� Some Sites I like � I'm reading |
The Sales Rollercoaster Sorry I haven't been on. I've had quite the rotten and lovely week, so I've just been avoiding the computer. I know I have a chapter or two to write sometime in the near future, but beyond that I'd rather be reading than dealing with the online bullshit. Work is getting crazy. We're starting the two months of fiscal projections and crap like that so my boss is tied up in meetings most of the time. He sneaks out so I can ask him a couple of questions, but we're not having a regular check-in these days. Wednesday sucked in particular because we had the sales planning portion of the budget meeting. Of course, I underestimated my potential earnings and they corrected it. Stressed out and PMSing, I had a minor freakout. Yes, I know the total hundred grand or so I'm suppossed to sell is spread out through the entire year and several different types of sales, but I'm still not completely confident that I can do it just yet. I also feel really adrift at times at my job, so I backed up the line of meetings half an hour to discuss some of the challenges I haven't found solutions for in the field. I'll admit the session was helpful to me, but I got far too emotional and ended up crying because I was so frustrated. I hate crying. I usually only cry when I can't understand something. That's why I used to cry so damn much in Calculus. I had it almost under control, but I learned I was suppressing too many of my other emotions, so I relearned how to listen to my feelings. Sadly, my feelings sometimes control me. I'm fairly thick skinned, but if it all builds up without an outlet and I'm super stressed there's nothing I can do. So, I felt like shit afterwards, and during, and I hoped that I could prove that I was a stronger person than that because I hate having the men running the business thinking that I'm weak. I'm not. At least they shouldn't know it. Now they do, so I'm probably fucked. God, I hate being human. Oh, I also got to spend the afternoon at the dentist having a tooth drilled and learning novacaine doses. Fun times. I won't elaborate. Dan's got a dental issue right now too that we're going to get fixed on Monday through the UM Dental Clinic. I only hope its healed by the weekend so we can attend the Forest Club. We finally found sponsors, so I'm hoping to get out. Thursday was a much better day. I don't know if God had pity on me for the sales meeting, but I actually had a semi productive day. I sold my first commercial contract on a complete cold call to this bistro in Brighton. I inspected and got a nice rejection from another place on Spencer. I didn't blame them for not changing, I offered what they were paying, but the owner was a nice old Italian guy and I can understand if he has a good relationship with the pest control company that practically owns Brighton and Howell. He was also rather sweet about it, so that helped as well. The only real pain I had was the much older other Italian guy running a party store down the street. He's breaking my balls, to put it like Cartman. I got approval to lower the monthly charge to twenty five, but I tacked on the usual initial charge of fifteen for basic set up stuff. He wouldn't do it. One month at forty freaking bucks was too much! I tried to explain that would be the major visit as we would set down monitors, etc., but he still wouldn't do it. I felt like I was nearly whining, so when he started dickering with the beer delivery man, I left. I decided to see if I could ask my boss about waiving it, though I hate having to ask my boss to hold my hand so much. (The older reps claimed I'd get better at thinking on my feet with practice.) He was trapped in the budget meeting, so I went back, told the ornery old dude that I had to talk to him to get it waived, and that I'd be back. I also apologized for not knowing that the initial charge was being counted in that twenty five dollars a month. Actually, what I really wanted to say was "I'm sorry you're a cheap moron who can't understand the need for setup charges that any business needs." But I didn't because I'm good like that. Asking him on Friday, my catch up day, got them waived though I told him I was nearly at the point of telling this guy off. I won't; but he'd better pay us up front or COD each time. Friday was a nothing day. I had a big meeting with the condo manager for this complex I'm trying to sell. She really didn't have any questions, so it went rather quickly. I don't even think we spent half an hour talking. I couldn't read it very well either. We talked about extra services and what that agreement would and would not cover. I don't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing, retrospectively. Near the end she seemed to be rushing me out. I know she had a resident situation she was trying to alleviate when I arrived, but I couldn't be sure that it wasn't me. She said she had to present it to one more person, and that I should call back on Thursday for the answer. Of course, she would have to fax it into the office, and she found the business card I had stuck into the folder, so that might be a good sign, but I'm feeling paranoid. I was hoping to close it that day, but you never know. Maybe I just need a little patience. Anyway, we have a non swinger party to attend today. I should probably bring a book as I'm not a big party person. I half want to stay home, but I need to get out. If you're in the Toledo area, attend the Rumors party tonight. We can't go, but our friends Celia and Geo are hosting it, so it should be a good time. I'm going to try and make the next one on October first. I also have to post about the new couple we met. I'll try to do that tomorrow. They made for an interesting Thursday night. Daphne |