OK....maybe it's not technically warm out. It's just much warmer than it's been so far this year. The last two days we've had highs around 60 degrees or so which is certainly sufficient to stir feelings of spring fever. It was so warm yesterday that I seriously considered putting the top down on my jeep for the drive home after work (Kim..are you paying attention? **evil grin**). But since the commute from the office to home is only ten minutes, it wasn't worth the trouble. No matter though. Only a few more months until warm weather settles in for good.
It was of course another crazy day at the office. First thing this morning I had a meeting with a supply vendor and I generally tend to dislike such meetings. I sit behind my desk as they do their song and dance routine as to why their product is so much better than that of their competitior. Then they try to get all chummy (the "old buddy, old pal" routine). If the meeting goes longer than expected, or if I'm otherwise busy with this or that, I usually just slide the reading glasses down the bridge of my nose and glare over the top of them in the manner of a wicked librarian giving the eye to a second grader whose belch and laughter just broke the library's tomb-like silence. If they don't get the hint at this point, I wavy my hand in front of them Jedi-like and say things like "I'm not the client you're looking for."
Between everything else I had to do today, I continued tinkering with the personnel requisition for reopening the assistant manager position that was indefinitely closed several years ago due to budget cuts. Admittedly, the chances of this coming to pass are very slim, but I'll try my best to push it through. Having an assistant would be a tremendous relief. I'll finally be able to delegate some administrative tasks which will leave me with sufficient time to master Solitare and take care of personal emails. **sigh**
7 comments:
Kim is going to leave you a nasty comment for that, too funny!! Get her going!! ahaha!
Did you guys get this last bit of snow that hit us yesterday? There were wrecks all over the place, a school bus slid backwards down a hill because they could get it going!
I miss summer, the heat, the sun, the flies, the smells... I am such a summer gurl.
So, tell me, as someone who has to convince others why MY product is so much better than others, what is a selling point for you? What are the deal breakers? Come on, I really need pointers, I have a meeting with a fairly large customer of mine next week and I have to come up with something WONDERFUL so they buy from me, instead of buying MY product from someone else... ~sigh~ I hate sales, I really do...
Nikki...thanks for the comments. Provoking Kim every so often is great fun. I'm looking forward to whatever she has to say.
Working in sales really isn't all that bad. For several years during a very impoverished time of my life, I worked part time doing sales at a local Williams-Sonoma store. It was great fun and I had the opportunity to meet so many interesting people that came through there. Based on what I learned there and what I've learned as a client who can spend up to 50 thousand dollars or more with one sales rep, I would say that the key thing in sales is to truly believe in your product. Sure, this sounds like a cliche, but it is nonetheless key to making that sale and can often be the deciding factor. When I worked in sales, I was fortunate enough to have used many of the things I was selling, so it was an easy thing to add that personal touch, that personal experience which, I firmly believe, made the difference. I sold so many overpriced sets of cookware this way.
So as a client in a very different field now, I l still ook for that personal touch, that deal making belief in what someone is selling. I also like honesty as well. When meeting with varous sales reps, I ususally do my "homework" beforehand, so I know exactly the ins and outs of the product. As soon as I catch a vedor stretching the truth a bit, he or she is then wasting their time. If their product is for some reason not quite as good as that of a competitior, so be it. Just be honest about it and if the investment vs. return is more cost efficient, I'll often go for it. And, of course, folow up is always important, whether it be via a phone call or email. A simple "thank you for your time" without a secondary sales pitch is always welcome.
So I think the keys are: believe in your product, and be honest. Make those follow-up calls or emails. And most importantly, just have fun! If you show that you enjoy what you do, your positive additude may very well make a difference.
One musn't "provoke" a woman suffering from PMS...and I'm over the jeep thing...it doesn't bother me that you can drive around with your top off...I don't CARE if you drive around with your top off...go ahead...see if I care....
...cause I don't, ok?
Ahhh...but I think you WILL care. Wait until the first warm spring weekend. Just picture it: the sun is shining and through the open windows of your house a wam breeze blows, carrying with it the song of birds and the smell of flowers and fresh cut grass. You have absolutely nothing to do today, so you go outside, put the top down on the Jeep, take the doors off, and ten minutes later you're zipping through town, wind blowing in your hair and the sun above shining on your face. Maybe you're on the way to the beach, maybe you're just driving around enjoying the warmth of spring. You meet another Jeep on the road and they wave. They always wave. Life is good. Life, at least today, is carefree ...particularly when you own a Jeep.
that's
low....
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