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00:00:00:00 – 00:00:30:15
Unknown
The thing is, everyone is involved in sales, whether they like it or not. But very few people actually take the time to study sales. Welcome to Re-imagining You, the podcast where we go beyond titles, résumés, and roles to explore how today’s leaders build a personal brand that lives far beyond the business card. From door-to-door knife sales in the US, to leading Unilever’s food services in the GCC, to founding the Academy for Sales Excellence in Dubai.
00:00:30:17 – 00:00:54:01
Unknown
Ramez has trained over 100,000 professionals in more than 38 countries. My motto in life—you’ve probably heard me say this before—is “Inspire One More.” The biggest challenge I help people with isn’t just teaching them how to sell; it’s giving them the confidence that what they’re doing is the right thing that will bring the sale.
00:00:54:03 – 00:01:13:00
Unknown
Someone asked me, “What did I do wrong?” I said, “Let’s first start with what you did right.” You have to earn credibility, because that builds reputation. The idea is not “What can I get from you?” but “What can I give you?” That’s the essence of networking.
00:01:13:02 – 00:01:33:24
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It doesn’t matter what business you’re in—where you are needs you right now. Learn from whatever you’re doing. There is no good or bad time. Now is a great time.
00:01:33:26 – 00:01:59:03
Unknown
Welcome to Re-imagining You, the podcast where we go beyond titles, résumés, and roles to explore how today’s leaders build a personal brand that lives far beyond the business card. Today’s guest, Ramez, is a global sales and leadership expert who turned every challenge into a story, every story into strategy, and every strategy into a scalable business. From door-to-door
00:01:59:04 – 00:02:28:24
Unknown
knife sales in the US, to leading Unilever’s food services in the GCC, to founding the Academy for Sales Excellence in Dubai—Ramez Helou has trained over 100,000 professionals in more than 38 countries, generating over $10 billion in additional revenue for clients. But behind the numbers is a man who redefined what it means to sell yourself, own your story, and show up with conviction.
00:02:28:26 – 00:02:54:02
Unknown
Whether you’re pitching a product or reinventing your career, today we unpack the personal brand behind the powerhouse and how Ramez turned a sales lifestyle into a legacy. Ramez, welcome to Re-imagining You.
Thank you, Doctor Ali. It’s great to be here. I’ve done some research—I know you, but I still had to dig—and I found a funny personal story you shared online. I’ll throw it out there.
00:02:54:02 – 00:03:20:07
Unknown
Your trip to Puerto Rico. You were joining your girlfriend, getting married, and setting up there. The day before you left, your girlfriend called and said, “Don’t come. I don’t love you anymore.”
That’s right.
But you still went. You persevered, you made it, and you turned a challenge into an opportunity. Tell us more.
00:03:20:10 – 00:03:50:12
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Everything happens for a reason, Doctor. If I didn’t love that person very much, I wouldn’t have thought of moving closer. She was my university sweetheart.
00:03:50:15 – 00:04:12:03
Unknown
When we graduated in ’92—Villanova and Nova University—she went back to Puerto Rico to help run her family insurance business. I was in the knife business. I became a district manager in Chester County, PA, and we had a long-distance relationship for about two years. I started thinking internationally.
00:04:12:03 – 00:04:32:00
Unknown
I spoke to my president, Alberti Leonardo: “How would you like access to more than 300 million people who know nothing about our knives?” He asked what I was thinking. I said I’d go to Puerto Rico and train a bilingual sales force to expand into Latin America.
00:04:32:01 – 00:04:53:04
Unknown
He said, “Ramez, what’s your last name?” I said, “Helou.” He replied, “It’s not Gonzalez or Rodriguez—why Puerto Rico? You don’t even speak the language.” I didn’t then, but I thought it would be great to do something international and be closer to my girlfriend.
00:04:53:04 – 00:05:14:27
Unknown
That was the turning point. I left my business in the US and went down. The day before, she called me. I thought maybe we could fix things. When I arrived, reality hit. I was supposed to stay at their beach house—there was no beach house. I was supposed to get support—it wasn’t there.
