Margo D.

Senior Territory Account Executive

Once upon a time, in 2017, there lived a middle-aged woman in the southeasternmost corner of North Carolina. The name of her little coastal town was Wilmington. She was a sales professional who had a long career in New York City for 25 years, but hadn’t worked when her children were young.

After some unfortunate life circumstances occurred, she needed to find a job so she could provide for her two teenage boys. It was her goal to work for a company where she could apply her skills and have a lot of opportunities for growth. She loved a good challenge and felt as though her new destiny awaited.

Along came a neighborhood friend who worked for some start-up company in Boston. It was called Toast. She asked: “Toast? What the heck kind of name is that?” 

She learned more about Toast and was interested, but wasn’t sure the opportunity would be right for her. She knew nothing about selling software and hadn’t worked in a restaurant since she was 18 years old. The friend explained that the company was looking for the right people and set their employees up for success. All the necessary skills for the job would be taught. 

With that reassurance, she applied for the job. After completing the interview process, the company decided to take a chance on her. And so, she did the same. She worked hard. Her first quota was to sell three deals a month. She sold one in her first month, which was quite an accomplishment; however, she still felt defeated and wondered if she would ever “get there.” 

When making cold calls, she told the restaurant owners that the name of the company was Toast, as in, French Toast. She called restaurants in rural locations on nights and weekends and walked into busy kitchens to find a manager. She learned more about the industry and was always thinking about how she could best empower her customers. 

Six years later, closing over 450 restaurant locations, the woman decided it was time to retire. She remains exceedingly grateful for all of the talented colleagues who helped her along the way. Without their patience and willingness to share their experience, she never would have made it. Now her children are grown and successful contributors to the world. She plans to continue to support her church, play more golf, travel to exotic lands, and reinvigorate her artistic flair.

The tale has its happy ending and the moral of the story -- take risks, fail often, learn along the way and remember to pull on one more door, no matter how exhausted you are. It could become your biggest deal ever!