s my form of expression. Because I can.(Though, getting paid to write full-time would be really spectacular).

But for now, I guess I’ll just see where it takes me. After all, making money is not the goal — it’s the reward.