Desperate Times—I Took a Commission-Only Telesales Job (and it Changed my Life)
From commission-only cold calls to career stability — a reminder that the hard path is often the right one
There are no shortcuts.
Nowhere.
Ever.
Sometimes it is pronounced. Sometimes it remains out of sight, and then, at other times, you need the universe to string a collection of events together to help you see.
In late 2024, the universe started working its magic—and now 12 months on, the results have been magnificent.
After returning from my hometown of the Central Coast to chilly Melbourne, I was met with the opposite of a hero’s return.
Life came right at me…
Fast!
Within two weeks, I lost my job.
Two weeks after that, my temporary housing situation came to an end.
Then I moved into what I can only refer to as a ‘crack den’ in a pretty rough part of Victoria Street in Abbotsford. An old building that was converted into a halfway house of sorts. The 10 smallish rooms, 2 communal bathrooms, and 1 shared kitchen were inhabited by a community of drifters, tourists, and people down on their luck (e.g. me).
I was there for about a week before I attempted to film my first podcast.
I set the camera up, then started recording and flowing. I got halfway through the episode before a yelling match erupted between the old couple at the end of the hall.
Their voices bled into the audio; it was too much.
I stopped recording and simply sat there defeated, basking in the domestic argument that filled all 10 rooms of the building.
At this point, I was living off what little savings I had, but this was the sign I required.
I needed to get out.
I needed money—asap!
The job hunt was already underway, but after this sinking feeling of defeat, I ramped up my efforts. Sending resumes and visiting local businesses like a madman.
Eventually, I got a hit.
I was invited into an office building on Collins Street in the city one Monday morning. The weekend before it, my bestie celebrated her birthday, and in true me fashion, I decided to push the envelope, hitting the agbays with a friend and partying until the early hours of Sunday morning.
The comedown and recovery attempt on Sunday was brutal.
I was in all sorts.
When I woke up Monday morning, I was in absolutely no state to attend an in-person interview and very nearly pulled the pin.
A last-minute and powerful wave of desperation came over me—I needed this job.
Within a couple of minutes, I was up and showered, dressed and on my way to an interview that I had not at all prepared for and knew nothing about.
Upon arrival, I was met with a pleasant feeling of ‘oh, this could work’.
Big building
City location
Young people
Up-to-date tech
Everyone dressed nice
Well-established business
Lots of movement and energy
I can definitely make this work!
The interviewer (a senior hiring manager named Dan) came out to grab me. We sat down on opposite sides of a table and got into it.
He asked me the standard questions.
About my ambitions…
Had I ever done sales…
How soon could I start…
How I go handling rejection…
I answered confidently and calmly. The interview was going well despite the fact that I was heating up and coming down, and then halfway through, he asked a question that rocked me.
“So how do you feel about the job being commission only?”
My stomach dropped.
Did he misspeak? Did I hear him wrong? How did I not read that in the job ad?
In a moment of pure craziness and desperation, I gathered myself, then answered calmly and confidently…
“I’m looking forward to the challenge”
The universe spoke through me. It knew where I was at and what I needed to move forward—this was it!
Two days later, I went to work for the first time.
The role was crazier than I ever could have imagined, and I was so over my head with this one.
Our job was simple (ish)…
Arrive at 845am, ready to dial at 9 am
Get given a list of cold leads that had been bought from a lead source
Dial every lead from top to bottom and give them the spiel
Sell as much as you can
Get paid a commission on what you sell (% of your sales) at the end of the week
Come back the following week and pray that no one got cold feet, i.e. lose the sale
Sounds simple enough, right…
Right?!
Here’s the catch.
We were selling ad space…
To local businesses…
In a magazine…
That was physically distributed every quarter…
To local SES stations around Australia.
I would call these businesses and sell this ad space and get paid 30% of whatever I sold at the end of every week at around 6pm, and the smallest ad space that could be sold… a business card-sized ad that went for a $440AUD!!
So for some quick math…
I had to cold call 150-200 small Aussie businesses every day and convince them to commit to paying $440 for an ad in a magazine that would be produced and distributed in the distant future to small SES stations and their volunteers and would likely be seen by no one. I had to sell 2 of these ad spaces every day, day after day, for a whole week to earn anything remotely close to a liveable wage, and if I could not, I simply would not get paid.
That was the world I had entered.
Just to put it into context, based on data from the ABS, “for full-time workers, the median for ages 25-34 is about $1,538, while overall average weekly earnings for all men were around $2,294 in May 2025.”
And somehow, in some crazy way… I loved it.
