Tammi's World

I'm Not Normal

As I sat and waited my turn in the whole cattle call process yesterday I had some time to think.

Sales is a tough way to make a living. And if you're aggressive and one who loves the biggest challenges (that would be me) you make it even tougher. You see - if you're smart you keep your head down, fly below the radar. Me? I must be missing that brain cell. I like the big accounts. I like the big problems. Give me high maintenance, every time. It makes me happy. I LOVE a challenge. The down side of that is the stress. Livin' in a fishbowl is not easy. AND it's makes you very vulnerable. You're the one that takes the fall if, when, it all falls apart. Period. The buc stops here.

Why do I like that? Why am I so addicted to that type of business? I'll tell you why. I like to be the hero. I fix things. I make them better. I make people happy. It's what I do - and I do it very well. I love that rush of getting a call that the world is falling apart and knowing, at some point, I'll have figured out a way to put it back together. That's it. Plain and simple.

And I'm not happy if I'm not doing that. Not. At. All. I'm not used to being a small fish. I've always swam best in the big ponds, and while not exactly a big fish - I can sure hang with that school. I've never wanted to be The Boss. But I sure do love bein' their "go to gal".

As I sat there thinkin' yesterday I realized it was not the SALES that I loved - it was just that part of the process. That's why I've never been that hyper, cold, go for the jugular kind of person. And I never will be. Oh - now I play dirty. Oh yes I do. Just ask some of the Coke delivery guys in Tampa. I used to pull all sorts of tricks on them - just to slow 'em down. Hehehehe. Man, that was FUN. But they didn't take it layin' down. Oh no, they got their shots in too.

But I'm tired of cold calls. I'm tired of mass blitzing. I want to focus. I want to build one account and watch it flourish. That is fun for me. That's what I'm looking for.

So as I watched the young woman leave her interview yesterday I just thought - damn girl. You'll be old before your time if you don't relax. All that anger, all that competition......it'll kick your ass. I don't care if my competition gets into the same store I'm in. Oh, I'm not thrilled, but I don't let it throw me. I look at is as an opportunity to show how good I really am. Go ahead. Come and play on my court. I'll kick your ass. End of discussion.

I'll even go so far as to admit I don't care if *I* land the big account. If SOMEONE on the team pulls that rabbit out of the hat, I celebrate for the team. NOW - step back and let me run it. You go ahead. You love the hunt, go for it. I'll take it from here. I'll look the situation over and start the machine going. I don't need the slam dunks. I need to win the game.

That's not a normal thought process for a sales person, and that's one of the reason's I have problems finding a job. There really isn't an "Account Manager" category. It all just falls under the Sales umbrella. So I'm forced to be creative in my job search. I'm forced to be more open when asked what I'm looking for in a position. I refuse to join a company under false pretenses. I can't be who I'm not, and I want them to know that - up front.

One of the interesting things that came out during my conversation yesterday was how shallow the candidate pool is right now - for people looking to hire Account Managers. That made me smile. That also explains why I'm getting so much attention. And I like it. It puts me back in that fish bowl. It gives me a chance to interview with companies that wouldn't normally call me in. Yeah, that's a very good thing.

I'm not your normal sales person. I'm different. And I'm glad. Keeps things interesting.

Posted by Tammi at March 21, 2006 08:30 AM