Where am I heading?

I have been asking myself this question a lot the last few weeks. I really do not know where I am heading in this company. I know I set the goal to be a VP of Sales in the North East but there really is no position like that and it could just be a pipe dream. So I have an opportunity to sit down with a company in Boston this Thursday with a chance to work toward to starting a branch office in NY once I reach certain numbers. Seems like a clear goal to me but I want to be careful. If I move to this company I am planning to stay there for awhile. I honestly would love to do myt own thing but that is just not a reality at this point.

So where am I heading? Do I stay with my current company and hope that things start to get better and I start to see some goals? Or do I pursue this other opportunity? Well, I commited to buying the plane ticket so I think I will head to Boston. And I pretty much decided this weekend that I am going with the intent on being hired if the job makes sense to me.

Meanwhile, I have 3 days that need to work as hard as I ever have worked before. Get started!!

FOCUS!!!!!

I cannot say this word enough! Today I want to contact at least 20 new prospects and follow up on all the prospects I have contacted in the past 5 months. I need my pipeline to be filled up again. I cannot do that without FOCUS!! It is so easy to get distracted from what I know needs to be done.

Goals for today:

1. Contact all prospects I have talked to in the past 5 months
2. Contact at least 20 new prospects today.

DO NOT LEAVE YOUR OFFICE TODAY UNTIL THESE GOALS ARE ACCOMPLISHED!!!

little behind...

So I realized this morning that it has been a few weeks since my last post. The funny thing is that my blog is my homepage so I have to look at it every morning but I have choose not to write anything. I guess I am not sure what I think anymore. I have these goals and I and working to obtain them. The month of August is already going very well and hopefully I should have a new customer this week. But after that my pipe line is pretty light. So I know I need to get busy building that back up. Of course it is hard to hear the rejection and all of that but that has always been part of the game. I guess I need to get my head in the game!!

I am also dealing with some other opportunities that I may have to work for another company. I need to decide what is going on so I can focus 110% on what I am doing each day and not worrying about anything else. Right now I am probably only giving 70-80% a day. Too many distractions. How do I get past them?? I know I need to focus...but how??? I will work on that today.

hard work = activity = a pipe line!!!

Yesterday I spent a lot of time on prospecting for new business. And, surprise, surprise, I was able to start filling my pipe line with some new opportunities. Funny how a little hard work can pay off! If I can master my attiude and work ethic nothing will stop me!!!! There is always opportunity in this business. Always! The spoils go to the hard worker, to the bold!

So I have my day planned out today. Time to get to work!

End of the week

The end of another week. Overall this was a good week. I brought in more business this third week of the month than I had in the third weeks of the last 3 months. I still have not reached my goals for this month but I feel like I have been working a lot harder at reaching those goals this month than I did last month. So I am making progress!

So I need to focus today on prospecting to work on filling my pipeline. Here are some things I have learned about prospecting:
1. It is hard...no one will deny that.
2. You will definitely face A LOT of rejection!
3. If you keep working through the rejection you will eventually discover the treasure of new business!! If you quit or work on easy stuff you will not.

I think of 2 treasure hunters: one works hard: digging, planning, traveling, getting sweaty, getting stuck with nothing many days. Then the other guy found some treasure after a little work and decided to take it easy. Occasionally he ventures out but quickly come back once he gets to sweaty. The first treasure hunter finds a great deal of treasure and ends up very wealthy. The second treasure hunter finds a small amount of treasure and has enough to get by.

The point is that the first treasure hunter finds a lot of treasure because he worked for it...it was not easy. He may have felt pain, frustration, wondering why he contuines to do this...but it all pays off for him. I want to be this kind of sales person! I want to work hard, deal with the pain and rejection because that is the path to real treasure. Not sitting back on business you already have....

So today..Friday July 18th..I plan to spend a lot of time "getting dirty" prospecting.

So freakin' tired!

