A new generation of women are shaping the art of selling on their terms, and one of the women paving the way is Aoife Wilson, who proves that you don’t have to be a natural-born salesperson to succeed in the field.

In the sales pool, I don’t sink. I swim.

Initially kick-starting her career in Marketing, Aoife soon discovered that she preferred hanging out with her Sales colleagues, which opened up a new career path for her. “Anyone who has tried to get an entry-level job in Amsterdam knows how difficult it is without a ton of internships under your belt. That’s how I found myself working in Marketing. But it wasn’t long before I realized that it wasn’t for me. Most of my friends were working in the Sales department, and as soon as a BDR position opened up, I went for it.” With an entry into Sales, Aoife soon found her feet. Having built her career in the field, she says that looking back, one of her main challenges was being heard and taken seriously as a woman.“It was frustrating when I would come up with ideas and end up being ignored, but if a male counterpart spoke up with the same ideas, he'd be heard. That type of thing happened a lot.” “In the environment I find myself in now, leadership doesn't care where the ideas come from as long as they’re good ideas.” Another challenge Aoife faced in her Sales career was when she discovered that a male counterpart was earning more than her. "I am highly educated, more experienced, and I was delivering better results, so logic would tell you that I should've been earning more, not less. But that wasn't the case. We didn't get paid on the same level for the same job." Having studied gender politics at University, Aoife knows only too well about women not pushing for pay rises. According to a report from Randstad US, a majority of women, 60%, say they’ve never negotiated with an employer over their pay, and 72% say they’ll leave an employer to get a salary bump somewhere else. “It’s a confidence issue. I would tell women that even if you’re not fully confident in your abilities as yet, give yourself a chance to prove that you can do it." “You may not be 100% suited to a job, but if you’re intelligent and resourceful, you’ll figure it out. I didn’t have the experience they were looking for when I first joined Foleon, but I knew exactly what I wanted and went after it. I’m ambitious, I know where I want to be and what I want to achieve, so I’ll keep going until I get there.”