When it came time for me to decide on a career path, I knew that I wanted to seek out a sales opportunity. What I didn’t know was that PLS would find me, and I would become an industry expert five and a half years later.

I graduated from Southern Nazarene University in Oklahoma where I played football. Immediately following graduation, I moved to Dallas, TX, where I began coaching football and wrestling. After a few years of coaching, I posted my resume online and PLS reached out to me. It was the perfect fit for my career interests and background, and I was excited about the opportunity to get involved with the logistics and sales industry.

I became drawn to the idea of a sales career because I always considered myself a social person who enjoyed communicating and connecting with all types of people.

I quickly realized that sales and coaching involved similar approaches. In coaching, I had to work with all different types of players and determine what worked and what didn’t work for each of them through problem solving and communication. I wanted to utilize this background in my professional career, and PLS allowed me to do that. I was able to communicate with different prospects or clients to see which points of contact were successful, and I could use my problem-solving skills to join two clients in need of business together.

Obviously, I knew that money was involved in a sales career, but I had no idea of all of the potential opportunities that would appear right in front of me. Opportunity is what drew me to PLS, along with the industry exposure and chance to connect with different people all over the country.

When I first started out at PLS, I never really considered it a career possibility until I understood how well I fit into this industry. I quickly realized that this market has its ups and downs, but after years of exposure and gaining insights, I love that I can now play the expert role in my position.

My favorite part of the day is being the informative, go-to contact for a client.

I enjoy analyzing the market and explaining the forecast, predictions, and direction of the industry to customers. It is very rewarding to see the cumulative progress that I’ve made at PLS, and it’s refreshing that the possibilities are endless here. There are so many more sectors that PLS can get involved with outside of the transactional, day-to-day operations of brokers. It’s amazing that I’ve learned so much, but there’s still much more to learn.

PLS has helped shape my career and given me the starter kit necessary to become a logistics and sales professional. One of the major things that PLS does to help me excel in my career is to bring together all of the top sales representatives on a bi-annual basis to discuss industry trends, forecasting and different tactics used. At PLS, we are all able to learn from each other, which is something that has helped to drive my career and continues to shape my success.

My advice for someone entering a sales position is to educate yourself on your own. There is only so much that a structured curriculum can offer you when you first start out with a company. Don’t be naïve in thinking that this company is giving you the one-all solution to everything within that industry. You must take the initiative to educate yourself and invest in yourself to become an industry expert – read up on material, case studies, blogs, etc. Take the opportunity to create a career out of what’s in front of you.

We are born with sales in our blood, but the industry is made of individuals that have taken time to hone in their skills and invest in themselves.