In the Office
Right now, my office is in my home, which works out very well for me. At about 7:15 or 7:30 A.M., I check my phone messages on one line, while checking my e-mail on another. While I am doing this, I also pull my faxes from the night before off the facsimile machine. I take 15 to 30 minutes to note the things I need to do that day, with A, B, or C priorities. I also check to see what I didn't finish the day before and add it to this list, again with priorities included.
At about 8:00, I roll my telephone off the night line so that it rings instead of going to voicemail. I don't do this earlier because otherwise I'd never get any planning done first. I continue to answer all voice messages, e-mail, and faxes. Then, I begin calling clients to make future appointments, resolve problems, follow up on proposals and quotes, catch up on local industry gossip, and reinforce relationships with key clients.
After this is done I write reports, fill out time cards, car logs, expense reports, and other paperwork. During the entire day, I am handling phone calls from clients, lab people, other sales reps, government regulators, and so on. I usually do my filing just before I quit for the night, which is between 4:30 and 7:30 P.M.
On the Road
I never go on a road trip without having at least 50% of my sales calls already scheduled with clients. I use a portable cell phone to make the rest of them while I'm driving between sales calls. I write reports, answer e-mail, and get faxes in my hotel at night. I check my voicemail by cell phone from 10 to 15 times each day, since I don't like to let more than an hour elapse between receiving a message and returning the call. I often eat dinner in my room, so I can catch up on paperwork, faxes, and so on. I get a lot of reading done, too.
What Are The Pros And Cons Of The Job?
I love the freedom, and the fun, and the adrenaline rushes when I win the sale. I love the travel (especially on someone else's nickel), I love the challenge, I love meeting new people, seeing new places, and learning new things daily. I am a true adrenaline junkie-I love the ups and downs of sales. And, best of all, my job is just plain fun much of the time. Gee, and they pay me lots for this! Wow!
I don't like having no control over things that affect my clients, especially problems in my company's lab that impact its ability to get the work done well and on time. I can't sell in the field and direct things in the laboratory at the same time. Sometimes I feel like a mushroom-the lab keeps me in the dark and feeds me manure. I find out about a problem with a client often after the client does-I hate this. Still, it happens. I have to deal with it, and do damage control wherever possible. This means that I have to maintain a decent relationship with the people at my company in order to keep them responsive to my concerns about my clients. I often have to convince them to do my clients' work before they do someone else's work. In that way, the people inside my company are also my "clients." I have to sell them on the idea of doing my outside clients' work first.
It was easy for me to get used to managing my own time; after all, that's what you do in grad school. No one checks to see if you're going to class, but you'd better do well on the exams or you're sunk. I also had no difficulty getting used to making on-the-spot decisions, sometimes involving hundreds of thousands of dollars. Once I feel I have the technical knowledge to make the right decision, I just do what seems best-and, most of the time, I'm right. When I'm wrong, I face it, and it's okay. I've never been fired for making a bad decision, but you can certainly get fired for not making a decision at all.
How Often Do I Have A Hair-On-Fire Day?
Fairly often, maybe 25% of the time. As I mentioned earlier, I am an adrenaline junkie, so I go for the highs and lows. I love days when I have 20 hours of things to do, and only 15 hours in which to do them-this is when I'm at my most creative, productive, and stressed out. Fifteen hours flies by in minutes-I don't eat, I lose track of time, and I love it. If you're not into pressure and stress, you may not like sales. But I always feel something is happening!
I am a perfectionist. I love to win. I want my clients to know they can always count on me to be their advocate in the lab. I want them to see me as a technical resource for them, and I want them to know that I will always advise them about the best way to spend their money, even if it's not with my company on a particular job. In fact, one of the best ways to build credibility with a long-term client is to tell them how to spend less, or how to spend it with one of your competitors. As long as this is truly the best thing for them at the time, they'll remember you as the one who told them the truth and they'll always come back.
Finally, think technically! You have had tons of education, you have had tons of training to help you gather and sort through data and synthesize solutions from mountains of information, and you have been trained to think on your feet. This is something other people don't have, so let it work for you. And have fun.
