Every Job Is a Sales Job

After spending my first several career years in copier sales, when Walmart hired me to lead their campus recruiting team, I was intrigued.

Could I really take my copier sales grit —cold calling, door knocking, deal hunting, negotiating— and use it inside corporate America?

So, I joined the team and began to observe.  The ones who got things done and made real company impact?  They all had one skill.

Influence.

Not all had titles. Not all had experience. Not all had technical skills.

But they all had influence.

Influence. Relationships. Negotiation. Getting people aligned. Getting things done—without authority.

That’s sales. And it shows up everywhere:

• When you pitch a new idea

• When you need buy-in

• When you’re building trust

• When you’re managing cross-functional chaos

• When you’re leading without a title

• When you’re competing for the best talent

• When you’re building excitement

And that’s when I realized, every job is a sales job.

Because every job requires you to:

Sell a vision. Sell an idea. Sell your credibility. Sell change. Sell the belief that you are worth following.

Sales isn’t a department. Sales is the engine that moves everything forward. Influence is the currency. Master it and doors will open.