I am in a Dart League with a bunch of my friends. Most of the guys in the Dart League with me, with their wives and kids make up most of the friends of me and my wife and our kids. They are a great bunch of guys and I have known most of them for years in fact I went to High School with the McGilvary brothers - Joe and Steve. Every other Tuesday we go to Chaucer's and play darts. Chaucers's is a good bar. It has that British Pub type feel and great beer and burgers. When I drink beer I often like micro brews but here I like the English beers they have like Guiness and Harp.
It was great this week. All of us were there- Steve, Joe, Timmy Chiocco, Russ Davis and me. Usually in the summers it is tough with vacations and the kids being around so it was good to get out and get together. Steve was the designated driver so that was also good if you get my drift.
We played against a bunch of guys that we all knew. We were in the same Sunday Slo-pitch Softball League a few years ago and one of the guys George Macredes has a similar job that I have for the competition. He is not a bad guy though and sometimes it is good to share stories.
We played great team darts this week. We all hit the shots when we had too and were picking eachother up. The way it works is that we play 4 games of 501 and then 5 games of cricket. We play best of 9. Anyway we killed them this week and won in 6 games. It was fun to rub it in Macredes and the other guys. It is part of a league but usually there is also a $10 a man side bet and that usually buys a few beers at the end of the night so that was a good time.
It was a little rough on Wednesday morning but luckily I didn't have to make any calls until 10. I have to go to the district office on Thursday and am going to stay over night there at the Marriot. I like going to the district office as it is good to catch up with the people who really do the work after I make the sales. The office people who do the invoicing, customer service and all that. One of the guys is leaving so there is a little shin dig for him Thursday that I will make too.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Friday
Usually on Fridays in the summer, I like to find a client who lives pretty close, within a few hours and take them golfing or something. Yesterday I decided to take Terry Buohl from Harris Industries in Harrisburg, PA golfing. He is a great guy, a bit of a wild man but a good guy.
Anyway, I hopped on 78 and after a few hours I was there. I spend a lot of time in my car traveling to clients and stuff. I have a company car so it is not so bad. Anyway after 2 hours of ESPN Radio and another hour of some good classic rock I was there. The radio station was playing some Genesis. I always loved them. They are playing some concerts this fall and I am still trying to figure out if I can expense some tickets.
I picked up Terry and we went to his local golf course. Terry is not the best golfer but he is fun. I think he knows every line from Caddyshack and Tin Cup.
We did talk a little work. He told me his company has an option on some property in Newark, Delaware and wants to expand. That was the most interesting tid bit of the day. Obviously when a good client expands I can sell them more but they are expanding technically out of the Northeast into the Del-Mar-Va region. Curtis is the Sales Rep there and he is good guy and I would like to work more with him. I could bring him into the deal but that will take away my commissions but if we were able to work together more it would help me expand and maybe bring more money to me. I am more senior than Curtis and we talk all the time. Gil Miller, at the ECSLDC last week, talked about the "rising tide theory" we should all be aware of. I think it meant that if all of us sell more than the compay does better or that if we work together it will help us. I may use this as an opportunity to talk to Gil and see what he says.
After golf we went to a sports bar that Terry likes, Goalposts. We were able to watch some of the British Open on TV. I really do not want Sergio to win this, I hope an American golfer wins. I knew I was going to be driving a while home so I only had two beers and then moved to Arnold Palmers- Iced Tea and Lemonade. Terry knew I was paying so he was hitting it a little harder and was downing the Coronas. Anyway, after a burger and some beverages it was time to me to head back. Traffic was lousy driving back but I really don't mind.
Should be a fun weekend. We have a BBQ with a few of the families we are friends with. The British Open will be on in the mornings so I should get to watch it.
Anyway, I hopped on 78 and after a few hours I was there. I spend a lot of time in my car traveling to clients and stuff. I have a company car so it is not so bad. Anyway after 2 hours of ESPN Radio and another hour of some good classic rock I was there. The radio station was playing some Genesis. I always loved them. They are playing some concerts this fall and I am still trying to figure out if I can expense some tickets.
I picked up Terry and we went to his local golf course. Terry is not the best golfer but he is fun. I think he knows every line from Caddyshack and Tin Cup.
