Working Long Hours - A Week 'til The Phone Book Goes to Print

This week is what my office calls Open Season and all leads are now open to anyone to call, which means I get to make a lot more cold calls everyday. I've been hung up on, yelled at and yet, I've met some interesting small business people who want to expand their client base. Even though I make appointments doesn't mean someone will be there when I get there. I get stood up all the time, most re book but with the price of gas and the traffic it can wear on you.

With the book close just a week away I have literally 1000s of numbers to call and hopefully I will meet with 3-4 business people a day. I don't have time to rebook appointments because there are business people out there who want to advertise in the phone book but don't know how affordable it is. These are the types of business people I'm hoping to find during this last kick at the bucket.

Cold calling and being stood up aside, outside sales is a fun career, how much you get out of it depends solely on how much you put in. So far I've been putting in 10-13 hour days and I'm getting very disorganized because there isn't time to ensure I stay caught up on paperwork. My numbers are now reflecting my hard work and my kids are showing signs of rebellion.

I do like the flexability and the freedom it provides you, it's like running your own business, but you have someone to ensure you make quotas so you stay profitable. However, It is a grind because every morning you start at 0 trying to make as many calls and book as many appointments as you can. It's easy to get frustrated and want to quit but that's when you truly fail.

I have found that as long as I'm not comparing my luck to other's luck and I put my head down and work I can keep the green eyed monster at bay. Some reps will get more breaks from management and some will get more help but persevering despite that is an accomplishment in itself.