Why I Took (Another) New Job

[Listen to an audio version of this blog here.]

I took a new job last November (you can read about that job search process here). I had outgrown my previous position, and I was excited to start something new. I left the nonprofit fundraising world to try my hand at sales, a transition that isn’t altogether shocking. There is a lot of overlap between fundraising and sales, and many of the processes are the same. Emails, phone calls, meetings, talking about the product (or organization), listening, learning, asking, selling. The organization I joined was selling to the foundation/nonprofit space so it felt like a great fit.

I bought a few books about sales to get myself up to speed. One called New Sales Simplified by Mike Weinberg and one called Predictable Prospecting by Tyler Donovan. As I read through both of these books, I learned a few things: sales doesn’t have to be hard if you’re smart about it. The way an organization treats their sales team has a direct impact on their bottom line. The way a sales process is structured can save you a lot of time. The way you tell a sales story, who you tell it to, and how are the key elements to making a sale. Cold calling isn’t terrible if you’re calling a good prospect, and outreach isn’t scary or even unenjoyable if you’re selling a good tool. When I was fundraising, I loved calling new donors. I was proud of where I worked…