so not into this weather

i know all the weather geeks with no place to go are super excited

but it stormed last night. there was a wicked one last week or whatever

i'm trying to go out and do shit. I DONT WANT RAIN.

8/5/2010 7:04:08 PM

trying to write my motivational statement...i'm not motivated right this second. so blah!

8/5/2010 7:05:21 PM

Lucky for you, LunaK, I have already written it for you. Feel free to copy and paste.

I realize this is about being motivational....which I am. Hear me out, maybe I can offer some insight.

I am in outside sales, which is currently salary+commission, but will move into straight commission starting at the beginning of July 2010. I have been in this position since July 2009. I have competition from several direct manufacturing sales reps, large distributors, and local distributors. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of each:

Direct Advantages: Immediate knowledge of new technology, no middle man mark up, one shipping bill (paid by manufacturer or buyer of goods), access to larger range of non-commodity items, control inventory, have access to many distributors that can effectively sell their goods which increases market share, and set prices of commodity they manufacture.

Direct disadvantages: Typically have 1-3 sales reps per region (i.e. southeast, mid-atlantic, northeast, etc.) limiting the number of accounts they can successfully manage/cold-call, lack physical customer service or physical technical service available to or affordable for smaller users or altogether, are sometimes not trustworthy because they will go in behind their distributors that sell their commodity to one account in large quantities (i.e. they missed a big account, and have found out about it through a distributor selling their particular product) which leads to the distributor not selling their product anymore, have too many distributors selling the product ultimately driving the set price down through deviations, possibly rely on distributors to actually sell the product, and competition from other direct sources.

Large distributor advantages: have access to other commodities that go hand in hand with other manufacturers (poor example- grocery stores sell milk as well as cereal), get direct pricing, many locations regionally or nationally easing the shipping burden of buyers with multiple locations, personal service either customer or technical, many sales reps that are able to cover a broader territory, access to multiple manufacturers of the same commodity allowing to keep prices in check, service programs that smaller companies can't offer and direct providers can't match in price or value, and experts of many many commodities as opposed to one or a few.

Large distributor disadvantages: smaller local distributors creating price wars (think Michael Scott Paper Co vs Dunder-Mifflin), direct mfg's going in behind and stealing business, limited access to all of the mfg's (you won't find Harris Teeter name brands in Food Lion and visa versa), can't truly set prices because it's based on both supply and demand, territory management, and tough growth prospects in slower economies (this is true for direct as well really)

Local distributor advantages: Typically a good ol' boy setting where the seller and the buyer know each other for years (this does happen at all levels, but mostly at the local level), local folks are right down the street and can be used in emergencies, if the local guy buys at high enough volumes then there is no shipping charge to the end user, and access to both direct mfg's and large distributors.

Local distributor disadvantages: easily beaten in price, array of commodities, array of technology, lack of trained staff, low cash flow, etc etc etc.

This is what I have noticed in my six months, I am sure there are plenty more that need mentioning. The way I am setting myself apart as a sales person is this: I go after the big accounts right now while I am new. The big accounts, if I land them, will take care of me while I am new and building a customer base. The money made off of those allows me to focus free time on smaller accounts that get me higher margins. I build up big accounts, I would like to have 5-10 of these, then get 20-30 medium accounts. If I lose 1 or 2 big accounts, the 20-30 medium accounts keep me afloat while I go after new big accounts. I don't really waste time on small accounts simply because they basically pay for breakfast or something really small.

I will say this, if you can't get a big account in the first 6-8 months (assuming you have cash flow that you can ride this long) you could be in a world of trouble. If you can get one, it will really make going after the others a lot more enjoyable and less stressful. It's simply just very exhausting wasting any time on anything other than big accounts in the very beginning. You work just as hard on the medium sized accounts and see 1/3 to 1/36 of the money in my situation.

If you have any other questions, you can PM me. I hope this helps in the slightest!

[Edited on August 5, 2010 at 7:12 PM. Reason : extra l]

8/5/2010 7:10:56 PM

that shower put me in the mood to lay here with the pup...

and he's staring at me...judging me...because he knows i'm planning on leaving him...


GAH....WHY DOES EVERYBODY JUDGE ME

8/5/2010 7:16:00 PM

You telling me I'll get a raise and then renigging means my job search just became active. And a fuck you to you good sir.

8/5/2010 7:47:56 PM

You should probably learn to spell before you apply for other jobs.

8/5/2010 7:51:04 PM

i should know never to look forward to going out...

it never turns out remotely like i hope

8/5/2010 7:53:08 PM

^ this is how i feel

8/5/2010 8:05:48 PM

3^ ya that was a pretty epic fail for kiwi there

8/5/2010 8:08:27 PM

lol I just like saying nigging.

