Chris McLeod, Fragrance Specialist, The Bay

Although online shopping has become a pervasive aspect of the shopping experience, Chris McLeod navigates this trend through her innate ability to attract a loyal family of customers and friendships. For 13 years, Chris has fostered a sense of trust within her customer base through her ability to deliver professional advice that is aligned with her customers' requests and preferences.

She values the meaningful role that fragrance can play in creating memories and stories. Chris believes that being a good listener has made her successful in sales.

"Fragrance to me should be fun, it can lift your spirits. I don't always season a fragrance between seasons. Because in the dead of winter, I put on summer like fragrances. It gives me hope. If you're going for a job interview, it can say something about you. If you're buying a gift for your son or your boyfriend or something like that and I ask 'well what does he wear now?' I ask a couple of questions to men or women. And then if you like those options, usually we'll see each other again."

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Laura Anderson Brick, Automotive Sales Representative, KIA Kingston

After 12 years of working in the military, Laura Anderson-Brick made a positive change in her career by becoming an Automotive Sales Representative for KIA. When she took a course titled "Women in Automotive Sales," she knew it was the right fit for her career path. Laura succeeds in adapting and transferring her existing skills to the automotive industry. Her drive to build and maintain a rapport with her solid customer base motivates her to stay in her role for 20 years.

Laura exudes an approachable demeanor through her an open door policy toward answering any questions that arise when purchasing a vehicle. She makes it her priority to ensure that her customers make informed decisions about their vehicle purchases. Laura believes that flexibility and maintaining balance between professional and personal life are key ingredients toward success in sales.

"Everybody has their own way of talking, speaking, what they focus on. I think it's talking to your customers and building a rapport. Spend some time during the delivery process. I like to go over everything to make sure that they're comfortable with their vehicles."

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Closing Remarks:

While interviewing these successful women in the business of sales, I was inspired to learn about their unique strengths. The overarching lessons I learned were twofold: the importance of enjoying your career and the importance of making personalized connections with your customers and clients. When you love what you do, it doesn't feel like work. But in addition to that, it also gives others a chance to share a part of that enjoyment.

These women in sales have a strong ability to impart knowledge on their industry based on their happiness to fulfill their roles. In order to surpass the impersonal boundaries that the internet can often present, these women make it a priority to keep in contact with their customers and clients through phone calls, personalized hand written cards, and face to face contact.

Their enjoyment in interacting with people ignites and fuels their ambition to nurture and cement positive business relationships. These extra measures they take resonate well with their clients and customers. As a result, the product they purchase is the added bonus to the quality service they receive from these passionate and women in sales.