00:05:14:28 – 00:05:36:02
Unknown
Later I found a quote: If Christopher Columbus had turned back, nobody would have blamed him—they were lost—but nobody would have remembered him either.
00:05:36:05 – 00:05:54:14
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So I said, if we can’t be together, I still came with a vision for international business. I did the next best thing: I hired her best friend, who was also my best friend, as my guide and assistant for the first few months.
00:05:54:14 – 00:06:21:19
Unknown
Those were the best ten years of my life. I built a business from scratch. At one point, I had 400 salespeople, ten district locations, and ten district managers I developed from sales professionals—teaching them how to recruit, train, and grow teams. We opened six offices in Puerto Rico and four in Costa Rica. It became a multimillion-dollar business.
00:06:21:19 – 00:06:42:13
Unknown
I was living the dream.
Beautiful story.
When we’re young, nothing seems impossible.
Yes. From there, there were ups and downs. In 1996–1997 I had my first son, and then Hurricane Georges hit.
00:06:42:13 – 00:07:01:27
Unknown
We sold Cutco cutlery—awesome knives, but with an upfront investment. The morning after the hurricane, I saw the devastation and thought, “Who’s going to buy knives?” I opened the Sunday paper to look for jobs. After ten minutes of feeling sorry for myself, I realized none of those jobs were for me. I loved my work.
00:07:01:27 – 00:07:18:17
Unknown
My inner voice asked, “What do you love to do?” I answered, “Help people.” The voice said, “Are you helping people right now?” No—I was just feeling sorry for myself. So I called my people.
00:07:18:17 – 00:07:34:16
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We did damage control. I called my district managers: “Make sure everyone’s okay. Call your teams. Assess the situation.” I kept calling down one level.
00:07:34:19 – 00:07:53:07
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I called one of our field sales managers, Yvonne Irizarry. I asked if she was okay. She said, “Ramez, I just sold $1,000 worth of knives.” I thought she was joking. She wasn’t. I asked how.
00:07:53:07 – 00:08:13:19
Unknown
She said, “It’s easy. Before, when I called neighbors, they were busy. Now they have nowhere to go. They said, ‘Come over.’” I said, “Brilliant—keep doing it.” I called my managers and told them to share the idea and plant the seed with their teams.
00:08:13:21 – 00:08:43:03
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You won’t believe it. It was September—we broke the all-time sales record. Then we broke it again in October, November, and December. We went from tenth to second place, missing first by $1,000 that year.
00:08:43:05 – 00:09:09:06
Unknown
The lesson: do what you love. I stayed true to that then and still do.
Quick break: if you’re listening, you care about building success through your personal brand. I have a free masterclass showing how to unlock your influence and position yourself for your next chapter. The link is below this episode. Enjoy—and back to the show.
00:09:09:06 – 00:09:37:13
Unknown
Beautiful. Let’s move from Puerto Rico to Unilever. You did an amazing job there, and then suddenly you started your own brand—the Academy for Sales Excellence. What made you shift to your personal brand when you were successful in corporate? In my ten-step personal branding process, step one is always mission. What drives you? Do you have something you love to share with the world or want a portfolio career?
00:09:37:14 – 00:10:02:03
Unknown
What mission did you embrace that led you to create your brand?
Thank you. This goes back to why I left the knife business. My job was 100% commission. As a salesperson it was about helping my customer succeed; as a manager it was about making my team better than me. I focused on developing others.
00:10:02:05 – 00:10:25:11
Unknown
I studied what drives human motivation—how to get people motivated to sell knives. People would tell me, “When you speak, you inspire us. Have you thought about becoming a speaker?” The idea grew. I wondered who in corporate would want a direct seller to speak to their people, so I decided to learn the corporate world.
00:10:25:14 – 00:10:49:28
Unknown
I came to Dubai—my brother lives here—made contacts, and was offered a role with Unilever as Sales Training Manager for Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. It was ideal to speak in the corporate world across cultures and to see what wasn’t working and what was needed.
