Straight out, It is a few years ago that I explored the unique gift in me. I recall a time almost a decade ago when a sales leader told me that I was not meant for sales because I was not following the so-called conventional or quintessential sales approaches. I won’t lie, I felt vulnerable because, on the contrary, I felt sales was my thing, and also because targets were getting accomplished.

Back then, sales used to be a mere game of “sell, push, & numbers,” and to increase their chances of making sales, reps would constantly reach out to potential clients to cover as much market as possible. But in the era of digital sales, revenue, and retention, this tactic lost more and more of its effectiveness and I gained to realize that my unique gift was the humanized way of doing sales, which had to do with connection building, collaboration, active listening, and solution selling.  Ironically, I discovered that my secret elements for not just monetization but also for my private life were transparency, genuineness, emotions, and empathy.

Help me understand what you do at Fuzia Talent. How do you empower women in this role?

I am the Head of Sales/ Business Head at Fuzia Talent, which works on connecting emerging businesses with On-Demand talent from our community of exceptionally skilled 5 million women coming from 30 different countries. Our mission is to promote and support women with economic independence, learning, and employment by offering them gigs that are relevant to their skills.

It is my responsibility to appropriately manage all of the sales department’s resources, and freelancers and support our team with their needs & aspirations. Overall, the goal is to assure “sustainable revenue growth by empowering businesses and women in our community” through performance analysis, learning and sorting challenges, etc. On top of that, for me, everything is centered on ensuring that we have the best resource for our clients, and this is only possible because we work towards constant learning, human-centric ideologies, and the psychological safety of our team and community members. Creating a culture of peer and reciprocal learning inside the “One Team-One Culture” framework’ is another aspect of my job apart from growing & supporting the community.

Women are amazing at sales because they build strong relationships, have intuition, listen to their gut feelings, and see the complexities in the deal. Please comment.

I believe men and women approach projects and business in different ways, and neither is incorrect; they are simply different. I also believe that not all men and women have the same flair.

Women, in my opinion, excel at sales because they cultivate strong relationships and comprehend the complexities of the problem. They also have a tendency to gain clarity by delving deeper into the problem’s surface while avoiding overly focusing on the traits that have become entrenched in our brains. I’ve also observed women with attentive ears, implying that dealing with objections comes naturally to many of us. Having said that, I believe the preceding points outweigh the concept of gut instinct.

I have been in sales all my life. I notice that women approach relationship-building differently than men. They share stories and delight in pulling out the details rather than getting straight to the point. Is this true?

I don’t think so. Sales have traditionally been a male-dominated environment (although the facts are changing now). As a result, a primitive, typical perception of a sales “man” appears to be a straightforward “guy,” whereas a typical perception of a stereotyped sales “woman” appears to be a “delightful charm”. 

Men and women approach conversations differently, and many conversations are dependent on the personality of the client we are meeting with. Sales is an intelligent game played by intelligent people. Nonetheless, who doesn’t enjoy a delightful story?

Help me understand what is your recommendation for sales leaders.

I feel every person associated with revenue generation talks about clients, solutions, fitment, etc, and these are most definitely incredibly important aspects. Although a lot of times people forget that sales are a high-pressure job and that it needs to be focused on the internal team’s psychological safety. Sales leaders assist their teams in learning client psychology but sometimes disregard their own teams’ sanity. 

If truth be told, I believe, if sales leaders start prioritizing their team’s mental health, this will be the most prominent growth factor.

Walk me through what are some of the intrinsic, skill sets and soft skills a woman needs to have to get into sales and what skills can be learned.

I believe that if you have the desire to learn something, you can learn it. My top 5 recommendations are:

1. Effective communication, which includes speaking clearly, actively listening, and using appropriate body language. To connect, the elements of effective communication are trust, respect, resolution, understanding, and empathy.

2. Solution mindset

3. Growth mindset 

4. Adaptability, resilience, and accountability 

5. Self-motivation, time management, promptness 

Talk to me about what women empowerment means to you.

Women are supported regardless of who they are, where they come from, or who else is present around them. It may not necessarily imply changing the entire world, but rather influencing one life at a time, whether it is raising awareness of another gender or supporting a woman.

“Women’s empowerment is the magic that happens when a woman recognizes her own identity, personality, and sense of belonging.” It occurs when a woman does not question her worth in a crowded place, office, board room, or even at home. It’s that lovely heaven of comfort where the power of their own decisions is in their own hands—the power that can never be taken away.

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Brian McAuley is a senior sales executive in the IT industry.  I sit down with him to get some advice on how to be successful in sales.

Brian, please tell my audience a little about you?

I’m a husband of Jenn for over 23 years, and a father to 3 boys ranging from 12 to 20. I’m active in my community by serving at my local church.  I chair the board at the Alzheimer’s Society of Durham Region, and serve as a director of another charity board.