[Edited on August 5, 2010 at 8:11 PM. Reason : I know it's reneged. ]

8/5/2010 8:10:15 PM

my 1 year old cat has been outside missing since the storm began

She gets very scared during storms

I've already been up and and down the street looking for her. Am soaked.

8/5/2010 8:10:49 PM

Kiwi said:

Quote :

"lol I just like saying nigging."

The word is renege, not "renig."

8/5/2010 8:12:14 PM

Quote :

"I know it's reneged."

no you didn't

8/5/2010 8:13:14 PM

yes i did

It goes back to an n word joke I had with a friend and it stuck.

8/5/2010 8:19:26 PM

I believe her yo

I don't know why but I do

8/5/2010 8:20:04 PM

lol

I'm fucking tired, angry, lonely, perioding, bloated, disheartened, and generally depressed all rolled into one. Fuck this right now.

8/5/2010 8:25:32 PM

lobsterfest

currently happening at my house

on my skin

SIZZLIN'

8/5/2010 8:28:45 PM

well my hair is dry...

that's one step in the direction of being able to get ready for when my VERY appealing offer comes

[Edited on August 5, 2010 at 8:48 PM. Reason : positive]

8/5/2010 8:34:14 PM

I should not be this excited for a live stream of a show that I'm not at

8/5/2010 8:48:12 PM

i want something fruity to drink...

the only things in my refrigerator are water...one busch light...and two dos equis

none of those fit the bill

8/5/2010 9:00:01 PM

put a lime in your dos equis, problem solved

8/5/2010 9:04:34 PM

i don't have a lime

8/5/2010 9:04:52 PM

well then i see your dilemma

maybe if you just drink the three beers really fast you'll forget about wanting something fruity

8/5/2010 9:06:11 PM

i just don't think it works that way

8/5/2010 9:06:57 PM

8/5/2010 9:08:04 PM

8/5/2010 9:08:50 PM

So, so naked right now.

8/5/2010 9:10:31 PM

i was until about 5 minutes ago

[Edited on August 5, 2010 at 9:11 PM. Reason : for the past hour]

8/5/2010 9:10:52 PM

8/5/2010 9:11:31 PM

So, so naked right now.

8/5/2010 9:13:19 PM

hey Kurtis...are you naked right now?

8/5/2010 9:16:09 PM

I swear it looks like Montreal is having a hurricane right now.

(well, close)

like, whoa. we had sunshine today, rainbows in the afternoon, and this.

fun times

8/5/2010 9:18:14 PM

iPhone double post, but yes. It's just a shame I don't have anyone with which to share this king size bed.

8/5/2010 9:19:06 PM

i feel the same way about my queen size bed...

i mean...it's currently over taken by a dog and a cat...

but they can be forcefully removed for the right guest

8/5/2010 9:24:29 PM

shitty bullpen is shitty

8/5/2010 9:36:13 PM

thank goodness for skype

8/5/2010 9:37:46 PM

^^^
Missed you at Bada.

8/5/2010 9:42:11 PM

i seem to remember somebody was going to call me whenever a concrete time was decided upon

8/5/2010 9:43:06 PM

Ah. I thought a certain someone was going to text me when she was ready...

8/5/2010 9:43:49 PM

i was home by 6:30...showered by 7...

patiently awaiting my notification...

then the storm came up so i didn't bother to finish getting ready


failure to communicate is what we have here

[Edited on August 5, 2010 at 9:50 PM. Reason : sdfsd]

8/5/2010 9:45:27 PM

I blame myself. I'm so stupid!

8/5/2010 9:48:34 PM

you should!

8/5/2010 9:49:45 PM

I've already worked 50 some hours this week. I'm so tired

8/5/2010 10:06:07 PM

i had 36 hrs by monday night. quit whining.

8/5/2010 10:07:22 PM

I have 36 hours as of today

8/5/2010 10:09:22 PM

yeah and i had 30 some this past weekend, and i will be working this weekend, which is supposed to be my weekend off. plus, i am doing the work of three people, so bite me.

8/5/2010 10:13:04 PM

i can only write 37.5 hours per week on my timesheet

8/5/2010 10:17:29 PM

Yeah well I've worked straight from last Friday and won't have a day off until Monday.

AND I didn't get a raise I was promised.

AND the only reason I worked straight through for this workshop instead of going on a beach trip with family was for a raise I was promised.

BITE ME!

8/5/2010 10:26:11 PM

wow

just wow

I can't believe some people

8/5/2010 10:26:46 PM

set em up

8/5/2010 10:30:14 PM