00:10:49:28 – 00:11:16:27
Unknown
After six years, I moved into sales leadership and then general management as Head of Unilever Food Solutions for Arabia. There was a restructuring. I thought I’d speak in my 50s and 60s, but in 2010—15 years ago—I was made redundant. Suddenly, I had time and space. The hardest thing was deciding what to speak about.
00:11:16:28 – 00:11:34:17
Unknown
I’m not a natural-born salesperson. When I was young doing door-to-door sales, I used to stutter. English wasn’t my first language—I was French-educated. I struggled and got rejected a lot, but persevered and learned.
00:11:34:17 – 00:12:10:17
Unknown
My manager once asked me to share a few thoughts at a sales meeting. The next day, a new rep showed me an invoice with more than 10–15 line items, over $1,000—more than I’d ever sold. I asked what she did. She said, “Exactly what you told us yesterday.” That gave me a warm feeling and got me addicted to sharing what works.
00:12:10:17 – 00:12:31:15
Unknown
Because I failed a lot, I know what doesn’t work and what to change. My manager started sending people to me: “Do your pitch; listen to Ramez.” They’d come back and say thank you. As they improved, they became lights for others. That ripple effect stayed with me.
00:12:31:21 – 00:12:54:08
Unknown
During COVID, when business wasn’t always up, we asked, “Are we inspiring one more today?” No live training? Then let’s learn online. That vision and value of helping others—Jim Rohn’s idea that to succeed you must help someone else succeed first—guided us.
00:12:54:08 – 00:13:17:14
Unknown
So the mission crystallized: not just waking up to sell or teach sales, but to inspire one more and help the ecosystem around us. A restructuring gave me the compelling event and time to plan the next chapter. I chose the path that tugged at my heart.
00:13:17:14 – 00:13:44:22
Unknown
For our audience: reflect on your situation, your dream, and your mission—not just “build a sales academy,” but a bigger why.
Beautifully said.
Thank you.
Moving on—everyone has a mission. What makes you so credible? From early challenges selling, to training, to creating an academy—people call you the “Sales Doctor.”
00:13:44:22 – 00:14:06:12
Unknown
The doctor diagnoses, prescribes, and hopefully cures the patient. You do the same for clients and trainees. You’ve built a unique business value.
Thank you. People often don’t find the sales profession; the sales profession finds them. I didn’t study sales at university, and most people didn’t either.
00:14:06:12 – 00:14:27:00
Unknown
Only recently, in 2016, when I was teaching at an international business school, we launched a sales course because graduates need to sell themselves first—MBA, Executive MBA, or Master’s alike.
00:14:27:00 – 00:15:17:01
Unknown
Everyone is involved in sales, but few study it. Many are nervous and inconsistent—thinking they were good when the market was high, taking loans and big expenses, then facing a tough year. During COVID, people asked me to help them sell online. If you have the fundamentals, channel is secondary.
00:15:17:04 – 00:15:42:26
Unknown
The biggest challenge I help with isn’t just “how to sell,” but confidence that you’re following the right steps. At its core, selling is serving another human being. How can I sell you if I don’t understand you or add value? Easier said than done.
00:15:43:00 – 00:16:05:12
Unknown
A story: before launching a program for a school, I did a field visit. After a parent tour, the staff member asked what she did wrong. I said, “First, what did you do right?” She couldn’t list the steps of a sale—build rapport, identify needs, present resolution. I gave hints, and she recognized a few.
00:16:05:12 – 00:16:32:00
Unknown
I explained the difference between a shotgun and a sniper approach. Instead of talking about everything the school offers, start with five minutes to understand the parent’s needs and goals. Then tailor the tour: if they care about motor skills, highlight the playground for motor skill development, and so on.
00:16:32:02 – 00:16:57:18
Unknown
Be authentic. Think how you like to buy. Most people stop listening after ten seconds of a mall pitch. No one is there to hold up the mirror and show what’s right and what to improve—that’s where the Sales Doctor comes in.
