Today we’d like to introduce you to Julie Thomas.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Amid leadership transitions at Gartner, I was laid off along with other senior leadership. I was at the top of my game with proven wins and a 16-year sales career that had been on a fast-moving, positive trajectory. I’d been perceived as a top performer in every role and was well-liked and well-respected. It was deeply embarrassing to tell my staff, my peers and even my family that I’d been let go.
The question, “What do I do now?” brought up real fear. I was confident in my ability to get another job, but I’d be starting in a new company at ground zero. At that time, my children were one and three years old. My husband was an executive with a Fortune 15 company. I worried that I’d have to go back into a sales rep job, traveling every week with no flexibility to be at home at night with my family.
I had become good friends with the founder and president of a very successful sales training company, and reached out to see if there was an opportunity to become a trainer. To my surprise, he was looking for an exit strategy. In 2003, I signed an agreement to purchase the business and, thus, became an accidental entrepreneur.
Has it been a smooth road?
To make the leap to entrepreneur meant my husband and I had to take out a second mortgage and a huge chunk of capital from our family funds. Making the initial one million dollar down payment on the business and committing to a balloon payment at the end of four years, was unnerving.
To pay off the business loans meant working my tail off for four years without drawing a salary. If I failed, the company would go back to the original owner and I’d be out the initial deposit plus every installment I had paid. I had to be successful. I had to grow the business. There was no turning back.
The business decision was sound and life changing. It was also scary, uncomfortable as well as exciting and invigorating. The fact is, I never knew what my true potential was, until a catalytic event—being laid off—forced me to change my thinking. It turned out that all my previous experience as a hardworking employee actually prepared me to be an entrepreneur!
We’d love to hear more about your business.
ValueSelling Associates guides organizations around the world to better engage, qualify, advance and close deals, using a proven formula for accelerating sales results. We offer highly customized training workshops, coaching and consulting services. Our expert Associates transform teams with e-learning, instructor-led workshops and reinforcement in over a dozen languages customized to your company’s industry and target buyers.
We’ve built an award-winning business that is consistently listed each year as a Top 20 Sales Training Company by Selling Power Magazine and Training Industry.
For 15 years, we’ve maintained a marquis list of customers, successfully ridden economic downturns, and expanded the footprint of the company from the US to Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia.
I’m most proud of the fact that we’ve made a difference in companies of all sizes from Fortune 500 to emerging firms, helping them increase their sales productivity through the ValueSelling Framework® methodology. We build the sales skills of literally hundreds of thousands of business professionals. And we continually reinvest for the future by developing engaging learning programs and integrating our methodology with existing salesforce automation tools.
What do you like best about our city/least about our city?
Best: After spending many years braving the cold in Minnesota, Colorado and New England, I really appreciate San Diego’s temperate climate. I treasure time with my kids. My daughter and I work on community projects through the National Charity League, and I enjoy Scouting with my son.
Least: Wild fires.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.valueselling.com
- Phone: +1 858 759 3565
- Email: info@valueselling.com
- Facebook: ValueSellingAssociates
- Twitter: valuselling
- Other: LinkedIn: ValueSelling Associates
Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
