Today’s episode of Selling in Color features Joseph Villegas, a pharmaceutical sales representative who has been in sales since college. Before working in medical sales, he worked in home health sales and, through these jobs, has found sales success as a Hispanic salesman.

Joseph didn’t just fall into sales

• People often stumble into a sales career, but Joseph actively wanted a sales career.
• While pursuing a marketing degree, Joseph’s friend said his brother just got a job as a sales rep, and Joseph thought that career sounded perfect for himself.

Why did Joseph want to be in sales?

• He wanted to be a person who serves his community. He thought, “what better way to do that than help the medical community.”
• After learning more about the sales profession, he thought his personality fit perfectly.
• He, of course, loved the idea of making money.

Why aren’t there more Hispanic people in sales?

• While Joseph’s oldest brother is a VP in commercial insurance, none of Joseph’s other friends or family are salespeople.
• He thinks there’s a lot of misinformation in the Hispanic community that prevents people from joining the sales profession.
• Many young Hispanic people go straight into working construction after high school because they think that’s the only way to make a large amount of money.

What are some challenges he faced as a Hispanic salesperson?

• Like any other person of color, he has to battle the fact that about 80% of people in the sales industry are white males.
• There’s a barrier when selling to people who wouldn’t expect a Hispanic man to sell in the medical industry.
• On the flip side, when Joseph is selling to other POC, they often have an unspoken rapport that makes Joseph more confident.
• He’s been passed up for promotions and bigger territories, even if his competition has the same education and sales numbers.
• Joseph was written up for not hitting a sales goal while other people who also don’t hit a sales goal go unpunished.

Joseph’s advice to the Hispanic community:

• You can’t just sit back and wait to be invited to the table; you have to make things happen.
• It’s easy to get in sales. Hispanic people are hardworking people, and they’re taught social interactions at a young age.
• You don’t have to break your back doing manual labor. If you want to, then that’s great. But know that it isn’t your only option.

If you want to get in touch with Joseph, find him on LinkedIn. You can find host Donald Kelly on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook about any sales concerns. 

This episode is brought to you in part by Skipio.

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