Nourish and Navigate, Episode 4: Why Sales Is a Strategic Path to Leadership for Women

In this episode of Nourish and Navigate: Women, Wellness, and Leadership, Rebecca Takemoto, executive director of Women in Nutraceuticals (WIN), talks with Petra Erlandson, VP of Sales at Alkemist Labs and a newly elected WIN board member. Erlandson, who has worked in the dietary supplement industry for more than 20 years, traces her path from a chemistry degree and commercial laboratory research into specialty chemicals sales and, eventually, nutraceuticals. She says she came to the industry without a background or a passion for it, then developed a strong belief in the products it makes, particularly botanicals, and in their ability to affect human health. She credits her chemistry training with teaching her to think like a scientist, a mindset she says pairs well with a sales personality.

Erlandson has spent nearly 30 years in professional B2B sales, 25 of them as a sales leader, and says that in that time she has worked with, for, or managed only four women. She notes that women are estimated to hold about 30% of B2B sales positions. She and Takemoto discuss why that may be, including outdated ideas of what a sales job involves. Erlandson describes sales in her industry as consulting: being an expert, helping clients, and representing yourself authentically. She points to relationship building, listening, patience, and competitiveness as strengths women can bring, and says sales builds the voice, confidence, and profit-and-loss experience that support advancement, referring to the line-role versus staff-role concept in the book The Broken Rung.

The conversation then turns to leadership development more broadly. Erlandson names motherhood as an early lesson in humility and describes how her sales career pushed her out of a supporting-role mindset and into public speaking and being quoted. She encourages women to worry less about perfection and focus on being authentic. Asked how companies and individuals could better develop female leaders, she points to the power of sponsorship, one person saying "this spot is for you," and to simple daily habits, such as paying compliments and passing along positive feedback, that help create space for women to advance.