30 Years of Experience and Counting, An Interview: John Winslow

For our blog this week, I interviewed sales executive, John Winslow. John is currently the Vice President of International Sales for a billion-dollar orthopedic company. Since 1982 he’s worked in domestic and international sales for several Fortune 500 medical supply companies.

I was particularly interested in talking with him about his experience in international sales. We sat down over a cup of coffee so he could share with me a little bit of the knowledge he’s gained over the past 30 years in sales.

SPI: Thanks for talking with us, John. First, I’d like to ask you why you got into sales in the first place. What inspired you?

John: Thanks for having me! I can actually identify the moment when I decided to become a salesperson. It was 1977 in New Orleans. My sister’s partner was attending a wine convention, and he invited us to come along. He was offering a presentation on a wine taster’s workshop he was selling, and I was quite impressed with the relationships he built with his potential clients.

I realized then that I wanted to do that. I wanted to build relationships with people, build connections. To this day I credit that moment in New Orleans as the foundation of my success in sales.

SPI: Have you had any formal sales training over the years?

John: Yes, definitely. While every salesperson has different personality traits, sales training programs can be incredibly beneficial. Integrating what you learn in a sales training with your personality can lead to strong sales skills. I continue to refer back to sales trainings I participated in 10, 20, even 30 years ago.

SPI: What is the hardest part of international sales?

John: Well, the first difficulty is the travel itself. While I travel to Asia and Europe several times a month, I’ve also been on some very long and difficult around-the-world trips. The most strenuous of these was a trip from the U.S. to East Asia, to Australia, back to East Asia, to the Middle East, to Europe, then back to the United States, in fifteen days.

The other difficult part of international sales, which I actually enjoy, is communication. I don’t mean simply the language barrier, but all the nuances of communication that we take for granted when doing domestic sales. American slang is a big no-no. We’re accustomed to speaking in metaphors, but doing that in an international setting can lead to some enormous misunderstandings!

SPI: Do you have any advice for people who are interested in going into international sales?

John: There are three things I’d recommend.

1. Make sure you have a burning desire to do so. International travel is exciting, but it’s difficult. You’ll be recovering from jet lag while making presentations. You’ll be away from your family for extended periods of time. And everyone is familiar with how uncomfortable air travel has gotten!
2. It helps to have a working knowledge of another language. It’s not crucial, but it does help. If you don’t speak more than one language—actually, even if you do—you must spend time researching cultural norms, etiquette, and courtesies. Sales training programs will help you with your sales skills, but you still need to research how people in other cultures communicate, and how to be polite.
3. Going into international sales is easiest if you’re already successful in your sales career. It’s very difficult, if not impossible, to apply for another company’s international sales position if you’re just starting out in sales or have no experience in international sales. Work hard at domestic sales. Do your research. Continue learning—reading and participating in sales training programs. International sales is hard, but highly rewarding.

SPI: Thank you for talking with us, John! We appreciate hearing the perspective of highly experienced and well-trained sales executives.

John: Thank you!