Her Story
About Michelle
As a Senior Territory Manager at Priority One, I manage the biggest book of business for our New Jersey office, focusing on maintaining current client relationships and providing comprehensive business solutions to larger corporations. My typical day starts at 7:30am reviewing shipments and identifying any issues, then moves into responding to emails, returning customer calls, and handling claims or delivery issues. I spend time calling active and qualified leads, running meetings with clients, and conducting proactive account reviews. A big part of my role is relationship building, so I take clients to lunch and do in-person visits to stay connected. When I have time, I cold call in person throughout the New Jersey and New York area. I serve as a consultant to major businesses, including customers whose products are in every Sephora location nationwide. Freight involves constant problem-solving since about 50% or more of shipments have some kind of issue, so I focus on explaining problems, taking accountability, and always coming prepared with solutions. What sets me apart in this male-dominated field is my emotional intelligence and ability to connect with clients in ways that are more personal and less abrasive than the typical direct sales approach. I've built long-term customer relationships by being consistent, dependable, and showing up for my clients every single day.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Michelle
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would say it's a mix of consistency and discipline. I have a big book of business, but at any point, all those customers could stop using me, so it's really about providing business solutions, maintaining their accounts, and following up with them every single day. Even with new customers, they see that I'm there and that I'm someone they can depend on. That's definitely a big reason I've been able to maintain the amount of revenue that I do for my office, as well as grow it. You are responsible for your own success, so if you want results, obviously talent is big and being charismatic is important, but being consistent and showing up every day and putting in the work and the hours is the most important thing when it comes to any job or any task you want to succeed in.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Someone once told me that you are responsible for your own success. If you want results, obviously talent is big and being charismatic is important, but being consistent and showing up every day and putting in the work and the hours is the most important thing when it comes to any job or any task you want to succeed in. I feel like if you have that discipline, and if you know how to apply yourself, and obviously along the way you're going to learn a few things if you are showing up every single day and showing up for yourself, it could be so rewarding.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Since my field is so male-dominated, I would say just not being shy and being yourself and embracing being a woman and being one of the only people in the field. A big thing someone once told me was that you are responsible for your own success. So if you want results, obviously talent is big and being charismatic is so big, but being consistent and showing up every day and putting in the work and the hours is the most important thing when it comes to any job or any task you want to succeed in. I feel like if you have that discipline, and if you know how to apply yourself, and obviously along the way you're going to learn a few things if you are showing up every single day and showing up for yourself, it could be so rewarding.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge is that it's such a heavily male-dominated field. Even in my office, I'm the only girl, and I was the only girl for a couple years. We had another one, but she recently left. The biggest obstacle is having to deal with men in this environment. But there's also an aspect of that that's in my favor. For example, there are some deals where every guy in my office would go to it and they just wouldn't be able to close the deal or get any sort of meeting or conversation going. But with women, I feel like we have more emotional intelligence, and there are other things personality-wise that men just aren't as good at. So those are the customers that would be way more comfortable working with me, and now they're long-time customers. I feel like sometimes it can be easier to talk to us, and the emotional intelligence and the way we look at things is different. Men can sometimes be a little too direct, maybe a little too abrasive, especially guys in sales, and I feel like women just have a different touch.
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