Professionally I’m a technology sales leader with over 20 years of experience who has enjoyed selling industry and technology solutions at the boardroom level across various verticals. I try to maintain a reputation as a collaborative leader who builds trust with clients, partners, and colleagues. I’ve served in various senior business development and management roles at IBM for over 12 years, led teams at Bell Canada, completed the sales turnaround in a software company specializing in healthcare solutions, as well as took a sabbatical from corporate to re-focus a not-for-profit.

What are some of the qualities one needs to have to be great at sales?

First off, you need to be a good listener.  Far too many salespeople fill the air with their own talking, but the sales profession is all about understanding needs. Customers need to know that you genuinely care, and have their best interests in mind.  Secondly, you have to be good at execution, meaning, you need to have a plan, and be able to be organized and intentional about getting things done.  Thirdly, you need to work well with others and recognize how to leverage the strengths of others.  I truly believe in the saying “if you want to go fast, go alone but if you want to go far, go together”.  Success is never achieved alone.

You worked in the non-profit and then came back to the corporate world.  How was that experience?

Making the transition to a different sector was both rewarding and challenging.  Taking the assignment was a risky one, but I’m grateful for what I learned, and for what I was able to contribute.  There are many transferable skills from one sector to the other, but business disciplines need to be applied differently in the not-for-profit (NFP). There is rigor in business that is not as easily digestible in NFP. In business, it’s all about results and metrics. In NFP, metrics are important, but the mission and relationships take precedence.  The velocity with which you can accomplish things in business, can’t always be achieved in the NFP sector – simply because the culture is not the same.  Reaching agreement through consensus is vitally more important.  The personal rewards received in changing or saving a life can’t be matched.  Great experience.

You talk a lot about approaching everything with abundance. Please explain?

We live in a world where, generally, everyone holds the belief that more is better. With that belief, we carry with us, thoughts that repeat in our heads saying “if I just had more X, then life would be easier”. If you had more in your bank account, a bigger house, a better car, more education, less stress, etc.  When we look around at others, we begin to feel inadequate.  I latched on to a saying years ago that said: “Comparison kills contentment”. On Monday, you can be completely thrilled with your “new to you” 3-year-old used car, until Ken and Barbie drive up next to you at the stoplight in their brand new convertible.  Or, you’re so proud of losing five pounds, until the next person loses ten.

Begin or end each day by being thankful for the details of what you’ve been blessed with.  Getting started is the hardest, but after a few weeks of writing a couple down each day, you will start to look at your world differently, and realize how much you actually have, without even looking at physical things.  You will start to look at relationships as your assets, the gift of encouragement that someone gave you, or the feeling you got for being able to help someone else out in your day.  Your abundance mindset will have you starting to look at the world not by what you don’t have, but by what you have and what you can give to others.  Oftentimes, we don’t recognize our unique gifts – a special skill, a piece of knowledge, undivided attention, or an encouraging word.

How has being a husband and father changed you?

When you become a husband, you transition from only thinking about your needs, to thinking about the needs of your spouse. When you have children, you transition further again and gain a greater sense of responsibility to not only provide physically but emotionally and spiritually for your whole family.  All the investments made in you now need to be imparted to others. Your life is now intertwined with others. Like a new recipe you’re trying for the first time, all the good (and the not so good) come together in a big mixing bowl with the strengths (and weaknesses) of your spouse, to form a new mixture. To make the new recipe work, you need to play with the ingredients. To make it all work, there becomes some give and take, and the ability to say “I’m not perfect, you’re not perfect, but together we are much better”. So, being a father and husband has humbled me and made me more grateful for my family who makes me a better version of myself.

Give my audience some sane financial advice?

I believe that making manageable changes, consistently over time, delivers the best results.  Someone once said, “It takes at least 20 years to become an overnight success”. Give away 10% of your income to help others and the charities you are most passionate about. Save 10% of what you make, consistently over your career.  But do the first two before you spend on yourself.  Often time, we set goals that are too big and fail.  Small sacrifices, consistently over time, pay big dividends in the long run.  Seek wise counsel. Only invest your money with someone who makes their money not by making a commission on what investments they sell you, but by the returns and the growth in your portfolio. Don’t carry a credit card balance. Buy your first house as early as you can. Learn to deny yourself luxuries until the staples are in place.

Tell me a good sales joke?

Ha – I actually respect your readers too much to share a sales joke.  I have yet to hear one that isn’t really corny.

How do you balance faith, finance, family, and food in the 21st century?

You create balance by putting priorities in their place and allowing everything else to fit around them. Priorities are established based on your values. For example, if I told you that my faith was important to me, but I never made it to church because of sports, would you say my priorities were in line with my stated values? Probably not.  I balance my life by prioritizing what I value and being intentional through my goals and actions. My faith is important to me, so I make sure I start each day by reading scripture and spending time in prayer.  I do it not because anyone says I have to, but because I need that time in order to stay connected to my faith, which I value so much.  I value my family, so I spend a lot of time with them. I value financial stability, so I make sure I save, and I don’t overspend, but I make sure I enjoy the fruits of my labor. Food – I don’t know what to say about that. Food for me isn’t important unless it’s shared around a table with those I love.

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