I am an idiot! How do I think I can stay up until 12:30 AM and expect to be refreshed and ready to go in the morning? Well I can say that I cannot do that! I am totally dragging right now with a strong cup of coffee in front of me. I have a lot of things I want to get done today since I will be traveling tomorrow and Friday. So I need to focus, focus, focus!! And I need to make better choices at night and get to bed earlier!!!

Goals..

1. Plan day
2. Make sure everything is ready for trip tomorrow
3. Get in touch with at least 10 prospects today. Call more if needed but try to reach 10!!!


God this day is yours!!!

FOCUS!!!!!

If I could master that one 5 letter word each day I would be unstoppable! I think I solved my attitude problem now I just need to focus when I am in my office each day. It is so easy to waste online, or going from one project or call to the next without any focus on what I am really trying to accomplish. I established a few things today that I want to implement each day that I am in my office to help me to focus and reach my goals:

1. Write up a to do list of all of the things I want to accomplish that day.
2. Plan the day in blocks of hours making sure everything on the to do list is in the plan.
3. Write up at least 25 prospects that I want to try to contact that day.
4. Hang each of these papers up on the wall in front of me to look at throughout the day.
5. At the end of the day evaluate what I accomplished and make adjustments for the next day.

never easy

Well, this month has been quite a month. I can certainly say that things are never easy. Most of the problem has been my attitude. I am expecting things to be perfect instead of just focusing on my goals and the job at hand. I seem to forget that things were not perfect at the last place I worked but I was able to move forward with that company and I will here too! I think I am in a better postition now if I can just focus on my goals and change my attitude.

I thought about this a lot this weekend and I feel much better about this company. It is definitely no where near perfect but that is just more opportunity for me once I focus on my goals and nothing else! If my goal for the day is to call on new prospects and work on bringing in new business, then why should I worry about an operations issue that I am not involved in? Focus...focus...FOCUS!!!

Today's goals:

1. Find prospects in the Allentown, Philly, Reading area to visit next week.
2. Call through prospects in ACT.
3. Set up rate program and work on that.
4. Try to get Jason from Habasit on the phone.
5. Call Andy at Spear.

Praise God!!!!!

flying by

Well last week sure flew right by! I noticed I did not write much last week. I actually had one of my best weeks last week mostly thanks to a new customer that started with us 2 weeks ago. I hope that trend contuines with them! I am thinking that if things start to line up this week could break records for my profit and load count with my company! I am also hoping for a new customer this week.

So what did learn last week? Well first, there are definitely highs and lows. You really cannot live on the highs because they do not last forever. But you also do not want to live within the lows either...that makes for a miserable life! What I can do is live in the in betweens. The place where I keep a level head and focus on the goals I have no matter what everything around me is saying. I like how Rudyard Kipling described it in his poem "If"...."If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two imposters just the same".

So this week I really want to focus on my goals even if I have another great week or have an awful week.

Todays goals...

1. Get points to quote from KB Toys
2. Call all Spartech contacts!
3. Call north leads on spreadsheet.
4.

God this day is yours!

Staying on track

Well it is a new week and I am pumped to get this week started. I think this is going to be a good week but regardless I plan to leave everything out "on the field" this week. I will look at every opportunity that I come across.

Already the morning seems to be off on the right foot. I have some business from a customer already and I think I should be seeing some business this week from at least 2 or 3 other customers which could help make this my best week yet with this company. Plus I am following up on some other possible new customers this week and of course calling on brand new prospects.

I was glancing over some of my posts from last week and it is amazing how distractions are able to take your eyes off of your goals. Nothing happened expect my perception of the distractions. If I can stay focused on my goals in the mist of dealing with distractions then I will be in a good position. I pray for that determination this week. I have my goals and regardless of the things that occur this week or the thoughts that go through my mind I will keep my eye on my goals.

Goals for today....

