How one year of cold calls turned Total Image Group into a $15 million-a-year empire

For 12 gruelling months, Pamela Jabbour made 100 “frustrating” cold calls every single day. Then she had a chat that changed everything.

When ambitious Sydney woman Pamela Jabbour launched her own business straight out of uni, she had no idea of the struggle to come.

Ms Jabbour was just 21 when she started her own corporate uniform company, Total Image Group, after spotting a gap in the market.

But what followed was a gruelling year of incredibly hard work and crushing setbacks that nearly caused her to give up time and time again.

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Her father already had a successful fashion manufacturing business, and luckily, he mentored Ms Jabbour and allowed her to operate out of his offices.

She was also fortunate to be living at home and to have the financial support of her parents while she was establishing herself.

At the time, there were just two employees — Ms Jabbour and a university mate, who looked after the firm’s marketing.

But it was far from an overnight success.

Total Image Group CEO Pamela Jabbour was hung up on many times during her first year. Picture: Supplied

For an entire year, Ms Jabbour made 100 cold calls every single day in an attempt to drum up business and raise her company’s profile — without making a “single sale”.

While most people on the end of the line were polite, she was hung up on many times and endured more than her fair share of rude and hostile responses.

But finally, her persistence paid off, and the first order was placed — for a cool $1 million.

Then 22, Ms Jabbour said she got off the phone and “screamed” with excitement.

“It was huge — I literally got off the phone after they placed the order and screamed,” she told news.com.au.

“I was working in my dad’s office, and everyone knew what I was doing, so everyone came in and celebrated.”

After scoring that first client, things “started to snowball”, and one of the next contracts was with a company with 30,000 employees.

“That’s where things started to rocket,” Ms Jabbour said.

Today, Total Image Group is a true success story, with the team of more than 40 staff members pulling in more than $15 million per year.

Big-name clients include Fantastic Furniture, the Australian Olympic team and the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust, and the company dresses more than 300,000 people a day.

Now 34 and a new mum, the CEO said she never expected her little business idea to become such a hit, although she always knew it had potential.

“When you’re young you just have a bit more resilience, so (in the beginning) I didn’t really focus on time — I just really believed that when one sale came through, the rest would also come,” she said.

“I focused on that 100 calls a day goal for 12 months, and it was such a mission. I got hung up on few times and people could be quite rude.

“I believe everyone has moments where they think about walking away when they lose confidence, but I really did believe in what we were doing.”

Ms Jabbour she didn’t realise it at the time, but one of the reasons it took so long to nab that first sale was because the sale cycle in the uniform industry is notoriously slow, with businesses usually taking around a year to decide on a uniform company and place an order.

“It taught me a lot about patience,” she said.

The company’s new goal is to become the country’s largest privately owned uniform provider, something it is well on the way to achieving.

“Seeing our uniforms in public never gets old — I’m that annoying person who is always saying, ‘Look, there’s our uniform’,” Ms Jabbour said.

“Not everyone is lucky enough to be able to make money from something they’re passionate about, and business is tough — there are so many moments where you want to walk away.

“But I really love what I do and that helps me pick myself up in those moments and push through.”

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