Maureen Sullivan

Maureen Sullivan

Selling Success

It was 1996 and I was in my 12th year of being a secretary. I was an executive secretary to a sales VP at a growing internet start-up. I loved my boss and company, but I was burned out from my job and couldn’t make ends meet. I KNEW I was smart, I KNEW I could contribute more—if only someone would give me that chance!

I went to my VP, Dave, and proposed a barter program to solicit websites with the right demographic user, in exchange for internet traffic (we were a search engine). He agreed, wanted to give me a chance, but wasn’t sure he could convince others about my aspirations.

One day I was on the phone with a prospect in New York that had a music site. We started talking about indie bands, top upcoming concerts etc. During this conversation, my CEO was waiting to talk to my VP. Unbeknownst to me, he heard the conversation, and heard how I brought the person back to the core purpose, which was to sign up for the barter program. The person agreed to a contract. My CEO told my boss to “hire her in sales.” The next day my VP brought me in the office and said “I have a great opportunity for you. You have a gift. It comes naturally to you to sell on the phone – we want you in sales!”

I was terrified. Especially when he told me I would have to take a pay cut to start. I couldn’t even make ends meet as it was! My immediate response: “I can’t do that!” Dave replied “yes you can, I believe in you. And besides, the CEO wants you to do it.” I asked for the weekend to consider. On Monday I said “Ok-I’ll try it for 3 months”. From that day I never looked back. I LOVED Sales! The result? I was the top Inside Sales person my first year! From there it only got better. Management nicknamed me “The Mojo” because of my intuitive skill to find good clients & deals.

Sales completely changed my life:
– I went from making $30K a year to six figures
– I bought my own brand new condo
– I put my daughter through college

And today? This fall I started my own internet consulting company: URLpurchasing.com. I continue to live fearlessly daily!