Before starting on the ship I didn’t realise how much I would have to sell. Whilst training at The Steiner Training Academy I had receved sales training, but they made it sound like selling one shampoo a week is enough. When I got onboard, I found it was quite the opposite. 

My first day I was given a target of $7,000 that needed to be hit in 16 days which was the length of the cruise.  I still remember thinking “how the hell am I supposed to hit that?”  Well, they expect you to hit it by selling lots of products. 

I specialised in a slimming treatment called Ionithermie. The idea is, the client comes for a few treatments, loses a few inches and then takes the homecare package to continue the treatment at home. This is all well and good, but the home care package can range from £200 to £800, and not everyone has got that kind of money.  Whenever I would say this to my Manager the comeback would be “Well, you obviously didn’t make them want it enough.”  Which, in some cases it true but then I think, not everyone has that kind of money spare. 

Anyway, you get the gist. For the first few days, I didn’t sell a thing, and the pressure was building and building for the importance of a sale.  I hadn’t even done that many treatments, so my target was getting further and further out of reach.  Later that week a woman called Jenny booked in for 5 treatments with me. One treatment is £159 so, I knew she had money to spend and most importantly, she really wanted to lose weight because of the amount of money she was willing to spend on the treatments.

During the Ionithermie treatments which she had over 7 days, I got to know Jenny and what she wanted and needed.  She was struggling with a multitude of ailments that the homeware package could really help with, so I worked out a home care plan that would suit her lifestyle and help her get the results she wanted, which came to £3,500.

It was normal for me to recommend a programme this high in price but I would always get a “No”, so I would then break it down to reduce the price.

I went through all the information with her and answered all her questions.  To summarise I then told her the price of £3,500. 

I was so prepared for a “No” that I started my next sentence, which was to start breaking it down but stopped myself when I realised she hadn’t said “No”, she said “Yes.”

I repeated back to her “Yes?” and got a second confirmation right back. It took a second to sink in, but once it had I told her I would go and get it ready for her very calmly, but as soon as I closed the door I jumped up and down and screamed silently in excitement. 

I expected my first sale to be one of £200 but, £3,500 was more than I could have ever expected.

I giddily packed everything together for her, trying to calm myself while doing so. Of course, when I went to hand over the goods I did so very calmly as if this was a daily occurrence

She was very happy and so was I! This excitement lasted for about three days after, and then returned at the end of the cruise when I hit my target.

While sales jobs can be very stressful and infuriating, when you hit your target or make a sale there is nothing quite like that rush of excitement, which is why it’s so addictive. 

I hope you found this amusing and if you are in a sales job, I’m sure you can relate.