00:16:57:07 – 00:18:27:05
Unknown
I do observations and listen to calls. Many organizations have a hole in their pockets because no one pays attention to one-on-one conversations happening outside the office. A sales leader’s job isn’t to sit in the office; dedicate 30–40% to coaching in the field. That’s how you gain insight and apply it. There’s also a skill to giving feedback—people can be resistant.
Today’s session is “University 101” in sales. I want to know the true Ramez and the brand behind how you orchestrated this—mission, unique value—now activation.
00:18:27:05 – 00:18:47:15
Unknown
How did you tell the world? Today, you’re not very active on LinkedIn or digital media, yet you’re almost fully booked. What’s the secret?
00:18:47:15 – 00:19:18:25
Unknown
There are many ways to be visible. In 2010 it was easier; today it’s harder. My number one lever is reputation—leave the customer extremely satisfied with clear deliverables. I track what clients tell me after engagements and link sales to behaviors and KPIs over 6–12 months.
00:19:18:28 – 00:19:36:29
Unknown
When I give a lot of value, people talk about me. My phone doesn’t stop ringing. Building an online brand is great and I aim to do more, but at the core it’s one-to-one impact and results others can talk about.
00:19:37:01 – 00:19:59:02
Unknown
I was just referred yesterday: “You must work with Ramez.” The prospect said, “I don’t know why he said that, but I have to work with you.” We figured out needs and next steps. Reputation supersedes everything—but you still need enough visibility to earn it.
00:19:59:04 – 00:20:19:28
Unknown
If I charge $100, my goal is to deliver $1,000 of value. It becomes easy to pay $100. On a $20k–$100k engagement, I can help them break even with a couple of sales; everything after is upside. Sales impact is tangible.
00:20:19:28 – 00:21:23:01
Unknown
For our audience, key takeaways: Mission can come from a compelling event, ambition, or dream—think early, before you’re let go. Define a bigger mission—“Inspire One More” guided you. Earn credibility; it builds reputation. If you lack credibility now, earn it through work, demonstration, study, and reflection. You didn’t need social media to start because you had reputation—staying in your lane mattered.
00:21:23:03 – 00:22:01:06
Unknown
On “stay in your lane”: You’ve specialized in solving the “sales mystery” for salespeople and sales leaders across industries. That focus is your sandbox.
00:22:01:08 – 00:22:41:11
Unknown
Networking: you have ~3,400 followers on LinkedIn but a much larger contact base. Many think networking is exchanging cards and asking, “Can I get something?” That’s transactional and selfish.
00:22:41:14 – 00:23:05:18
Unknown
There are givers and takers. Would you want to be around someone only looking to get from you? The easier path is understanding the laws of influence—reciprocity. Everyone you meet has a huge Rolodex, but they won’t open it until they know, like, and trust you.
00:23:05:20 – 00:23:24:12
Unknown
If I focus on what I can give—understand who you are, your goals, and ideal clients—I can make relevant introductions. That causes people to remember me.
00:23:24:12 – 00:23:56:27
Unknown
I’ve often given without realizing it, simply because I love to help. When you help someone get what they want, they naturally want to reciprocate. About 70–80% of my clients came from people I trained at Unilever across South Africa, Egypt, Singapore, Dubai, the UAE, and Saudi. Many of those salespeople are now GMs and MDs, and they call back the person who “inspired one more.”
00:23:56:29 – 00:24:19:13
Unknown
I learned to systemize this from Phil Bedford—the Rebel Networker—through relationship marketing. Once I recognized what I did naturally, I built a process.
00:24:19:18 – 00:24:43:13
Unknown
Best advice: when you meet someone, don’t think of what you can get—think of what you can give. Ask about family, occupation, recreation, goals. It doesn’t have to be business; a useful referral also creates reciprocity on both sides.
00:24:43:16 – 00:25:07:27
Unknown
When people say, “It’s hard to find good salespeople,” they hear, “You need the Sales Doctor—Ramez Helou.” What goes around comes around.
Very good. Please practice this—it’s the essence of networking.
00:25:07:27 – 00:26:12:02
Unknown
A challenging question: one personal failure and what you learned.
