ANALOG >AI

My mother tells the story best, but when I was young, maybe 4 or 5, I would confidently slide out of my seat at restaurants and sweetly march over to unsuspecting patrons and ask them how their meal was going. That genuine love of making other people's experiences better (even when I have no business or incentive to do so) is seemingly ingrained into my DNA. 

At 17, I started out in retail sales at the local outlet mall, selling prom dresses and business casual workwear. Although there are extreme downsides to working retail, like your microwave being in the bathroom due to lack of storage (don’t worry, I was later compensated with a whopping $35.00 in a class action suit for the unhygienic negligence and various other inconveniences), there are also major upsides I had no idea would serve me so well in the long run. I do have to give the company a little credit because they ran their outlet store like their more upscale counterparts, which meant sales associates were responsible for their own client books and regularly writing, personalized, handwritten thank you notes. 

The task was annoyingly time-consuming, but now, as someone with her own business, who loves sending notes of appreciation, I think it should be mandatory for anyone starting out in a customer-facing career. That job taught me how to read people, make adjustments to my sales approach based on personal information, and provide a style of service in line with brand expectations to keep customer acquisition high.

At 21, the jump to hospitality was an easy one, especially as a nepo baby (and by nepo baby, I mean my grandmother essentially got me the job, and we worked together for a while, which I cherish dearly now that she’s passed). The position may have come easy, but I was able to keep it because I loved talking to people, and hitting sales goals for incentives was kind of intoxicating. Collecting tips and receiving financial boosts from wine club commissions felt like hitting the jackpot at the casino to someone who was making minimum wage-ish money at the outlets.

The rhythm of personalized attention in pursuit of maximum spend and long-term retention has been the throughline in every job title I’ve tried on, and although it seems like a capitalistic simplification (or the definition of “dancing” professionally), the fulfillment aspect for me has always come from customization. Customizing the presentation, customizing the strategy, and customizing the energy of the exchange. Great selling, doesn't feel like a sales pitch, it feels like a conversation the buyer started, and that’s what I try to replicate digitally.

Most people don’t actually need the majority of things they buy, so how do you convince them your company/product/service is worth their money? That’s where great storytelling, point of view, and tone of voice come into play. If you’ve made it this far, then you’ve immersed yourself in a storytelling exercise I hope you’ve enjoyed. By now, you should feel a slight personal connection (it’s really lovely to meet you, by the way), have more insight into my strengths, and understand how my skills connect between industries. 

My services are the product in this scenario, and I hope I’ve piqued your interest enough to reach out via email or keep me top of mind for upcoming projects. Even if it’s only a preliminary chat, I’d love to connect if you’ve taken the time to peruse my site and learn more about me. Relationships, including the ones you have with potential customers, do not have to be purely transactional.

Sometimes you make the sale instantaneously, and sometimes you make the sale two years down the line when other options have been explored. Regardless of the external validation and sales numbers, your business will continue to…well, business. In life and online, it’s important to keep putting yourself out there in a way that feels authentic to your unique brand and believe that by doing so, the right people and opportunities magnetize themselves to your mission instead of passing you by.