1. Finish rates for Jon
2. Try to get Tom on the phone
3. Go through all of my warm leads and make sure I am not missing anything
4. Call on more leads!

God, this day is yours...all of me is yours!!

Very big distraction....

So I went to breakfast with a friend this morning who is starting a company similar to the one I work for now. He really wants me to be involved as an owner but realizes I cannot lose the money I am making right now. I think we have it worked out where I can stay with my current company and focus on the goals I have while being involved with his company enough to still be ethical and have a position when his company reaches a certain revenue.

So...knowing that I could finally be an owner and VP of my own company in the next year or so is a huge distraction for me. Especially since there are a lot of unknowns at this point. Such as...will he able able to reach the revenue needed for me to join him? Will he still want me to join him? , etc, etc. I really do not need to worry about these things right now. I still have my goals for this company that I want to reach!!!!!

Anyways...it is later in the day on Friday and I have a conference call in an hour but here are the goals I want to reach today...

1. Make some calls
2. Finish rates for Jon
3. Plan next week.

God this is all yours!!!!!!!!

ups and downs

Even though I didn't write yesterday it was actually a decent day. I had a rough day on Tuesday with some issues and concerns. I realized that most of things I was worrying about fell into one of these categories:
1. Something that I had no control over. (operations issues, etc)
2. Something that was not going to happen for a long time...It is ok to plan for the future but don't WORRY about the future.
3. Something that I did not know for sure and was probably not true. (Like someone's feelings about me.)

After I went through each of the things I was concerned about on Tuesday I realized I was wasting my energy on all of these things. The only thing I should be concerned about is that which I can influence! All I can influence right now is bringing in new business and growing the accounts I have brought in. that is it at this point. Everything else is wasted energy!!

So yesterday after spending a lot of time in prayer I focused on things I could influence and I had a decent day. I always wish for more opportunities but yesterday I secured some more possible business from a customer, worked on moving forward with some warm leads and began prospecting several more customers.

Here are today's goals..

1. Get a hold of Andy about our rates.
2. Follow up on every warm lead I have right now that can be followed up on at this point.
3. Call at least 30 new prospects today.
4. Secure some business for tomorrow.
5. Write up sales report

Lets get to work!!! God I give you every part of this day!!!!

Tired...

I stayed up late last night watching the Stanley Cup game that went into triple overtime! So I am a little tired today. How do I react to that in a way to reach my goals for today? Well, right now I have a huge cup of coffee in front of me and I am not planning on slowing down today! I need to stay focused and busy.

Yesterday I actually worked on all of the goals I had but it still felt like it was an unproductive day because I had trouble getting people on the phone. I could not get Andy or Jason the phone or by e-mail for feedback on my rates. As I called through the pile of leads I reached a lot of voice mail. I think I need to keep trying to call other companies until I actually reach someone. Sometimes when I get a lot of voice mails I ended up quiting and working on something else. In one way I reached my goal because I did make the calls but in another way it really was not productive. Do I just want to reach these goals or be as productive as I can? Or maybe I need to be a little more specific with my goals?

Oh yeah....now I have the added distraction of a friend who wants to start a company similar to the one I work for now. He wants me to own and run it with him. It will be a long time (18 months to 2 years) before we get to that point but it is something that can derail my current goals. So while I am working for this company I need to stay focused and dedicated to the work I am doing here. I want to reach the goals I set for this job!

Here are today's goals...

1. Try to reach Jason and Andy for feedback on rates. I went a little crazy trying to reach Jason yesterday so I may try later today for him.
2. try to get some business from my current customers.
3. Really, seriously call through your pile of leads. You need to work on this all day!!! If you get voice mails go to the next one. Do not give up so easily on this. This pile of leads is your life blood.
4. Go through all of the activies in ACT.

God, I give you this day!!!

new week

Friday was a good day. I had some distractions but I was able to stay on track and reach most of my goals for the day. I really believe that if I can work as hard as I did on Friday everyday than I should be seeing enough business to really grow with this company.

