Lydia Gary

I attribute my success to the foundational skills I learned as an elementary teacher. Teaching first and second graders at Title I schools taught me how to meet people where they're at, understand their needs, and create roadmaps to help them achieve their goals. I learned that success isn't about putting on different hats for different roles, but about applying core principles of understanding people and solving problems across all areas of life. Working with young students who were resistant or struggling, I learned reading intervention techniques and how to gather data to make informed decisions. Those same skills translate directly to sales - it's about having real conversations, understanding where partners are at, and showing them how we can work together to meet their goals. I also learned from my mentor Ashley, a fellow teacher, that you don't separate your professional life from who you are as a person. She taught me to practically apply knowledge to real-world situations to better other people, and that's been crucial in my approach to sales. Each step of my journey, even the ones that felt crazy at the time - like collecting carts at Costco in Alaska or moving across the country multiple times - has been a stepping stone preparing me for something I never would have been ready for otherwise.

I would say to recognize that sales is really not any different from any other life experience where you're trying to help people and invest in people by meeting their needs. There's a misconception that sales is almost dirty work, like going to a used car lot where your guard is up. Yes, there are going to be challenges where, as a very petite, blonde female, you do have to go into a room and overcome perceptions that folks may have. But you come in and command your presence with what you're saying, you build that charisma, and you come in prepared. Don't be intimidated by the fact that it's historically been a suit in a man's world with the misconception of being just about squashing out other competitors. Look at it as an opportunity to problem solve and to grow. When you go in with a team and actually look at what you have - do we have a great product, how can this meet people's needs, how can we leverage this - it takes away a lot of that intimidation factor. You really do have better brainstorming sessions and can make more progress because you're not just trying to push what your company has, but you're actually asking if what you have is great or can you make it better. You can actually grow your company by meeting people's needs better. When you bring your ideas to the table, they will be seen, they will be appreciated, so keep at that and don't give up.