This job, this opportunity, gave me the ability to put into practice all my Stoic training—entering every phone call, every day, every week, with no expectations.
Riding the highs and lows of wondering if I would be able to eat that week, and simply learning how to let it pass.
It was a thrill.
A thrill I revelled in and quickly got good at, but did not see myself doing long-term.
The lack of a base wage and the nature of the work never sat entirely right with me, so whilst I worked hard and gave it my all, I continued scanning for other opportunities in the background.
And I happened upon one that was very promising…
After running into a buddy of mine at the gym and walking him through the rollercoaster that had been the last couple of months, he offered to reach out to a friend who worked at another sales company.
He said the gig was private health and that the company was legit.
He said he would reach out to the friend and put in a good word, and we left it there. I was happy with his concern, but not confident that anything would come of it.
Fast forward 2 weeks, and I am still hustling away at this commission-only gig.
By now, I was getting really good, easily getting my 2 sales a day, and rapidly expanding my sales knowledge.
The training and attention to detail at this company was elite.
Every call was overheard by the manager and tweaked slightly so that any glaring issues were identified immediately, ensuring no lead was wasted.
My skills were being sharpened:
Tone
Call pacing
Value building
Circle-working
Objection handling
Overcoming rejection
I was getting good at sales and had all but assigned myself to the fate of having to commit to this role for the medium term.
Then I received an email that changed my trajectory for good…
My mate’s old work friend had reached out, saying that there was an intake and that a manager would be in touch to set up an interview.
Ok, now we’re talking!
I went to the interview prepared with key terms like talk time, objection handling, circle work and dial attempts. I wore a button up shirt per the advice from another person I had interviewed with the week before. I spoke confidently of a desire to learn, grow and over-achieve if given the opportunity.
My head was high, my energy radiating.
Not because I had made millions of dollars, but because I had taken on something hard and overcome it. I put my best foot forward and now all I had to do was wait—I returned to work the next day, fully committed to improvement and skill building.
Despite my interview performance, my expectations remained low.
Not because I didn’t back myself, but because it was the wise thing to do… expect less, receive more.
The next day I received the call I was waiting for.
“Sav we would like to welcome you to… training starts on the…”
I was in!
Two weeks later I started the training on this new industry. Going through all of the knowledge, compliance and related sales skills.
Two weeks after that I was on the phones, calling prospects and getting active.
I worked straight through the Christmas break, doing as much overtime as I could to shorten the learning curve and within 6 weeks of making my first call I was outperforming and actually getting paid commission.
For the whole of 2025 I worked really hard.
Overtime…
Working on days off…
Going through notes after work…
Calling back prospects early and late at night…
After 12 months had passed, I had built a reputation and a solid foundation in this company and my new career—the upward spiral was in full affect.
ADHD diagnosis
Creating content
Great new apartment
Making amazing music
Building new connections
Started a healthy relationship
In the months after leaving the previous role, I messaged my old manager several times to thank him for the effort he put in and the training he did with me.
My short time in this commission only gig was a stepping stone, but an incredibly pivotal one that gave me a tonne of skills in a short amount of time and made everything that proceeded it possible.
The universe put this strange and scary opportunity in front of me.
A lot of people would’ve borked and exclaimed “this is below me”.
I was lucky enough to find the voice inside me that saw this as an inflection point and in a moment of desperation and blind faith, I grabbed it with both hands and never looked back.
Now, money is no object—I feel rich.
I’m not super wealthy by any means, but I have a roof over my head, I can pay my rent and I have enough money to buy things that I need or go on holidays.
I’m full of gratitude right now for a lot of things…
The universe for opening up a path.
The commission only gig that gave me the skills.
The mate who made an effort to use his contacts when I needed it.
The role I landed in that has changed my life for the better and given me security.
Life will get scary from time to time.
Don’t give up, don’t back down. Trust yourself and the universe that it will all work out, because one or another, it will.
With gratitude,
SAV.
If you’re trying to rebuild — financially, creatively, emotionally, or physically — you’re in the right place.
I write here to document the process honestly, not perfectly.
Subscribe if you want real reflections, practical frameworks, and reminders that progress is often quiet and unglamorous — but always worth it.
If you really want to support me, there’s 3 other ways to do that:
Purchase the Champ Camp EP: My latest EP is out now and you can purchase it here. I poured my soul into this and I look forward to everyone hearing it.
Follow me on Youtube: All my podcasts, interviews, music videos and a whole heap more, all in one place.
Lil Gratitude Journal: My gratitude journal has been carefully designed for the busy modern-day creative/entrepreneur. It’s efficient, effective and affordable (and makes for a great gift).