A Different Approach to Sales

Everyone has experienced walking into a store and being followed by an employee asking you if you need help with anything. Or it might be passing a kiosk in the mall and the person with perfume samples just a few steps behind you, relentlessly asking if you would like to try out their latest scent. But you’ve never met Jake Caralle. He’s not your typical salesman. He’ll change your perception about a salesperson. As he says, “In sales, you’re helping other people solve problems.”

Caralle graduated from Bloomsburg University with a degree in business management and professional sales in 2020. He moved to Boston to work for Oracle NetSuite, a computer software company where he works as a business development consultant.

“My job entails supporting the New York, New Jersey, and New England region in the top line of their sales efforts for companies that range from 20 million to 200 million in revenue. Nothing can be innovated, created, or advanced in our economy until someone sells something [a product] to somebody, Caralle states.

As a business development consultant, Caralle is selling software that transforms a business. He believes “the software truly helps them [the company] reach their potential while making life easier and saving them an immense amount of time.”

“I really like being on the hunt every day, facing down new business. I like what I get to learn in the technology industry,” said Caralle who recently won two company awards.

Caralle has had a niche for sales ever since he was working with Alumni and Professional Engagement (APE) at BU. He says, “Working with that office gave me a taste of what front line sales is like, where you’re trying to explain to people the benefits and values of a certain program or event.”

Along with promoting the Greenly Center, Caralle worked as a peer career coach. “I was passionate about being able to help other students,” he said. After BU, Caralle continues guiding BU students to return the favor.

“It’s my duty to give back as an alumnus because they [the alumni] helped me so much as a student.” ZIPD and the Career Intensive Boot Camp stood out to him the most because those alumni and employers were prime examples of Caralle’s potential future.

He has presented at the Zeigler Institute for Professional Development (ZIPD) conference and participated in a virtual sales panel to share his experiences with current students.

“I presented at ZIPD because it’s a program that had a really big impact on me and my career direction. Seeing professionals come in to talk about their experiences helped me shift my thinking into a professional mindset. It made me want to be up there doing what they’re doing in a few years to help the next people in line get to where they want to be.” Caralle said. “I want to help create the next generation of leaders.”

Caralle has big plans for his future career. “I want to be the CEO of a company that I start and grow to more than 200 employees.” Outside of work, he reads books to develop other skills that will direct him to his goal. He adds, “I’m working toward this every day."

Helping people solve problems has always been Caralle’s passion. As a salesman, this mentality is what makes him successful. Caralle does not just want to sell you a product. He wants to make sure you have the perfect product you were searching for, or one you didn’t even know you needed.