We did talk a little work. He told me his company has an option on some property in Newark, Delaware and wants to expand. That was the most interesting tid bit of the day. Obviously when a good client expands I can sell them more but they are expanding technically out of the Northeast into the Del-Mar-Va region. Curtis is the Sales Rep there and he is good guy and I would like to work more with him. I could bring him into the deal but that will take away my commissions but if we were able to work together more it would help me expand and maybe bring more money to me. I am more senior than Curtis and we talk all the time. Gil Miller, at the ECSLDC last week, talked about the "rising tide theory" we should all be aware of. I think it meant that if all of us sell more than the compay does better or that if we work together it will help us. I may use this as an opportunity to talk to Gil and see what he says.
After golf we went to a sports bar that Terry likes, Goalposts. We were able to watch some of the British Open on TV. I really do not want Sergio to win this, I hope an American golfer wins. I knew I was going to be driving a while home so I only had two beers and then moved to Arnold Palmers- Iced Tea and Lemonade. Terry knew I was paying so he was hitting it a little harder and was downing the Coronas. Anyway, after a burger and some beverages it was time to me to head back. Traffic was lousy driving back but I really don't mind.
Should be a fun weekend. We have a BBQ with a few of the families we are friends with. The British Open will be on in the mornings so I should get to watch it.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
ECSLDC
So in learning about Blogs at ECSLDC over the weekend one of the things they said is they work best when they are updated so here goes.
ECSCLDC stands for the East Coast Sales Leadership Development Conference. We held it this year at the Executive Park Marriott in Charlotte, NC http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/cltnc-charlotte-marriott-executive-park/ . The past couple of years it had been held closer to my territory in the Northeast but we tend to move it around. It was a good event.
I flew down on American Airlines Friday withouth the wife and kids. They went to her parents house so I missed a trip to the in-laws. Our company has deals with Marriot and American so they get to save the money but I get the full points, it is a good deal.
Friday night was a cocktail party reception as everyone was just pulling into town. All the different Sales Reps and some of the support staff from the East Coast were there. The National Sales team from corporate was there. It is a great team. Made sure to not go crazy on the first night but there was this local microbrew that the hotel bar had that was pretty damn good. I spent most of the night talking to Mike Curtis who does sales in the De-Mar-Va region. He is a good guy. I would love to pick up some of his territiory or at least figure out ways that we can work together.
The next day was filled with Seminars and Breakouts. There was the usual bs about how to treat customers and what they are looking for now. Trust me, I would not be third in the country in growth in 2006 if I did not already know that.
Then there was the Blog talk. I really did not know how many people were doing this blog thing but now I am one of them.
The breakouts were pretty boring. Barbara Harris who is in charge of accounting spoke about the invoicing process blah blah blah. I was sitting next to Jim Petterson from the South East Region, he cracks me up.
Gil Miller from Corporate sppoke. I really admire him. He started out in Customer Service and now is VP of National Accounts. He is not like the other sons of bitches in corporate but most of those people are not in sales.
That night we went to a great BBQ dinner at the Richard Petty Museum. Sadly none of us got to drive and Richard Petty was not there but he has some cool memorabilia and stuff. It was a good old Southern BBQ. That good southern microbrew was not on tap there but there was plenty to drink. I got to talk to Gil Miller and that was great. He told me he was impressed with the growth my region had seen and wanted big things from me. I also met Kevin Jenkins who is in sales from the UK. That guy was a riot.
After the busses took us back to the Marriott a few of us went to a local sports bar. Petterson, Curtis and a few other guys went out. Everyone bought a couple of rounds, lets hope the receipts don't get kicked back from accounting.
Sunday was the golf outing. I woke up and as Petterson predicted, I was "Hurtin for Certain". I had just bought a new Nike Sasquatch driver http://www.golfsmith.com/products/NK790?PHPSESSID=e790986a296717d17791786f490c47fd in May. I was having a golf outing with a bunch of college buddies and figured it would be good for this trip also. Luckily a gatorade and the breakfast buffett at the Marriott sobered me up and I was ok on the golf course. Shot a 93 but considering the hangover and it was a new course I was fine with it. I came third in the Long Drive contest. Curtis, who never plays, won the closest to the pin on the 16th. He got a $400 gift certificate at Golfsmith.
