Luke Olshever successfully completed a summer sales internship focused on cold calling and client outreach, generating qualified leads and contributing to employee benefits enrollment for small businesses.
Why did you choose this internship?
I chose this internship because I wanted to focus on getting experience within a sales-focused company in the financial or insurance sector. I have previous knowledge of the company and heard they had a new product that they would need help launching. I thought that this would help me develop skills I needed and give me a great experience. It was also a good opportunity to work within a commission-based compensation plan to see if that would motivate me.
What kind of work did you do throughout your internship experience?
I identified small businesses throughout the country to help them improve their employee benefits. Once I researched who could benefit, I spent every day calling and building relationships so they would be willing to hear what a great product we had to offer. Once they were interested, I would set up and sit in on meetings to explain the products and stay involved through the entire onboarding process.
How was the internship related to your Applied Humanities degree?
This internship related to my degree because I was able to use what I learned about prioritizing needs of small businesses and then use that information to inform my sales pitch and motivate them to hear what I had to say. Once I coupled that with my business knowledge of the product, I was able to appeal to companies and get them to let me help them. I tried to keep it simple by showing them that providing extra benefits for their employees would lead to higher employee satisfaction and retention, as well as increase both of their bottom lines.
What skills did you practice during in this internship?
I became very comfortable calling strangers, introducing myself, and building a relationship with them. There was a lot of rejection along the way, but I think this helped develop my skills even more. I also learned responsibility and timeliness; I have a better sense of the value of showing up on time and being conscientious of other people’s time. Additionally, I am better prepared with tools needed to succeed throughout the day. This set of skills will transfer in everything I do in my life in and out of work, for example like scheduling doctor appointments and meetings. In addition to these skills, I practiced mindfulness everyday as well when calling strangers. I found it was important to be intentional with my words while on business calls in order to achieve the best results.
What was the most satisfying part of your internship?
The most satisfying part of my internship was the first time I had helped educate over 40 businesses with 200 employees each into our program. I was proud of myself but also really happy knowing how much the program was going to help them. This was meaningful to me because it was the first “real job” that I’ve had, and it was rewarding to know that the hard work I had been doing paid off. It also felt good to succeed in a professional environment for the first time around my peers.
What did you find most challenging about your internship?
The most challenging part about my internship was dealing with rejection. It got exhausting calling 500 people or more without any pay off at first, so it was hard to keep a positive mindset. I also found it challenging to personalize my calls to each potential client based on their company because I felt like I was being repetitive. However, I quickly adapted to a forward-looking mentality and wouldn’t let it affect me, but it wasn’t easy.
What advice do you have for other students as they search for and begin their internship?
Be open minded when looking for internships. Just because you might not get what you had set out for, there are plenty of opportunities to get good experience and develop skills that you can use in any field. I also would stress the importance of utilizing LinkedIn and connecting with people who are currently working or interning at a company you would potentially want to work at. By having a quick conversation with someone, you can learn so much about the career path that might be right for you. Overall, I think it is important to grow a basic skillset in any internship and be open to learning.