WHEN YOUR TRUMPET IS LOUDER THAN YOUR TALENT Why Blowing Your Horn Too Early Could Wreck Your Career Let’s rewind to Harare. Picture a sales rep we’ll call Sarah. She scored a job at one of those big, shiny companies the kind where even kids in village can sing the company jingle without missing a beat. At this company, selling was like fishing in a swimming pool. Clients were already halfway convinced. The brand? Solid. The leads? Flowing like Zambezi. The support? Beautiful. CRM system? Present. Airtime? Loaded. Daily training? Check. Even lunch? Gourmet vibes no sadza and soup drama. In this corporate paradise, Sarah started stacking sales like airtime on payday. She walked through the office like she had shares. Even the receptionist whispered, “The queen of all the money.” Then came The Trumpet Moment She marched into HR like Julius Caesar into Rome: “I deserve more money. I’m hot cake. I’m being watched by the competition.” Were they really watching? Who knows. But in her head, she was Beyoncé with a briefcase. A few weeks later, she resigned. The grass looked greener. It was AstroTurf. From Queen Bee to Cold Calls Her new company? A whole reality check. No CRM. No leads. No brand power. Just: A cracked Samsung A cold-call list printed from Excel 2007 And a manager who said, “Go and make things happen.” She called one prospect who hit her with: “Madam, did I ask for a quote ?” Another just hung up like she’d asked for a kidney. In a few weeks, her sales dried up faster than borehole water in Borrowdale. She left. Tried again. Same story. New lanyard. Same struggle. Within 6 months, she had more company IDs than achievements. It wasn’t a career move. It was a national tour of disappointment. The Painful Realisation Sarah finally saw the truth: She wasn’t a bad salesperson. She was average in a powerful system. The brand carried her. The marketing carried her. The structure made her shine. Outside of that system? She couldn’t even sell airtime to a granny. It wasn’t her solo act it was the band behind her that made the music. The Big Lesson? Check the Echo Behind Your Applause Before you start demanding more zeros on your payslip or jumping ship, ask yourself: Is it really me, or is the system behind me doing the heavy lifting? Because sometimes, you're not the lion you're just the housecat in the lion enclosure. Stay grounded. Grow your skills, not your ego. Don’t confuse hype with capability. And always remember: Just because the kombi is full doesn’t mean it left because of you. #thecharteredvendor #sellinglikeavendor #entreprenuership #mentorship #salesstrategy