College Experiences That Helped An Account Manager At ELREPCO Succeed
Aman's unexpected journey from a socially anxious engineering student to a high-performing account manager highlights the unforeseen value of struggling through challenging coursework. The necessity of constantly asking for help during their engineering studies, "the most uncomfortable conversations," inadvertently developed the crucial interpersonal skills—emotional intelligence and relationship-building—essential for a successful sales career.
Communication, Problem-Solving, Resilience, Relationship Building, Overcoming Challenges
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Aman Sheth
Account Manager
ELREPCO
Purdue University Class of 2019
Currently pursuing MBA at UCLA Anderson
Engineering - Mechanical
Electronics & Semiconductors
Sales and Client Management
Immigrant
Video Highlights
1. Overcome challenges: Aman's experience highlights the importance of perseverance and adaptability. His struggle with engineering and social anxiety pushed him to seek help and build relationships, skills crucial for success in sales and many other careers.
2. Develop strong communication skills: The need to ask for help in college significantly improved Aman's communication and interpersonal abilities, which are highly valued in sales and most professional settings.
3. Build relationships and network: Aman's journey shows the value of networking and building relationships. His habit of asking peers for help fostered collaboration and created valuable connections, beneficial throughout his career path.
Transcript
What would you say were some of the things that you did that really set you up for success in this career?
This is an interesting question because I thought about it a lot as well, frankly. Growing up, I had social anxiety. I was horrible with people and very nervous; I couldn't speak to new people.
I would never have imagined that at the end of college, I would end up in a sales role. That was never on my radar, and there was nothing I was actively pursuing in college that would set me up for success in a sales role. But I still ended up above average in my sales role. I was one of the highest-performing people at my company with zero sales background.
There was definitely something about my college experience that changed me. I went from someone with social anxiety who didn't really enjoy talking to people and wanted to be an engineer, to the complete opposite of that by the time I graduated.
Funnily enough, the fact that engineering was so hard for me in college forced me to get comfortable with asking other people for help. Selling is actually nothing but asking questions. When you're trying to sell something to a customer, the core functionality of the job is to be able to approach a stranger and ask them questions.
My whole undergraduate experience, without me knowing it, was the perfect training ground for me to become a great salesperson. I had the most uncomfortable conversations, like midnight before an assignment was due at the student library, going table to table asking people, "Hey, I'm stuck on this. I need your help. Can you help me out?"
That was like the entirety of my college experience because it was so hard for me that I had to rely on asking others for help. I got comfortable speaking with people and asking for their help, even when I might not have had a ton of value to add to them in that moment.
Then, getting great at building and maintaining relationships with people over many years is another thing I had to get good at in college. It was great training for my sales role. If I'd been great at engineering, I never would have had to ask anyone for help. I would have never been forced to develop the EQ that is so important for a sales role.