Susie Tomenchok

Susie’s Breakthrough Moment

Every great story has a turning point. Mine is no exception. As a top salesperson in the corporate world, I’ve worked with Fortune 50 companies including ESPN, Discovery, and Boeing, and closed deals valued at more than $80 million annually. I’ve spent most of my professional career refining my negotiation skills and techniques—but I wasn’t always like that.

I would go into meetings feeling out of my depth, nervous, and not up to the task. Dry mouth and sweaty palms were always part of the equation. All these high-powered people would look to me to close the deal, and I’d feel like an imposter. Sound familiar?

But here’s the thing: the more negotiating I did, the better I got at it. I began seeing negotiation opportunities all around me—not just at work, but in my everyday life. My true breakthrough came when I discovered that my daughters, having overhead enough client calls to pick up on the essential skills, had been using my own tactics against me!

During our regular trips to Target, they planned their approach, researched their client, and delivered their pitch at the perfect time—which often resulted in successfully closing the deal and returning home with exactly what they wanted.