Brutal Truth #4 that every Employee Needs to Hear to Succeed

I am a strong advocate for planning. I do not understand people who have things happening to and at them. I am very solutions driven. When I entered formal employment my first bosses and customers were challenging as it was in the retail retail sector. My very first job was selling clothes for larger size women at a place called Women’s World in Bethesda Mall, Maryland, USA. Anyone in the world of retail knows that customers will humble you. And one gets every type of customer.

I love to listen to people’s stories. I’m a collector of lived experiences. I’ve always been very blunt. Thus, I would never sell something that looked hideous on a customer just to ‘make the sale’. It used to drive my first manager crazy. She unfortunately did not understand being a larger woman. She was waif thin and highly competitive. She was an aggressive sales person. Once I had been in the store a while I understood her. She was a ‘sell at all cost’ type of women.

I decided to treat people exactly how I liked being treated when I went shopping. I was honest because I’m not a confident shopper. In fact I’m an ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ kind of shopper. So when I find something I like I will buy that thing in different colours or just buy 2 or 3. I also always think I’m bigger than I actually am so some of my clothes are baggier than they should be and yet I look much smaller if clothes are tailored and made to measure,

So my philosophy was ‘buy what makes you feel comfortable and confident’. I was not pushing the sale - I was pushing the feeling. As sales assistants we had a weekly sales quota. I decided that I would minimize returns and refunds because they affected my weekly and monthly sales quota. Thus, I did not push the sale for the sale’s sake. I also decided to target customers who were belligerent. Belligerence masks fear in my opinion. The ‘leave me alone I don’t need help shopper’. I would let them be, however I would also pick a few suggestions. The thing about peeking someone’s interest is that as a person who did not know anything about that person’s life, I picked based on what I thought would suit their body type, and not what was currently fashionable. My strategy worked. I didn’t make many sales to begin with but after a few weeks I had built a regular clientele who would only ask for me.

As I slowly grew my clientele they recommended me to their broader group and even to other customers in the store. I was pleasant not just cordial, I expressed interest in them, I left them alone, I made suggestions and I was brutally honest. I would say it’s a lovely outfit but I feel it emphasizes the areas that do not flatter you. The first time I said it the lady turned puce and wanted to report me to the manager. These were older wealthy women and I was a precocious 18 year old. I then asked her if she wanted flattery or honesty. She became one of my best customers. She would walk in and say ‘Wadzi what’s your weekly sale target?’ Then she would proceed to make it happen.

I am competitive so I always made my target. I never did it at the expense of the client and my returns were negligible. I asked that the manager change the matrix of success to include returns as they impacted overall sales. I might make my weekly target, however if the outfits and accessories were returned it would impact my monthly target. My strategy was to minimize returns and her aggressive 'sell at any cost' resulted in many returns once people got home. My strategy meant that sometimes I did not sell anything on a given day, but when I did there were hardly any returns.

I created my own opportunities by developing a sales strategy that went against the popular thinking. I consistently performed well because I refined my strategy and I adapted it to the type of customer. I had one who was a show off and name dropper. I loved her because once I had spoken to her and learnt her life story I understood where her insecurities came from. My customers became my friends to the extent that some of them even decided to go on safari to Zimbabwe. I appealed to their personal side.

It is very important in life to know your ‘red line’. I decided very early in my career that my red line was ‘if it’s no longer fun or rewarding I’m not doing it’. I apply this consistently. I walk away from things that do not serve my agenda. I constantly assess what I am doing. I even volunteer for tasks that take me out of my comfort zone. As a risk taker I have managed to chart an interesting and varied career.

I also decided what my values were. I like job satisfaction. It’s a non negotiable for me. I want to feel I am making change in the world. My current position is very uncomfortable for me. I’m not a politician. I won’t last long because I have that switch that says ‘this is some bs’ and I would like to challenge the bs. As I consistently say I’m very blunt and challenging important people and calling them out is not a good strategy for job security.

All this to say no one owes you a living. You have to make some choices about your life based on your life circumstances. If you know you need this job and you don’t like it - stop complaining and own the choice you made. You are the only one who can decide your why. Once you decide your why then own the why.

There is no job that will fulfill all your desires. I chose humanitarian work. I will never be a billionaire. I do go to bed fulfilled. I’m frustrated by the antiquated nature of the UN a lot of the time. I do something about challenging the status quo and I sleep better at night.

Know and own your why. Stop complaining and seek opportunities. I had a personal assistant who refused to let the drudgery of secretarial functions get her down. She understood her why. She was the only breadwinner for her family. She was helping her Mum pay for services for her disabled Dad and she was putting her siblings through school. This was not her dream. It was the pay package that she needed. It also allowed her to study because she had automated a lot of the drudgery. Thus she freed up time to study.

She created opportunity within her drudgery. She loved learning and so she tempered a dull job with her passion. She created opportunities to be happy.

Create your career. Own your why and find pockets of joy in the routine and mundane. There is a downside to every job. There’s stuff you don’t like doing. Improve the stuff or become so efficient at it that you create space for the stuff that makes your heart sing. I need my pay check so I’m going to put up with some bs and write about my frustrations to process them.

Create the life you want by understanding what you want. Speak up and ask to do things that make you feel uncomfortable.

Be the change you want to see in your own world.

Ndini Mambokadzi Wadzanai