Part I: Interview with
Kim Deason, QSSP
Regional Safety Sales Manager, South

Q1. How did you work your way into the career you are in now? 

I actually started a sales job while I was in college because the flexible hours were perfect for my schedule while I was studying Secondary Education.  I realized quickly I was making more in sales then I would as a teacher, so I flipped my degree and got my Bachelor of Science in Mathematics.  I always enjoyed sales because of the interaction with customers and every day being different, but I feel like my whole life tipped a little when I got into Industrial/Safety Sales.  I remember thinking, “oh my goodness I’m selling stuff that will protect the worker and keep them safer at work” and something just lit up in me. Now, my favorite part of being in this industry is providing some safety training along with product solution selling. I get to be that teacher I always wanted to be.   

Q2: What advice would you give women looking to succeed in this industry? 

The advice I would give to women is to be authentically yourself! When you do that, you become just one of the crew and that is a magical place to be in. I have worked in other industries when you had to keep ‘the face’ on all the time. I love that the people I work around appreciate honest feedback and seeing the real me. I love to get dressed up and meet with head of corporations in a conference room while making a presentation just as much as I love wearing steel toed shoes and a hard hat and walking around a plant looking for hazards. I love it all.  It makes me feel like, “I am woman, hear me roar!”    

Q3. What steps can companies take to recruit more women into roles like yours? 

I think campaigning to women more. I had never even heard of the industry until I had a friend tell me to apply – he had to explain the whole industrial distribution thing to me.  Maybe we should put more flyers on the backs of restroom stall doors, you know we read those things, or host a Wine down on Wednesday event, ha-ha you know – speak our language a little more!  It is definitely a dominantly male industry. And, to reach women you just have to do things differently – grab a hot pink table cloth the next time you show at a career fair, so the ladies will know it’s not just for men!! 

Q4. What’s most rewarding about working in your current role? 

Even though this may sound cheesy, walking away from a customer that I helped come up with a safer solution for a process for their workers means the world to me.  Also, when I get that classroom of PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) wearers and I hear at least one of them say, “I never knew that was how to properly insert an ear plug” or something similar; just that moment when someone grabs a nugget of information they had forgotten or perhaps never thought of before and they will change their behavior to be safer on the job. That’s what I live for – helping others.   

Q5. What does it take to be successful in a role like yours?

The number one thing in this industry is honesty.  If you don’t know, say you don’t know, but you’ll find out.  If you can’t do it, say you can’t do it. When safety is riding on your opinion or your knowledge you need to be quick to admit if it is beyond your reach. I also think having a tough skin and being able to take a sarcastic remark or two helps. It’s not for the faint of heart or the easily offended woman. It can be hot, dirty, sweaty work, but I’d rather do this than anything on the planet!