A Smaller Salary Can Sometimes Lead to a Better Future

Last August I was failing miserably at an outbound call center gig and I got a phone call about a job offer. 

The wild part about this offer is that it was the literal only ad I ever answered with the base salary as low as it was. It promised commissions. Despite being ignored by all of Montreal recruiters, this call came in, and it turned out to be this gig selling food promo for an affluent Instagram page.

It was also an outbound sales role. 

Sales is not something I felt comfortable with and had dodged those roles as much as I could.

Still, last August as I lost the job at the call center I got hired right away by the Instagram page. 

While it took a couple of months to find my footing, I truly did not expect to still be working there 10 months later.

Turns out I could make enough off this gig to make it absolutely worth pursuing.

Accepting a smaller salary for experience is a worthy investment

As of August 2024 I will have 1 years B2B sales experience under my belt.

I genuinely would have ignored this job posting entirely when I started job hunting because the base didn’t feel worthy of my talents. Even with commission, I make a pretty penny less than I used to per hour. The Uber Driver gig is a necessary component to my life now because it flushes out my wallets to where I’m quoting Merker Miyagi:

Once I got over my ego and figured out how to accomplish my financial goals, I started to see the promo sales gig in a new light. This was an opportunity to pivot in my life. I was being given a chance to learn some new skills in a pretty low risk environment.

Also I’m trusted to manage my time and deliver, there is no micromanaging. It’s pretty lit, especially when dealing with extraneous life circumstances. Not only is the schedule loosey goosey as long as I do my hours, I ended up inheriting some interesting responsibilities.

At first I was brought on to sell. Overcoming the fear of that, I got pretty good at it (always room to improve). I inevitably hit patches where I sell too much at a time when the main filming team has too much going on to handle it and I get tapped in.

I will have shot videos at 10 locations over a two week period as of Sunday, 

Look ma, I’m a filmographer now. 

Representing a winning team will unlock new doors

I want to be clear, I may go three weeks before I actually shoot another video.

Some weeks are busy and others are dead. This is the nature of sales. The busy patches actually slow down the acquisition process.

Since Thursday I have managed to capture footage at 3 places, with two more to film. It takes at least 2 hours including travel to film a place and then another 1-2 hours to go through footage and prepare everything for the editor. 

91 files just transferred from my phone to a folder.

This success is less about me, Holden, the person executing on the mission. Me and my background do play a part, but I’m coming in hot with an Instagram page that has a sizable following that someone else built.

That success also eats up half my week just managing the content behind the shoots. When you add in my regular responsibilities of upkeep, which fall behind in heavy shoot weeks, I really don’t have time to find new restaurants to talk to.

Then when the next slow week kicks in I’ll hit up the outbound efforts and fill up our queue again. 

Because of my efforts and position I get to represent the team and this has led to some cool moments.

When you go through those doors for someone else, it’s still your name on the pass

Last night there was this networking event we were invited to and I finally said yes and went to one of these things influencers are invited to. 

The Old Port of Montreal merchants were on display in these big conference halls offering free samples. This ranged from food, to alcohol, to massages (from spas), to fitness related stuff, and this one barber. It was kind of exactly what you’d expect from the Old Port merchants.

There was also some art on display. 

Because I was “media” I got to skip the giant line and get a gift bag. 

This event was packed, it had literal hundreds of people cruising around. It had a lot of free booze and it was great. These events do well for advertising new clientele for these brands, like I feel compelled to tell you the griot at Kwizinn is unforgettable. 

The vibe was popping and a solid 100 or so influencers were in the room. The video content we produce is the payoff. We are pushing how lit the Old Port merchant guild party was and they like it a lot.

I got to network face to face with people representing something people care about.

As time goes on, people will remember me and this will only help my personal goals. Going to fancy stuff isn’t really about personal gain, the way I pitched the boss man was that we should probably be at stuff if we’re one of the bigger pages. It can only lead to more business. 

Plus, I can go face to face with people who left me to read in the past.

My next event is at some dinner club in Brossard where +1’s are banned and I get a random dinner date. 

Anyway, the future is bright and my car is back scratch free.

Live Long and Prosper Everyone