Hi, I’m Debbie, the founder of Genzy Talent Academy, an outlet which provides the young talent of Generation’s Z and Y (ages 16- 28) with the tools to craft success in the commercial world, sales and generally in life! My mission is to help this exciting generation to succeed in sales, with or without a degree,  you can be a sales superstar! The founders of Disney, Dell,Facebook, Apple, Twitter, Uber, WhatsApp, to name a few dropped out of college or did not go at all, so success comes to those with the right attitude and a desire to turn their dreams into reality.

But before we embark on this mission, here’s a bit about me and my background in sales.

At the age of twenty-one I applied for a job in sales at Yell/Yellow Pages, a decision influenced by a colleague who had obtained a position there. I cheekily called the manager and was initially refused a meeting; after some positive persistance and a bundle of enthusiasm, he eventually agreed to see me. I got on the train and got chatting with a stranger, missing my train connection, which delayed my journey by two hours! In a fit of panic, I ran to first-class to see if anyone had a phone (a rarity at the time) from which I could call the interviewer to tell him that I would be late. I luckily spotted a Blue Peter presenter from television and begged him to lend me his phone. Eventually I arrived at the interview, at the end of which the interviewer told me that I didn’t meet any of the position’s criteria. I had no experience. I wasn’t the desired age and didn’t have the desired income level that the job required. But I got the job. And why? Because this one individual put his neck on the line and took a chance on me, identifying my potential.

Trust me, this isn’t that Disney Fairy-tale ‘happy moment’, for several months I was a complete failure, struggling to live up to the individual's expectations who had faith in my ability. I was the youngest person to ever get this role in YELL's history, so I knew it would take me longer than experienced people. Then a highly experienced person gave me some great guidance and support for a few weeks as my line manager was on maternity leave, this was the turning point in my career. This led to me to winning Regional Newcomer of the Year and numerous National Sales Awards after that at Orange Telecoms. At twenty-eight I was in the top 1% of UK earners for six years.

Having reached my financial goal at forty, I was ready to retire and live my dream. However, this sudden lifestyle change, from carrying a heavy workload, to being completely unladen didn’t suit me, I had lots of fun things to do but it was not enough. I was bored, and when the biggest decision of my day was choosing what type of icing, I could put on a cupcake, I realised that I needed to get back into the commercial world. I decided to go to college. A drastic turn of events, and trust me, returning to the education system at the age of forty is not plain sailing. Still, I wanted to broaden my horizons by obtaining a CIPD qualification in training, and I needed a new challenge. I set up a successful business from scratch, beginning with no clients, just a vision in one hand and lots of sales experience in the other.

In 2008; I set up Solutions2Success, a source for sales and business training. The business took off and it was flying until the recession hit, and I found myself free-falling down to Earth without a parachute! Financially the landscape changed as interest rates, house prices and the stock market crashed, with such financial uncertainty, I felt the need to keep my business going despite the extreme challenge ahead. No one prepares you for thirteen years of recession, Brexit, and COVID-19 when you have your own business. With resilience, adaptation to change and a lot of hard work, I have managed to be successful during these difficult times. Since the age of forty I have managed to get a work/life balance overall, all thanks to a successful sales career and the financial rewards I gained. All the skills, attitudes, training and experience I gained during those eighteen years in sales have enabled me to have my own successful business and live my dream life, dividing my time between the UK and Naples, Florida, USA.

I have trained over a 1,000 graduates to help them succeed in the last ten years. I have also helped sales teams from small to big brand names £50m + achieve record sales results. I set up GenZY Talent Academy to help you, the new generation and my goal is to turn your aspirations into achievements. If you can achieve the financial freedom, fun, excitement and positive challenges I have faced in my sales career I would be so happy for you. I am looking forward to helping you achieve sales success.

If I can do it with just a pocket full of dreams, graft and a willingness to learn, then so can you!