(Published in Screen Magazine 8/22/12)

In 1989 I unofficially started my sales career.   I was duplicating radio commercials, when my boss asked me to go get fitted for a tuxedo for the next day’s sales event.  I wasn’t sure why he was asking me to do this, I had 1,000 public service announcements to duplicate and ship by the next day.  My boss explained that he wanted me to walk around and act as the host of the office.  “Just be you,” he said.  That was my first taste of sales and how important it is to simply be nice and approachable to the people you work with and want to work with.

Fast forward through six years and a variety of post-production roles at Editel/Chicago before I transitioned my hobby of building client relationships into an official sales representative role.  I only asked for one thing before I started this new job, and that was orange soda.  Yes, orange soda.  I explained to my boss that it was important for me to be responsive.  If a client had a concern about any or all of our services, I wanted to be in a position to address those concerns.  My examples of potential client issues ranged from big things like staffing and technology upgrades to having orange soda in our refrigerator.  I always kept a case of orange soda in my office at Editel as a constant reminder to be responsive to the changing needs of my clients.  Do you need a reminder?  Is it time to buy some orange soda for your business?