My first sales role as a financial services agent started at Vancity Credit Union in 2005. As I was new to the role, I shadowed for a few weeks of classroom training at their head office, along with several months of in-branch learning, before I was ready to take on this role on my own. In 2007 I joined CIBC, which was also a sales role, but this time I had a lot more responsibility, which involved a touch of management tasks. coupled with sales in small businesses. In November 2010, I started a new business at BMO, as an Assistant Branch Manager. The first few months required a lot of training to convert me to the BMO way of doing things. The learning also included the role of a customer service representative, so I could coach them to be able to send referrals to the appropriate departments. After serving in this role briefly, I was offered a one-year assignment as a branch manager, much more like a sales manager, as it weighed heavily on retention, new business acquisition and more. During this time, I underwent intense training to learn everything there was to do, not only to manage the branch, but also to have open sales meetings with the entire branch staff. Additionally, I was responsible for hiring, training, supervising and mentoring six salespeople. Motivating staff to meet and exceed established sales goals and objectives by developing effective sales incentives was simply the norm and daily task. Teaching employees successful sales and closing techniques was also part of the routine I followed. Having years of experience in sales, I was able to access this role without too much difficulty. My primary goal was to coach and mentor sales staff to increase their productivity, which...... middle of paper ......and support them in order to succeed in my role. I realized very quickly that in order for my team to perform at their best, I celebrated their small efforts and successes by encouraging and praising them, but holding them accountable when necessary. I quickly learned that I needed to support the team so that they worked together, rather than competing with each other, which I felt was inappropriate, also created an unhealthy environment for everyone. However, through my banking experience, I have noticed that such incidents happen all the time, which I have actually never been in favor of. One thing to keep in mind every day as I go to work is that they gave me this role for a purpose. I need to produce results, which I couldn't do alone; therefore, I need the support of the team, which I made clear to everyone from my first day at the agency..