I have been reading Chuck Colson's book "The Good Life". I came across a quote from the book that really had me thinking. He said...

Our character is determined not by our circumstances but by our reaction to those circumstances

That has been one of my major problems lately. I want the circumstances to be perfect instead of realizing that they will never be perfect. I took this job because it offered me somethings that I did not have at my last job. However, in turn I am now working for a younger and smaller company that does not have the experience and systems in place that my former company had. So how do I react to that? Instead of whinning I need to realize that this is actually a wonderful opportuntiy for me to really grow with a young, agressive company. My goal of being a VP would never have happened at my last company. But I have a real chance to make a difference with this company and reach that goal.

So today, Monday, I need to focus on my goals for today and make the most of every moment I have!! When distractions come, I need to react to them instead of complaining about them. God help me to work hard for your glory today!!

Goals:

1. Set up calls for today

2. Follow up with Jason at Habasit and Andy at Spear about the rates I submitted last week.

3. Contact each of my customers looking for business.

4. Call through pile of leads...especially the leads Craig gave me. Start with those first!

set backs and distractions

I tried to stay on track yesterday but I was bombarded with thoughts relating to a set back. I have concerns over whether my operations department can handle anymore new business. And I know that my business is not always the priority. I know that is not intentional but based on the fact that there are not enough people in my operations department. So of course that sent the thoughts into my mind about whether I made the right decision, whether I can bring in business that will be taken seriously. Can I really bring in enough business to reach my goal of 20K by Oct, and 100k after that? Can I reach my goal of being a VP if I do not think my business will receive the attention it needs? Well I spent a lot of time thinking about this last night as I cleaned my pool. Here is what I came up with...
1. I do not currently have enough business to really whine about this. This is only my second month here and all I have right now is small potatoes.
2. Craig was able to secure millions of dollars in sales before this company even existed. If he can do that then I can bring in enough business to prove that we need more people to handle it. Until then I need to shut my mouth and focus on my goals! Craig told me at one point that if more people are needed he will hire them. My goal is to make more people needed by my business!

What a distraction this becomes if you let it. Thoughts, concerns, the "what if's" are enough to derail any goal. Until my goals no longer make sense I am determined to "...fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run...". Starting today!!!!

Goals for today....

1. Follow up on rates to Spear and Habasit
2. Call though pile of leads...get names, and any other info I need to get started with these companies.
3. Use online networks to get introduced to people at large companies that I am focused on.
4. Make the most of every moment today!! Stop complaining and make opportunties happen!!

new day

There is a new day before me. Honestly the thoughts that run through my mind sometimes are simply unbelievable. It is no wonder that many people do not reach their goals. I have thoughts of excitment about the day, but I have thoughts of fear and not wanting to deal with rejection. I have thoughts of productivity and thoughts of not wanting to do the work I need to get done today. I really believe that goals can be achieved if you win the battle for the mind. How do I focus today to accomplish these goals?...
1. Finish rates for Spear
2. Follow up on meeting with Jason yesterday.
3. Look for business for next week.
4. Call at least 25 leads today!!!!
5. Properly file, filter and work on the leads I call today.

God this day is yours!!!

goals

I am realizing that life is made up of opportunities. Sometime opportunities are given to you but more often they are created by you. I have a lot of goals that I know will not be reached unless I create some opportunities. I want to daily record my progress on this blog.

My goals....

1. To become VP of Northeast Sales for SourceOne Transportation
2. To make the company over $100,000 in profit a month
3. To reach $20,000 in profit a month by Oct 08.
4. To bring in 4 new accounts a month
5. To call on at least 25 different accounts a day.
6. To bring in a large customer with at least 5-10 loads a day.

What have I done today to reach these goals? I sat down with a smaller customer and just submitted some rates. However, I am staring at a pile of leads that need to be called. I am going to work on that right now.