Jess Lorimer is the UK’s leading B2B Sales Trainer. Her focus is on best-practice B2B sales strategy and she regularly shares tips and knowledge via her Selling to Corporate ® podcast, alongside being featured in major news outlets.
Having trained over 20,000 people with her proven sales techniques, Jess’ aim is to make the world of B2B sales transparent, simple and fun.
What were your initial years of growing up like? Tell us about your life before starting your corporate journey/venture/initiative.
My parents were in the army – so I moved a lot as a child and was always the ‘new kid‘. It meant that I spent a lot of my childhood struggling to make friends – and the bullying I experienced, made me more determined that I wanted a different life as an adult. I went on to become the first person in my family to attend university, studied hard (and worked full time to fund my studies) and was offered a job in recruitment for a global organisation after finishing my degree. Resilience, emotional intelligence and tenacity were key skills that I learned from my childhood – and those skills have really served me well in my business and adult life.
Every industry that is now a large-scale, top-notch business once started as a small idea in the minds of entrepreneurs. What was that idea or motivation that made you start your business /initiative? What motivated you within to say YES, go for it!”
I was diagnosed with M.E; an immune condition that means my body experiences a range of difficulties and symptoms at the age of 23. I was told that if I didn’t stop working the crazy hours I was working in the sales world, that I’d be in a wheelchair by the time I was 35. It was a really scary time – and unfortunately it wasn’t the norm back then to have part time sales people working in the corporate sales world… so I started my own business. I quickly realised that entrepreneurs struggled to make sales for their own businesses – and that most were focusing on B2C (business to consumer) sales which meant they were heavily reliant on social media platforms and creating constant content – rather than using their expert skills to sell to corporate organisations who’d pay them more. I decided to specialise in supporting entrepreneurs in selling to organisations – and it’s incredible to watch our clients do less work, get paid more and work with the world’s biggest brands.
Tell us something about your initiative or current role. What is it about, and what impact are you trying to make?
At Selling to Corporate ® we believe that everyone deserves to be paid fairly for their expertise – and it’s my personal mission to support entrepreneurs around the world to implement best-practice business development techniques that allow them to sell their services into corporate organisations simply and successfully. That way, we can improve the gender pay gap, ensure that people around the globe are taking control of their finances and making sure that people are working in fulfilling roles where they’re being paid fairly!
Your journey and your vision are very inspiring, but are there any achievements or accomplishments you would like to mention?
- My Selling to Corporate ® podcast made over one million pounds in its first 99 episodes. 2. We’ve trained over 20,000 people around the world (and counting!) in our accredited, proven sales techniques. 3. Selling to Corporate ® is dedicated to social responsibility and giving something back to our communities; we’ve fundraised for key causes, sponsored youth sports teams to encourage local talent and Jess even ran the London Marathon to raise money for charity. We’re committed to leaving the world a better place than we found it.
Would you like to share with our young budding women entrepreneurs the change you would like to see in the world if given an opportunity?
I’d like to see a world where we celebrate drive, ambition and success. I believe that women are often told that they should dim their light to make others feel more comfortable – and I would love to see a world where women shared their successes more freely without guilt. I believe if we did this, we’d see a world far more innovative, far more supportive and far more able to change in positive ways.
Women are a growing force in the workplaces worldwide, standing shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts. There are cracks in glass ceilings everywhere, with many women breaking through to carve out a space right at the top of the pyramid. What are your thoughts about women leadership today?
Female leadership is changing – and over the last 15 years, has changed immensely. Despite women now holding more leadership positions, it’s still not enough. Women are often under-prioritised for leadership roles, face unconscious bias when it comes to being hired/ getting promotions and often struggle with the gender pay gap. Worse still, women who’ve faced challenges achieving success in their careers, often avoid helping junior employees in the belief that ‘it’s a rite of passage’ to experience unpleasant/ unnecessary issues in the workplace. Whilst this model of thinking IS changing, I’d like to see more female leadership models talking about the unique challenges women face around care-giving, imposter syndrome and self promotion. We need strong female leaders who are unafraid to talk about key issues and support future generations of female leaders.
What would you want to say to our young women leaders/audience reading this?
Believe in yourself! Building a business isn’t the easiest of journeys – but without self belief and focus, it’s much harder. There is a lot of room in the world for ethical female leaders to step up and support each other -and if you’re considering this journey, then make sure that you are your own top cheerleader because it’s super important to remember why you’re doing the work everyday.
