COVID, Tough Sales, and What Made Me a Better Salesperson

Estimated reading time: 1 minute

I am the owner and president of The Component sStore, LLC, a PCB rep firm I started 15 years ago, sort of unintentionally. While my business (and my sales prowess) have happily grown, I’ve witnessed significant changes in the sales process.

Before 2020, we approached sales differently. A persistent, gritty salesperson could approach businesses daily without an appointment. They would often be turned away, but sometimes, they would be given a shot. There are plenty of instances where that one-time unannounced solicitor earned his way onto the AVL and became one of their best suppliers. If you’re a purchaser, buyer, or supply chain person, I’m sure you’ve experienced this—and kudos for doing your job well by continuing to seek out other and better resources and partners for the overall well-being of your company.

Then, in March 2020, after months of chatter and concerning health outcomes from a mysterious and very contagious virus, the COVID-19 pandemic became official, and things started to shut down. As work-from-home mandates became the norm where possible, most folks and businesses abided by shelter-in-place protocols set forth by our government. When manufacturing facilities finally came back online, masks, social distancing, regular disinfection, and lots of hand sanitizer became our new normal.

This created a seemingly impenetrable barrier for outside salespeople. Not only did all regular customer visits stop, but so did all forward-moving sales activity, essentially killing those hot pending prospects just one NDA away from submitting their first PO. As an outside sales rep who made his living by creating business inroads and forging new relationships, the COVID-19 period was daunting, and quite honestly, I was not at all prepared.

To continue reading this article, which originally appeared in the July 2025 issue of PCB007 Magazine, click here.