Dear Friends,

Sometimes in life, you can work so hard to achieve something and either loose sight of why you went after it in the first place or even wonder if your efforts were in vain or truly made a difference.  This can range from parenting, mentoring, volunteering or in my case, writing a book that I hoped would touch and inspire the reader to not only achieve their aspirations but to also share their story with others.  The letter below was sent to me by someone that read my book, “What’s Your Sales Story?”   This is the reason why I wrote the book.  I want to thank this individual for sharing their story and I would be honored to have those of you reading this post, read my book and tell me your story as well.

The Story From a Reader

Dear Ja Marr,

I wanted to write you and thank you for being such an influential speaker to not only the kids at the SBA mentoring program but to me as well. I read your inspiring story and can only explain my reaction as deeply moved. I thank you once more for generously giving me your book. I found it comforting that I am not alone in the world of medical sales. Since I am new to medical device sales, I found myself relating to your story quite a bit. I continuously caught myself reliving similar experiences throughout the read. Everything from not taking responsibility of my own territory to letting my ego stop me from asking for the sale. I particularity love your chapter about earning the right to ask for the business. In that chapter I felt I was reading my story not yours. I am shocked at the familiarity of your story and feel truly blessed that I read about your young career before destroying my own. Your book is a crucial guide to every new sales professional, especially those in medical sales. I have read many sales books, even medical device sales guide books and none of them prepare you for the mistakes you will most likely make like your book does. I can safely say your story may have potentially saved my career because of the path I have been leading thus far.

I would love to share my story with you and there is a good chance you will be taken back by the similarities. I have recommended this book to my VP of sales. I do not know how to thank you for sharing such a personal story and opening my eyes to what the sales industry should be about. Before I started with surgical sales my hopes included that my knowledge and accountability would help doctors perform better in surgery thus leading to higher patient satisfaction and surgical results. I wanted my doctors to see me as their consultant rather than their vendor. The pressure for increasing sales numbers changed my perception pretty quickly. I felt none of my managers cared about my expectations for the position, instead the focus was on the bottom line. I lost sight that I could achieve my initial goals and increase numbers in unison. Ultimately, in our business it is about the bottom line. The problem lies with only recognizing this piece and this is where you cause trouble. I appreciate the chapter of your life where it was no longer about the rankings to you and because of that you not only earned success but you earned the number one spot. There is something to be said about that and it is no coincidence you earned respect from your ophthalmologists.

Congratulations to your success, I truly admire you for sharing your struggles in this world of constant judgment. I would love to learn more from you and consider you a mentor. Please feel free to contact me anytime. I would love to attend one of your upcoming programs or events.

To your story,

Ja Marr