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That "Come To Jesus Moment"
07-28-2014, 01:01 PM
Just had one with my current day job employers.
To make it short, I do cold call sales for an industrial maintenance company. Have been doing it for the past 18 months. My numbers have been adequate, outstanding when you consider the constraints I work under (owners taking all the phone-in leads, competition from other companies, stores which only deal at the corporate level, etc.), but I knew what I was up against when I started.
Last month I finally got full control of my own company and started devoting my energy toward it. Since then, my sales for the day job have gone south. But I can't make enough money, yet, off my company to pay the bills, so I need the daytime gig. And I was sick of the lousy base I was getting from my daytime company.
So today the owners of the daytime gig pulled me aside and wanted to "discuss ways to help me improve". Been through this drill before and it means: get the fucking numbers up or hit the bricks. To my credit, I was cool and didn't quit on the spot, but told them I would try to come up with some ideas of my own.
As I see it I can:
A) Quit and go full throttle on my company, hoping I don't end up on the street.
OR:
B) Tell my day job that I'll get the numbers up, but they'll have to implement some things I want to see happen.
C) Go find another daytime job.
If I do (A) I essentially burn all bridges behind me and hope the Aztecs haven't figured out gunpowder.
If I do (B) I can keep some $$$ flowing in till I get my company up to where it can support me. This assumes they're willing to meet me half way on what I want done.
If I do ©, I can get out the daytime mess I'm in, but would still be working for someone else.
So any advice of the professionals out there I would appreciate. Just keep it serious.
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That "Come To Jesus Moment"
07-28-2014, 01:21 PM
If you really tighten your belt, how many months do you have in cash reserve to cover living expenses?
And, how long do you believe it would take to get YOUR business viable?
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That "Come To Jesus Moment"
07-28-2014, 01:47 PM
3...about the same time needed to get the business fully operational.
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That "Come To Jesus Moment"
07-28-2014, 05:06 PM
Work harder to do both the side hustle and the main gig.
Sleep less, get your own company to a self-sustaining level, then quit the sales job and invest your full energy into it.
That's what I would do, anyway.
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That "Come To Jesus Moment"
07-28-2014, 05:26 PM
- What type of employment contract are you working under? Are you 1099?
- What state?
- Are you a protected class?
You many have a few tricks to lengthen your daytime employment. You can PM if it's better.
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That "Come To Jesus Moment"
07-28-2014, 07:12 PM
Performance Reviews are a pain because you are right on the edge of getting tossed. At least you ARE getting a performance review. Some people just cut you loose once you aren't kicking as much ass. If I was you, I'd stay with the cold calling job if it's generating income. Better to have something where you're getting a steady paycheck then cashing in your chips. Keep working hard and things will come for your business you have started. Effort is the key to success.
Reporter: What keeps you awake at night?
General James "Mad Dog" Mattis: Nothing, I keep other people awake at night.
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That "Come To Jesus Moment"
07-28-2014, 09:07 PM
Don't quit. Make 'em fire you. So basically options B and C. And you should PM Gringuito. His posts are gold.
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That "Come To Jesus Moment"
09-15-2014, 07:55 AM
Update: It seems I'll be working for this company for a little longer. I changed some of my techniques and am now killing it in sales. Well, killing it enough to keep the owners happy. Last week was a train wreck, but all weeks before were golden.
And now comes the burning question: do I back-pedal my own business to keep my meal ticket ? Like most cold-call sales jobs, you "just might" hit the big score, but the odds are against it. I've survived for 2 years in this racket, which is 12 lifetimes in the street sales game. But my own company just seems to be getting by. Still too soon after buying out my former partner to see where it's all going to go.
I've looked into other sales jobs in this area, but they all seem be scams of one type or another. I have this feeling that most companies think they don't need anyone Willie Lohmaning the street- just do some basic SEO and the riches will be yours!
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That "Come To Jesus Moment"
09-15-2014, 08:55 AM
Dude, keep the current job, even if it is shitty.
Do more time for your new company and try to find another job. IS Sales your main set of skills?
what about any other area?
I am curious, if you fail under performance, underachievement, will they fire you with some sort of compensation money?
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That "Come To Jesus Moment"
09-15-2014, 10:21 AM
So your daytime gig is cold calling sales. Is your company in the same field as the daytime gig?
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That "Come To Jesus Moment"
09-15-2014, 01:48 PM
I would agree with the sentiment that you should make them fire you rather than quit. Or better yet perform adequately until you are truly in a position to leave.
You seem to have been around for a while so you've probably also come to see the problem with the whole "sink or swim" philosophy in business. In my professional life there's nothing that has made me groan (internally) more than hearing some CEO for a company I was working for bring up the whole sink or swim analogy. Or the story about the general burning boats after arriving on hostile shores. Any time I hear that I just KNOW that the the person/(usually CEO) speaking the words isn't ready for the consequences of the path they are taking their company on. The thing with sink or swim is that many, probably most, times you are going to.....sink. If you're prepared for this and can retool and try something else quickly without losing too much that's fine, but a lot of people delude themselves into believing that "burning their boats" will somehow guarantee their success. That is just laughable. They end up wagering way too much. And when it inevitably doesn't work out as planned they start to blame their employees and others. If only "others" were more dedicated things would have worked out.... No, they wouldn't have. Many results are down to completely random factors and you must be position to roll with misfortune. If you wager too much you can't do that. You're taken out with just one blow.
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That "Come To Jesus Moment"
02-03-2015, 11:42 AM
Update.
Just had the "performance review" with the owners of the industrial maintenance company I still work for. After a holiday slump in sales, the numbers have come back, but not enough to get a passing grade. The bastards have moved me to strict commission, although still giving me gas money and an increase in commission percentage. However, I still need to file time sheets, etc. So good-bye base, but I still have a job.
I've been working on the side with a start-up doing sales for them, but that is commission only too. My own company continues to soldier on, but still can't derive enough income from it to tell the owners of my my day-job company to shove it.
Still trying to decide if I should ramp down Industrial Maintenance company and just go flat-out with the start up. I don't have any kind of ownership in the new start-up, so I could eventually be out on the street with it.
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That "Come To Jesus Moment"
02-04-2016, 12:42 PM
Wow, its' been nearly a year since I posted on this.
Left that outfit and now earn my bread freelance writing. For which I have Double B and this forum to thank. Still have my company, but most of my $$$ comes from the writing.
I ran into my replacement the other day and he was doing the same shtick, walking down the street trying to hustle business for the company owners. Seemed like a nice guy, so I give him another 6 months to figure out that he'll never get any where working for them.