I have many. Back to the knife days—after the hurricane, I went from six offices to one within months. Management let some leaders go, and I had no one to replace them. Why? Because when my division was full, I stopped promoting what’s next for people.
00:26:12:04 – 00:26:32:12
Unknown
That mistake cost me 18–24 months of rebuilding. Lesson: always have a succession plan—even if there’s no space today, keep developing “what’s next” so people evolve and stay.
00:26:32:12 – 00:27:02:21
Unknown
Now, the future: you’re embracing digital and AI—coaching, observation culture, automation. You play in the knowledge economy—monetizing by passing on knowledge and inspiring one more. Gen Z often plays in the attention economy—content that monetizes via platforms. There’s a hybrid economy where both intersect.
00:27:02:27 – 00:27:28:22
Unknown
Advice: if you’re in the knowledge economy, learn to monetize attention—courses, digital products—so while you sleep, people can buy, extending your knowledge’s shelf life and creating another income stream.
00:27:28:22 – 00:27:53:09
Unknown
Ramez, you’re repackaging knowledge. What are you doing in the attention economy?
One drawback to scaling as a creator is there’s only one of me. Trading time for money—speak/train and get paid—has limits. To inspire infinitely and be available 24/7, I must package what I do into proven, tested processes.
00:27:53:13 – 00:28:19:23
Unknown
I focus on sales and sales leadership, especially for those without a sales background who want to remove guesswork and get a basic, proven certification to transform doubts into effective selling.
00:28:19:25 – 00:28:45:16
Unknown
I’m building online courses and tools. We have an AI Sales Coach integrated into our LMS that lets users practice selling. We prime the AI to be different client profiles—restaurant manager, chef, barista, garage owner—so learners practice and get instant feedback aligned to our methodology.
00:28:45:19 – 00:29:13:20
Unknown
We partnered with companies in the US and locally to build this engine. When we started in September 2024, we were likely the only ones in the region doing it. The engine has evolved a lot.
00:29:13:23 – 00:29:33:23
Unknown
It was scary and expensive to start, but differentiation matters. I can’t be everywhere giving feedback, but the AI can provide value at scale.
00:29:33:23 – 00:29:57:28
Unknown
Beyond the LMS and AI Sales Coach, we have a Sales Coach app for managers to capture observations and give feedback. We don’t want to leave teams with spreadsheets that get lost; we help them build systems—people don’t rise to goals; they fall to the strength of their systems.
00:29:58:00 – 00:30:27:14
Unknown
These can be monetized—give value first and value returns.
Exactly. Some of your work digitizes paperwork; some automates processes; some embraces AI for efficiency and predictive, productive value—even voice analytics for role-plays.
00:30:27:14 – 00:30:50:29
Unknown
Last question: advice to viewers. Should they start a business? Think about mission? From your journey, what words of wisdom would you share?
00:30:51:01 – 00:31:15:20
Unknown
I once heard: there are leaders and followers—you choose. All leaders were once good followers. I was a good soldier, I learned, and then I was ready to fly and give back.
00:31:15:27 – 00:31:38:10
Unknown
No matter your business, where you are needs you right now. Learn from what you’re doing. And ask: when do you build the roof—before it rains, when it starts, or after? The answer is “before.” Avoid surprises. Think two or three steps ahead.
00:31:38:12 – 00:32:04:13
Unknown
There’s no good or bad time—now is a great time. If you wait for perfect conditions, nothing happens. If your unconscious keeps nudging you, now is a good time.
00:32:04:13 – 00:32:25:13
Unknown
Ramez, this has been a great conversation. Thank you for being here. I hope we inspired viewers with your journey and the “Inspire One More” philosophy. I love your networking approach and your personal story.
00:32:25:18 – 00:32:50:06
Unknown
I still have that “two-nine Coreflex” story for another episode. You’ve been authentic, transparent, and a great guest. Thank you.
It’s a pleasure.
Until next time—stay tuned for next Thursday for another guest on Re-imagining You. Stay well.
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