From The "Safety Guy" to "the Sales Guy"

From 'The Safety Guy' to 'The Sales Guy'"

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I was in the conference room, awaiting some customers who were visiting our facility for a sales training and factory tour. Sitting across the room was a young man filling out paperwork. Naturally curious, as any effective salesperson should be, I struck up a conversation. After all, one hallmark of a great salesperson is the ability to ask purposeful questions and show genuine interest in others—a lesson straight from Dale Carnegie.

I started with a simple question: What do you do here? With a sheepish smile, he replied, “I’m the safety guy.” My immediate response: “AWESOME! We Love safety here!”

As we continued chatting, I learned he had a business degree and had taken the safety position to get his foot in the door. He’d been with us for about a year. Intrigued, I asked, Have you ever thought about getting into sales? He admitted he liked the idea but didn’t know much about it. Well, he was in luck—I was the right guy to help

Spotting Potential

After our conversation, I spoke with our VP of Sales, to suggest the young man might make an excellent territory manager someday. His response? “The safety guy???”

Our company had started using personality testing to evaluate potential hires, especially for roles like sales. While these tests aren’t perfect, they can provide valuable insights. When "the safety guy" eventually applied for an outside sales position, his scores exceeded expectations, affirming what I already suspected—he had the right traits for the role.

Fast forward to today. That young man has been with the company for 12 years, nine of them as a territory sales manager. He’s earned the title of "top dog" four times, competing among a talented team of peers. It’s been a privilege to witness his journey, along with many other success stories like his.

What’s the Point, Bill? Is the point that safety people make good salespeople? Is it that Bill knows how to spot talent? Or maybe it’s that every organization needs a testing program to fit people into the right positions? ?

The Big Picture Sales is one of the oldest professions. While technology, CRMs, and accountability systems have evolved, the fundamentals of sales—listening, connecting, providing value, and solving problems—remain unchanged. Sales isn’t just about products or services; it’s about understanding the “WHY” behind them.

Over the years, I’ve presented sales-related topics to countless sales personnel: CEOs, CFOs, CIOs, receptionists, engineers—even maintenance teams. Why? Because everyone in your organization is part of sales, whether they realize it or not. The more connected your team is to your company’s “WHY”, the stronger your connection will be with your customers—both current and future.

Stay tuned for more details on how to “raise the sales mast” in your organization. “SalesShip” is coming to your area soon.

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-??????? Bill Smillie