Latest / The Comeback Career Podcast with Fexingo: Returning After a Gap, Stay-at-Home Re-Entry / How a Career Gap Helped One Parent Build a Sales Career
Transcript
- Lucas: Jenna Kowalski spent six years at home with her kids. When her husband got a relocation offer to a new city, she needed to earn income fast. But she had zero sales experience and honestly, the idea of cold calling terrified her. Luna: I think a lot of parents feel that way. Sales has this reputation—pushy, aggressive, commission-only. Not exactly a warm welcome back. Lucas: Right. But Jenna took a path that a lot of people overlook. She started working part-time at a local specialty food store. Selling artisan cheese and charcuterie to customers who walked in. Luna: So she started in a low-stakes environment. No cold calls, no quotas. Lucas: Exactly. Her job was basically to talk to people who were already interested in good food, ask what they were cooking, and recommend a pairing. That's consultative selling. She didn't have a script—she just learned to listen. Luna: And that listening skill is the foundation of good sales. I love that she built it without the pressure of a formal sales role. Lucas: If this episode helps you think about your own career reentry in a new way, honestly, if it was worth a coffee to you, that's the link—buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Yeah, listener support is what keeps this show ad-free and focused on real stories. And we're grateful for every cup. Lucas: Okay, so after six months at the cheese shop, Jenna had real metrics. She knew her conversion rate—how many people she turned from a taste sample into a purchase. And she knew her average order value. Luna: Those numbers matter a ton when you're applying for a sales role later. They're proof of performance. Lucas: Right. She applied to a food-tech startup called QuotaPath—they make software for sales teams. The hiring manager saw that she had cold approached customers, handled objections, and closed sales. She got a B2B sales development role. Luna: Base salary of $65,000 plus commission. That's a solid reentry. Lucas: It is. And she did it without a degree in business or any formal sales training. The key was starting somewhere she could practice the core skill—listening—without the fear of rejection. Luna: So what's the takeaway for a parent listening who thinks, 'I can't sell, I'm not that type'? Lucas: First, find a low-stakes selling environment. A retail store, a farmers market booth, a nonprofit fundraising role. Somewhere the stakes are small. Second, focus on the conversation, not the close. Jenna says she never tried to push a cheese on someone—she just asked what they were making. Luna: That's empathy. That's a skill that translates to any sales role. Lucas: Third, track your numbers from day one. Jenna kept a little notebook. She wrote down how many people she talked to, how many bought, and the average ticket size. When she applied to QuotaPath, she had concrete data. Luna: That's way more compelling than a resume that says 'friendly and hardworking.' You have proof. Lucas: Exactly. And the fourth step is to reframe your gap as experience. Jenna talked about managing a household budget, negotiating with contractors, even mediating sibling disputes. Those are negotiation and conflict resolution skills. Luna: I think a lot of parents underestimate how much sales-adjacent work they do every day. You're always persuading, always listening. Lucas: Right. So her advice: start small, build confidence, and then go after the role you want. She went from selling cheese to selling software in eighteen months. Luna: And she's now a team lead at QuotaPath, training new sales development reps. She actually loves the work. Lucas: That's the thing—she told me she never would have guessed she'd end up in sales. But the reentry forced her to try something new, and it turned out to be a great fit. Luna: So if you're a parent with a gap, and you think sales is a closed door, think again. Start at the cheese counter. Lucas: Start at the cheese counter. I love that. Thanks for listening, and we'll talk to you next time.