After the golf outing there was a luncheon and then it was off to the airport and back on the 4:58. I made good time from the airport to my house considering it was Sunday and all the traffic from the shore was heading home too.
ECSCLDC stands for the East Coast Sales Leadership Development Conference. We held it this year at the Executive Park Marriott in Charlotte, NC http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/cltnc-charlotte-marriott-executive-park/ . The past couple of years it had been held closer to my territory in the Northeast but we tend to move it around. It was a good event.
I flew down on American Airlines Friday withouth the wife and kids. They went to her parents house so I missed a trip to the in-laws. Our company has deals with Marriot and American so they get to save the money but I get the full points, it is a good deal.
Friday night was a cocktail party reception as everyone was just pulling into town. All the different Sales Reps and some of the support staff from the East Coast were there. The National Sales team from corporate was there. It is a great team. Made sure to not go crazy on the first night but there was this local microbrew that the hotel bar had that was pretty damn good. I spent most of the night talking to Mike Curtis who does sales in the De-Mar-Va region. He is a good guy. I would love to pick up some of his territiory or at least figure out ways that we can work together.
The next day was filled with Seminars and Breakouts. There was the usual bs about how to treat customers and what they are looking for now. Trust me, I would not be third in the country in growth in 2006 if I did not already know that.
Then there was the Blog talk. I really did not know how many people were doing this blog thing but now I am one of them.
The breakouts were pretty boring. Barbara Harris who is in charge of accounting spoke about the invoicing process blah blah blah. I was sitting next to Jim Petterson from the South East Region, he cracks me up.
Gil Miller from Corporate sppoke. I really admire him. He started out in Customer Service and now is VP of National Accounts. He is not like the other sons of bitches in corporate but most of those people are not in sales.
That night we went to a great BBQ dinner at the Richard Petty Museum. Sadly none of us got to drive and Richard Petty was not there but he has some cool memorabilia and stuff. It was a good old Southern BBQ. That good southern microbrew was not on tap there but there was plenty to drink. I got to talk to Gil Miller and that was great. He told me he was impressed with the growth my region had seen and wanted big things from me. I also met Kevin Jenkins who is in sales from the UK. That guy was a riot.
After the busses took us back to the Marriott a few of us went to a local sports bar. Petterson, Curtis and a few other guys went out. Everyone bought a couple of rounds, lets hope the receipts don't get kicked back from accounting.
Sunday was the golf outing. I woke up and as Petterson predicted, I was "Hurtin for Certain". I had just bought a new Nike Sasquatch driver http://www.golfsmith.com/products/NK790?PHPSESSID=e790986a296717d17791786f490c47fd in May. I was having a golf outing with a bunch of college buddies and figured it would be good for this trip also. Luckily a gatorade and the breakfast buffett at the Marriott sobered me up and I was ok on the golf course. Shot a 93 but considering the hangover and it was a new course I was fine with it. I came third in the Long Drive contest. Curtis, who never plays, won the closest to the pin on the 16th. He got a $400 gift certificate at Golfsmith.
After the golf outing there was a luncheon and then it was off to the airport and back on the 4:58. I made good time from the airport to my house considering it was Sunday and all the traffic from the shore was heading home too.
Monday, July 16, 2007
About Me
So, this past weekend I was at a Leadership Development Conference for my Company and someone brought up how other companies have "blogs" and we should too. I did a little research on it and it seems like it is a big opportunity so I figured I should get one too.
I am in Sales for a pretty big company. I handle the Northeast Region. Last year I increased sales to the territory by 26%- second biggest increase in the company.
I am married with 3 kids.
I am in a Softball League in the summer. I do Fantasy Football in the fall. I like to play poker and shoot darts with the fellas in the neighborhood whenever I can.
I am in Sales for a pretty big company. I handle the Northeast Region. Last year I increased sales to the territory by 26%- second biggest increase in the company.
I am married with 3 kids.
I am in a Softball League in the summer. I do Fantasy Football in the fall. I like to play poker and shoot darts with the fellas in the neighborhood whenever I can.
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