The moment I discovered I was never a problem solver, I felt…

“Thank you for the precious minutes you've shared with me, but I’m not interested,” she dropped the bomb I was not prepared to catch and slammed the door in my face.

I stood there for what felt like an eternity, staring at the door like a hungry zombie, trying to decipher the whirlwind of emotions that just engulfed me.

“Did I just lose another client?

Why the heck am I even doing door-to-door sales when it’s clearly not my thing?”

I seethed, battling the urge to kick the door hard, even though the only one feeling the pain would be me.

A heavy sigh escaped me as I turned to leave, overwhelmed with devastation and sadness.

“It's alright; you'll make another sale,” I whispered to myself, clutching onto the hope that felt like a fragile thread.

The sound of a car horn snapped me out of my melancholy.

“What's on your mind, Hemy?” My sales supervisor shouted, motioning for me to get in the car. “No,” I muttered as I climbed in.

“It doesn’t seem like everything is fine,” he said, studying me as he started the engine.

“It is.”

“I saw the woman slam the door in your face,” he shrugged as we drove away.

“Really? How long have you been here?” I asked, caught off guard.

“For the past 30 minutes,” he chuckled softly.

“I didn’t make any sales; I’m just so terrible at this,” I admitted quietly, fingers fidgeting, too embarrassed to meet his gaze.

“Nah, you're not bad at this; in fact, I've witnessed significant improvement.”

“That’s 100 percent not true,” I scoffed, forcing a laugh.

“Do you know why you’re not making any sales?” he asked, making a U-turn on the road. His question prompted a soul-searching session.

“Why haven’t I made any sales? Is it because I’m not cut out for this?”

“I don’t know; is it because I suck at selling? I tried stating the benefits like you told me, but it didn’t work,” I replied, feeling defeated.

“It’s not just about stating the benefits. You can list them all and still come off as a product pusher. You didn't position yourself as a problem solver but as a product pusher.”

His words crashed into me with the force of a revelation, shaking the very foundations of my understanding.

I felt a mix of disbelief and clarity flood over me.

“But…” I began, meeting his focused gaze. “What am I missing exactly?” I asked.

"Let me ask you something: why should your clients choose your products over your competitor’s?”

“Because we have the best facial cream, and they have us. We're committed to solving their facial problems.”

“And you think your competitors won’t say the same thing? Another question: why are you in this industry?”

“I want to be financially free.”

“You see, you're in the business for yourself, not your clients.”

“I don’t really understand,” I admitted with a confused expression.

“Alright, listen carefully now. You claim to solve a problem, then why aren’t they buying?”

“Omg,” I whispered, the realization sinking in.

“You shouldn’t be in business for yourself but for your client.”

“You have to be a problem finder before you can be a problem solver,” we echoed together.

“That’s it; you can’t solve a problem if you don’t have a client. Do you know if your cream will work for them if no one has used it before?”

“Find the problems, tailor your benefits to fit the solutions.”

“And don’t forget, NO SALES PRESSURE on your clients; the more you push, the more they retreat.”

“Your communication matters too,” he looked at me and said. “We’re here.”

“Where?” I asked, looking confused.

“Your home,” he gestured to the house.

“Oh my God,” I laughed through the tears. “Thank you so much, Boss.”

“You’re welcome.”