From Security Detail to Sales Star

Mason Schowers didn’t expect his late-night security rounds to lead to a whole new career. Over the course of six years working as a security contractor at a Cox Communications office building in Las Vegas, he built connections with employees and became interested in pursuing opportunities within the company. 

Then, one night, a supervisor pulled him aside and encouraged Mason to apply for a customer retention job. 

That became Mason’s first official role at Cox Communications in 2017. It was the starting point that led him to build a career in sales with Cox Business, where he’s now a national fiber advisor.  

Here, Mason discusses how his background makes him well-suited to sales and how Cox is helping him take his career to the next level.

A love for sales 

For Mason, working in customer retention was a great first step into a sales career because he learned how to resolve issues, provide solutions and share information about services with customers.  

In addition to learning the ins and outs of customer care, Mason said customer retention helped fuel important habits like thinking on your feet, creative problem solving and practicing patience in his day-to-day life; it also fueled his “drive to achieve.”

Within a couple of years, Mason took on a senior role on his team as retention lead. This involved onboarding new reps and coaching them on day-to-day best practices, which Mason said was an ideal stepping stone for future management roles.  

Most recently, he became an outbound sales rep and national fiber advisor. In this role, he’s reaching out to customers to tell them about the new expansion of cable fiber coverage options in their service area.  

“We’re highlighting the benefits of what the new service will be, and of course, what we’ll be able to offer to them,” Mason says. “It’s a win-win for them..”  

As a top sales performer on fiber migration, Mason was chosen to work directly with Cox’s corporate marketing team last year to put together processes and best practices for selling the service.  

“The position is very rewarding,” Mason says. “It’s definitely more of a sales role, which is what I enjoy.”  

Seeking growth opportunities 

Mason’s time in college involved an exploration of various paths: from criminal justice to nutrition and health sciences to personal training. Between one career move and another, he never got to finish his degree. Until now. 

Mason transferred his completed college credits and is working on getting a bachelor’s in business leadership and management — with the help of Cox’s tuition reimbursement program. He’s on track to graduate by the end of the year.  

The tuition program was one of the benefits that most appealed to him when he was applying for a job at Cox, he said.  

“That was a huge benefit that I saw and that I wanted to take advantage of,” he said. “And, of course, one of the biggest reasons I think Cox is a great company to work for.” 

“Cox has definitely changed my life,” he added. “It’s given me an opportunity to open doors.”  

In the time he’s been at Cox, Mason said he’s seen that it’s possible to achieve any goal you set for yourself here as long as you’re willing to put in the work and tap into the resources the company offers.  

“I believe if you want something, if you have that dedication and are willing to work for it, all of the opportunities are plentiful — you can definitely do something if you really want to,” Mason said.  

Learning skills along the way 

Mason’s background as a personal trainer, security guard and customer retention rep taught him many transferable skills that have been crucial for his success in sales.  

In the security and criminal justice field, Mason says he learned “verbal judo,” which is a “skill set of being able to talk to people and de-escalate” a situation. These skills have been beneficial for his work in customer retention and sales.

His experience as a personal trainer taught him how to take a “consultative” approach to building client relationships. This involves being able to sit down with clients, understand their needs and offer solutions, he explained.  

One of the reasons Cox has been a great career fit for Mason is because salespeople have the autonomy to operate as business owners with their client base — something Mason’s familiar with from his personal training business. 

“You do kind of feel like you have your own business: you’re talking to your own customers, you’re setting your own appointments,” he said. 

When Mason thinks about his future at Cox, he hopes to lead his own sales team someday.  

“I definitely want to stay in sales,” he says. “For me, the thrill of closing a deal is what I enjoy.”