Tarmo Pitkve: “Sales changed my life!”

Describe your life before joining Upsell. What did you study, where did you work before, and why did you decide to leave?

I remember very clearly how, while I was still at school, I realised I had to find a job where I could earn properly.

Even then I understood that with a strong enough will anything is possible, and that getting to the top takes effort and hard work. At the same time, I had no idea what kind of job that should be.

I had to start working at just 12, because I wanted to help my mum, who raised me on her own, and to earn at least some pocket money for sweets.

My first job paid pretty badly. I don’t remember the amounts any more, but I sold chebureki and ice cream on the beach. Even then I understood how hard it is to earn money, because that’s exactly what it was like for a little boy to sell chebureki and ice cream for six hours on hot sand. Still, I wasn’t afraid of hard work and always tried to keep myself motivated.

At 14 I started working for a political party and did various jobs there. The work was easy and I could do it alongside school.

When I finished basic school, I had to decide where to continue my studies. Because of my family’s financial difficulties, I realised I couldn’t study for long, as my mum couldn’t support me financially.

My brother suggested studying at the maritime school, which would give me the chance to travel and, so I’d heard, to earn very well. One of my dreams was to work in a special unit, and I saw a chance to take steps in that direction, so I enrolled at the maritime school. I’ll explain a bit more about why the special unit later on.

I kept working for the party, but in the end I realised politics didn’t speak to me and that my main goal was to earn money. I was in my third year at the maritime school when I decided to start working at a bar in the Old Town, because it seemed interesting at the time. After about six months there, the owner of a company offered me security work. I didn’t have much free time: I worked nights, studied at the maritime school and was very active in sport.

Time went by, and living on that schedule I eventually made it to the end of maritime school.

I remember my emotions very well, and how happy I was. I could already picture myself earning huge sums at sea, travelling everywhere and enjoying life. Reality was much harsher than I could have imagined. Nobody had told me it wouldn’t be easy at all.

I finished my four years of studies as a ship’s mate, but went to work as a deckhand instead. I had no experience as a mate, so I had to start as a deckhand. For those who don’t know shipping: a deckhand is responsible for all kinds of tasks, including ship maintenance, navigation, cleaning and much more. In short, the work was neither easy nor anywhere near prestigious.

I spent four months at sea, worked every day and was paid 1300 euros. I did maintenance on the ship, cleaned and stood watch. I thought: I’m never doing this kind of slave labour again.

At the same time, I could see what my tasks would be if I carried on as a mate. Despite all the time I’d put into my studies, I gave up the profession I’d chosen. The dream of working in a special unit was still there, though, so I applied for a job as a prison officer.

I spent a year there, and it was neither easy nor taking me anywhere. The environment was challenging, and dealing every day with people who had broken the law again and again was exhausting and didn’t do me any good.

Some time later I was called up for military service, and because of my education I went into the navy.

After my service, I decided to move on to patrol work. My job was detaining offenders, checking the sites we were in charge of and keeping them secure.

I dealt with all kinds of difficult situations, and I actually liked the work, because I could offer solutions to problems and see the results of my efforts straight away. That’s probably why working in a special unit had been my dream for so long. Despite all that, my pay was 1300 euros gross at best.

Once again it struck me that I had to change something in my life, and the sooner the better. My dreams were much bigger than the life I was living at the time.

One day, while patrolling the site I was guarding, I ran into a very old acquaintance who had been working at Upsell for a long time. At that moment I had no idea my life was about to change. I had no idea a job like that offered such a big chance to earn. During our chat, my acquaintance said: come and give it a go, what have you got to lose? It was the best decision of my life so far.

How did your earlier hardships influence your decision to start a career in sales? Was there a particular moment or event that inspired you to change direction in life?

All my life I’ve been looking for a way to earn a lot, so I was always ready to try new things. Before, I’d mostly done harder work but been paid very little for it. I knew very well what hardships my path so far had involved, so I’m very grateful for the opportunity I now have to work at Upsell. I was inspired by the acquaintance I met at the shopping centre. My acquaintance was a completely different person from the one I remembered: their whole manner had changed and they communicated differently. I saw in them someone I could take as a role model. By joining Upsell, I took a step towards a better life, and I haven’t regretted it once!

What fears or doubts did you have before starting in sales, and how did you deal with them?

Probably the biggest fear was change. I left a job where I was paid by the hour and started one where I’d be paid purely on results. At the same time, thinking logically, I understood very well that working for an hourly wage I would never achieve financial success. My fears were big at the start, but my principle is never to give up. Looking at it sensibly, there was no way I wouldn’t earn if I followed the advice of more experienced people. My thinking was: if others have already earned good money, why should I do any worse than them? If you do the right things, the results have to come. I’m very grateful that I pushed past my limits and that, even in the harder moments, I managed to pull myself together and keep going.

What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned in sales, especially in light of your earlier hardships?

Anyone can sell, even if they’ve never done sales before. If you want to change your life and earn more badly enough, you just have to find a way to reach the next level. In sales, what matters is steady growth and constantly developing your sales knowledge. Knowledge that you don’t put to use won’t bring results, so it’s important to keep putting what you learn into practice.

You need to be able to take criticism and be open to feedback: that’s what brings success. Otherwise there’s no room to grow.

What kind of person were you before Upsell, and who are you now?

I was more of a dreamer who’d always had big ambitions, but at the same time I felt lost and didn’t know how to make them happen. I was also very blunt and tried to push my views on life onto everyone.

In almost two years at Upsell, I’ve changed considerably. Now I feel I’m someone I would respect myself. I’ve done a lot of work on my mindset, and it has had a positive effect on every area of my life.

How do you keep yourself motivated? Have you rewarded yourself for your achievements, and how?

I’m only at the beginning of my journey, so there’s still a lot I haven’t achieved yet and plan to do.

My motivation comes from my own life experience and my wish to give myself and my loved ones a good quality of life, so finding motivation has been the easiest part of this whole journey for me. Consistency is what helps you reach your goals.

In a way, rewarding yourself is also about making your dreams come true.

On the material side, I reward myself by enjoying a good life, including travelling abroad and giving my loved ones valuable gifts. That gives me a special kind of joy and motivates me to keep developing myself and striving for a better life.

What are your next goals, both at work and in your personal life, and how do you plan to get there?

My goals are carefully thought through and split into short-term and long-term goals for each stage of my life. Achieving financial freedom is important to me: it lets me enjoy life and work on projects that interest me. Financial freedom is a relative concept. For one person it might mean 10,000 euros a month, while for another even a million euros a month might seem like a modest income.

I also have certain hobbies and plans for the future that I’m not sharing publicly yet, but that I intend to carry out. To reach your goals you need to develop all kinds of skills, such as communication, leadership, investing and so on. I plan to keep building those skills so that I reach the goals I’ve set and enjoy life.

What would you recommend to those who are thinking about starting in active sales but don’t dare take the step?

Great question, and I’m happy to answer it! Active sales may seem hard at first, but the important thing is to understand what you have to do to achieve the success you want. Does anyone really believe that a few simple steps are enough to become successful? I don’t.

To achieve success, you often have to do difficult things.

Ask yourself whether you’re happy with your life right now. If the answer is yes, maybe there’s no need to change anything, but for many people the answer might be no, and in that case it’s important to try something new. What’s the worst that could happen? If things don’t work out the first time, or you don’t know enough yet, you can always learn and try again. You have to ask yourself whether you’re ready to change your life. If the answer is yes, go for it!