About

Who am I?   A Virginia-born and bred gal whose journey to presenting on-site sales seminars and e-classes for telesales professionals is kind of long and detailed, but I’ll try and keep it short.  If you’re in a hurry, skip down to the paragraph beginning with “Taking the Gamble.”

I’ve had a lot of different jobs, from selling candy in a Fanny Farmer candy store during high school summers, alternating with selling toys in a toy store in Alexandria, Virginia to being a secretary in the Pentagon after high school to working in court reporting in Virginia Beach after college.

The good part of working in court reporting – later working as a “note-reader” (transcribing court reporters’ notes) – was being able to work from home as a mom raising a wonderful son who, by the way, is now a very successful software developer and a marathon runner, (not that I’m bragging :-).

After deciding that I wanted to be out of the court-reporting business and do something different, a friend suggested that – since I typed court transcripts for a living and was very familiar with typewriters – it might be interesting to sell typewriters.

Thus began my career at Electronic Systems in Virginia Beach, selling Olivetti word processors and electronic typewriters.  But two years later, after dropping a 40-pound word processor on the way to a demo (oooops) my boss and I decided it would be a good idea to start a separate, dedicated imaging supplies department.  I was all for that, since it meant not having to carry heavy word processors from office to office.

This turned out to be my favorite job (up until 1993), selling consumable products to people who continued to buy, year after year, and an unexpected benefit: some of my customers became good friends.

Resellers and office equipment dealers I met during that time began asking questions about the success in our supplies department.  Realizing that I was saying the same words over and over again, I put the information into a book that became a “how to” with info about setting up and running a successful imaging supplies department.  When people ordered and paid for the book I was inspired to begin presenting on-site sales seminars for owners, managers and employees of office equipment dealers in other parts of the country.

Taking the Gamble

In 1993, when the seminars produced positive results, I left Electronic Systems, gave up the security of a steady paycheck, started my own business and never looked back.

I have been fortunate enough to be hired to present seminars by Toshiba America Business Solutions, The Ricoh Corporation, Gestetner, Savin, the Business Technology Association, The International Imaging Technology Council, Densigraphix and IKON Office Solutions.

I never thought of myself as a writer, but found that I loved writing and in addition to writing and emailing Weekly Sales Tips to thousands of opt-in subscribers each week, I write a monthly column for ENX Magazine.   More books followed, including the popular e-book “How to Win the Sale and Keep the Customer.”

Along with providing private online sales e-classes, I write and edit direct-mail marketing letters and emails for clients.  All of this takes time and a lot of energy but in 2004 a friend gave me a little pink vitamin pill which turned out to be a terrific energy booster, sublingual B6, B12 and Folic acid.

Because my energy level increased dramatically after using this, I became an affiliate of TriVita, the company that produces this amazing product.  In addition to making a big difference in my energy level, recommending this little pink Vitamin-B pill to others has provided a nice residual monthly income.  If you are interested in a generating a second income, check out TriVita.  It is a ten-year old, debt-free multi-million dollar company. If you would like more information about how TriVita’s products can help you live a healthier life, call me at 1-757-463-0924.

I have a passion for teaching and the online seminars are very rewarding – I love helping people who are starting out in new telesales careers, in addition to working with experienced sales reps who are looking for new ideas and tips.

Let me know if you have any questions. I am here to help.

Ann Barr