Congratulations to Shop Member Company V School’s own Tony Borash for being named one of Utah Business‘ Sales Professionals of the Year! V School is on a mission to help people from all walks of life break into the tech industry and land their dream job. Far from just a “coding bootcamp,” they are actively working to bridge the gap between industry and high quality talent work its way to the scene. V School believes that the world is full of people with the aptitude to design and code, they just need to be trained properly – and V School is ready for them.

What are the challenges/rewards of working in sales or marketing that might surprise people outside of the profession?

“Sales” is far too often a dirty word. There are negative connotations that go along with salesmen and sales that go way back and are typically tied to someone’s negative experience. I’m proud to have built a sales funnel that is focused on a prospect’s experience and with attention to a customer’s needs/value-driven process. The sales funnel represents not only the prospects’ objective but also the overwhelming sense of community that surrounds everything V-School does. Our sales team doesn’t have scripts; they don’t focus on controlling a conversation. Instead, we look for good humans who have a genuine desire to understand an individual’s needs and help them obtain those needs.

What does success look like to you?

Success is often defined as the opposite of failure. When you first start in sales, you’re afraid to hear “no.” The longer you’re in, the smarter you get, and the more attempts you have, you start to realize that a “no” is not a failure. You will even start to phrase questions to get someone to say no (as in the book “World Class Selling” by Roy Chitwood). Success is also gauged by helping someone decide if the product that you are selling is a good fit for them and if they are a good customer. No arm twisting, no shenanigans. Integrity and trust are far more important than “closing a sale.”