Diana Zafra’s story is presented by Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Apple as part of its ”Valiente y Fuerte” program
Working in male-dominated fields can be difficult for some women. In this interview, Diana Zafra, a slot machine salesperson from Miami talks about her struggles and, more importantly, offers advice on how women can and do succeed in male-dominated industries.
Diana talks about her journey to being the top salesperson in the slot machine industry, the lessons she learned along the way, and how women can keep their eyes on the horizon of their own growth and success.
We had the honor of talking to her about her work and how she manages to handle the sales. Let’s get started!
Diana Zafra on her experience as a saleswoman
Women are steadily breaking through the glass ceiling as they work in a still mostly male-dominated field – sales. Diana Zafra started working as a translator for Grandview Products Inc. in Miami, Florida because the buyers were mostly from Latin America. She started working there in 2015 and left briefly for about two years, and later joined back in 2019.
Grandview Products is a pre-owned casino equipment distributor. They have provided technical service and distributed the highest standards of reconditioned pre-owned and used slot machines for more than fifteen years.
When we asked her why she left the company, she immediately admitted that her boss and coworkers were not taking her seriously and only treated her as if she would never be capable of more than being a translator.
“At the time I was just translating, I was also building a relationship with the clients and had to leave the company for them to take me seriously as a salesperson.”
Diana started working for another company named Randstad which was another male-dominated industry. She was the top salesperson for almost 2 years and started making a name for herself.
How she views her second chance at Grandview Products
Seeing so much potential in Diana, Grandview Products pursued her and asked her to rejoin the company as a salesperson. She later came back as a Sales Specialist in 2019.
“I was no longer the translator; they gave me the freedom to do my sales. They gave me territories like Mexico and Columbia.” Being the only woman in sales in this industry, she loves the selling aspect of her job, even if it involves surviving in a men’s world.
Diana Zafra always goes the extra mile to make sure she does everything to prove her worth as a salesperson. After the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the company started doing business locally. Diana visited almost every game room in Florida to put her name out there. That’s how she started getting business for the company and has been doing it ever since.
When asked about whether being a woman makes it easier for them to succeed in sales, she provided her views that being a woman definitely opens the door. Still, it’s also challenging to work in such an environment. According to her, beauty is not the only tool to succeed in sales but having the brain to back it up is also necessary in order to strive in this male-dominated industry.
You can learn about more individuals like Diana Zafra, who are making a name for themselves at Calle Ocho News. We cover the latest updates, news, upcoming events, and more from Miami.
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