It’s not easy when you pour your heart into something, give it all you’ve got, and then have it taken away by circumstances that are completely out of your control. Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened to Andres Romo.
While living in Vancouver, Canada, Andres spent a large part of his life preparing for a promising career in professional soccer. He put in the time and work, practicing and honing his skills in preparation for the day when he would be getting his Pro trial shot. Things were looking promising. He booked a one-way ticket to Toronto, set his sights on a professional trial and contract…and then the lockdowns of 2020 in Ontario hit. Immediately, his dreams were torn away and he was left scrambling, looking for a way to restart his life with a new career and new goals.
It’s as hard as it sounds.
At first, Andres was working a part-time position bartending at Earl’s, just to get by. But it wasn’t paying the bills, and commuting three hours by bus every day to get nowhere started to wear on him. He began to feel the financial strain, and started to sell his own possessions on Facebook for a few extra dollars.
Prior to arriving in Toronto, Andres wanted to work for any company (for free) to gain any sort of experience that he could use to further himself and a career. During his search, he came upon a financial literacy company called “Enriched Academy”. Through conversation with Arian Beyzaie, the vice president of Enriched Academy, Andres Romo was inspired to look into a sales career. He was determined to find a way to add value for any company that he decided to work with. Along with this new line of thinking, he also found an introductory sales opportunity in Burlington that gave members free access to an online sales training program. With no guarantees about what would happen, Andres dropped everything and fully committed to the role and to learning as much as possible. With great reluctance, he emotionally hung up his soccer boots for good and dove headfirst into a life of sales.
Andres found himself onboarding for a company and industry which he knew nothing about, had no experience in, and required a skillset he had only read about in a couple of books. On top of all of this, he would be working for even less money than ever at a time when his finances were already strained to the breaking point. But Andres believed in himself. He knew that he was going to make it work no matter the struggle.
After his onboarding was complete, Andres found a position as an independent subcontractor for a telecommunications company in an office in Burlington, Ontario. The company sold Internet, TV, and home phone services. Working strictly on commission, he knew there was no safety net. He was either going to succeed or remain broke. He started “with around $600 my chequing account, and $900 of rent due for next month.”
And succeed he did. In his first month of sales, despite having no previous experience, Andres made records in the company for most booked products in one week, most products installed and sold in one month, and highest-paid sales rep. He completely dominated the competition. Within four months, he had been promoted to sales manager, and then found himself as the general sales manager in only eight months, this despite the added difficulties of all the restrictions and lockdowns.
Andres Romo went from nothing to being wildly successful in sales within only one month. He continued to push, and doesn’t plan on stopping. Not only was he good at his new career, there were specific things about it that he loved. He reveled in the ability to train, help, and service people around him. Creating these relationships and earning people’s trust spurred him on, and the added benefits of no income ceiling and the ability to always be learning inspired him to put everything he had into his business.
When Andres Romo first began his transition from soccer player to sales, there’s no doubt that the success he was going to achieve was greater than what he had envisioned. He continues forward with the same drive that he had as an athlete, determining to be better by 1% each day in every aspect of his life.
Outside of work, he still takes proper care of himself in both body and mind, and inside of work he strives to be the team player that any company needs, doing his best to ensure everyone around him is winning.