New York/ Connecticut

Another whirlwind trip in the books this weekend, and another successful demo of The Mule. I flew in to Connecticut on Thursday morning. I had to get up at 3:30AM so I could make a 6:00AM flight to Chicago. I finally got to my office at 2:00 and spent the afternoon catching up on various business and house keeping tasks with my co-workers.

Friday morning my boss and I went to Queens (what a great part of NYC) to do a product demo for the New York City Transit Authority. The call was very successful all the way through. The only hitch came at the end of the meeting when we went to meet the plant chief. He comes out to greet us and he has a gun on his belt. (I have now made the decision that I will start carrying a gun to work every day as well.) I am not sure if this is part of his everyday routine or if he only arms himself when going into meetings with sales people. His big concern about the project is that his people will start to complain that they cant do there job without a Mule, and they will stop doing work until there is a Mule available to them. (He is right in assuming this. It is my experience with union shops that if you bring in one unit you will need to bring in 10 more.) They decided to order there first couple of units next week and “introduce it as a test program.”

After my call on Friday I traveled to Moosup, CT to visit The Joe’s at Soper’s house. We basically laid low but it was good to see my boys again. Saturday I went back to New Haven to participate in a ritualistic male pre-nuptial ceremony for Matt “The Mayor” Hill (Sorry no details available).

Today is Sunday and I am at the airport. I finally return home to see Kim and the boys. Kim has graciously taken one for the team by looking after the boys all weekend. I am looking forward to getting home to see the family. The good news is that I am in TN all next week.

Who Cares?

OK - so I have noticed that everyone has decided to exercise their rights to free speech by starting a blog. I have decided to do the same. One difference you may notice is that I don't intend to use this forum to blame all of my problems on someone else.

So, you may wonder, if I don't plan to use this blog for airing grievances with the world, what am I going to use it for? Good question. I have decided to use this as a journal of my insights and observations into the world of sales, business, and life on the road.

Your next question is probably who cares? Well I am not sure about that part. Most likely nobody cares. I usually don't read blogs from other people because I don't care. I have decided that even if nobody reads this, it will be a good way for me to document my day to day life so that I can share it with my children and grandchildren. When I begin to approach my 50's and my mind deteriorates to the point were I need diapers and someone to feed me at least my kids will know that I once had a real job and was self sufficient.

So here are some basics for those who don't know me, or those who know me but don't care enough to have ever asked what I do with my time (many people assume all I do is eat at McDonald's all day). I work as a sales manager for a small company in Connecticut that manufactures a piece of material handling equipment called The Mule. Because the company is so small I cover the entire USA and all of Canada and Mexico.

I have worked in sales since I was 20 years old. I have had some good days and bad days, good jobs and bad jobs, however I love what I do. Every day is a little different and I love working in a fast paced job. Anyone who has ever "toted the bag" knows that you make your own success in sales and you are rewarded based on your effort. It is by far the most fair system in the world. 

Most people detest my profession thanks to a lifetime of bad experiences at car dealerships and with the sales pros at Best Buy. Always remember as ridiculous as sales people seem to you consumer behavior is always just as strange. My hope is that the next time a sales person comes to your office that you will see were they are coming from.

I hope you get some enjoyment out of this small look into my life. I will try to update this at least once a week. Let me know what you think.

(Disclaimer - I do not spell check nor do I have perfect grammar.  Unlike my wife!)