Inspire One More: Ramez Helou on Sales, Reputation & Personal Brand

Everyone sells even if they don’t study sales. In this episode of Reimagining You, global sales & leadership expert Ramez Helou shares how he turned setbacks into scale: from door-to-door knives sales in the US, to building teams in Puerto Rico, to leading Unilever Food Solutions in the GCC, and founding The Academy for Sales Excellence in Dubai, UAE.
You’ll learn why credibility beats hype, how reciprocity unlocks real networking, and practical ways to package your knowledge with AI so your expertise works while you sleep.

What you’ll learn

• Credibility, reputation, deal flow (and why “give first” wins)
• Shotgun vs. sniper selling tailor the tour, not the talk
• How to turn field observations into coaching that sticks
• Building an online AI Sales Coach + LMS to scale training
• Career pivots: from corporate to personal brand on purpose

Chapters

• 00:00 Intro: Everyone sells
• 02:54 Puerto Rico pivot (turning heartbreak into business)
• 06:42 Hurricane Georges → record sales (mindset + action)
• 09:09 From Unilever to The Academy for Sales Excellence
• 15:17 Sales fundamentals: service > scripts
• 18:27 Activation: reputation over noise
• 22:01 Networking: reciprocity, not transactions
• 25:07 Failure lesson: succession planning
• 27:28 Hybrid/attention economy + AI Sales Coach
• 30:51 Advice: build the roof before it rains

Ready to grow sales the ethical way?
Book a discovery chat with The Academy for Sales Excellence: www.theacademyforsales.com

Watch the full conversation + show notes on our website.
Click here for Video Episode: 

 Dubai • GCC • Middle East

sales training, sales coaching, sales leadership, personal branding, networking, reciprocity, Dubai, UAE, GCC, Unilever, AI sales coach, LMS, business development, B2B sales, reputation, referrals

Stay connected and never miss an update:

🌐 Website: www.theacademyforsales.com
🔗 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/theacademyforsales
📸 Instagram: @academyforsales
📘 Facebook: facebook.com/academyforsales
▶️ YouTube: youtube.com/@academyforsales

🎧 Explore more episodes, insights, and resources on our website.