Earlier today I was running an errand,
(because it's Valentine's Day), and I
bumped into a friend of mine I call Old
Charlie. We worked together in the past
and there were two Charley's, so we
named them Old Charlie and Young
Charlie. Old Charlie is still working there,
and Young Charlie flew the coup a ways
back.
Old Charlie didn't get in the sales game
until he was 55, which is pretty late to be
getting started. He was a good listener
though, and he caught on fast. It wasn't
long before he was at the top of the leader
board, and he's been there ever since. He's
been the lead dog at times, and he's always
in the top three, month in, month out.
Charlie is in the home improvement business,
and right now nobody's buying. He made only
one sale in January, and one so far this month.
That hardly covers his mortgage. But Charley
has always been careful with his money, and
he knows that the sales business is a roller-
coaster ride. He knows that you have to put
money away when times are good, because
bad times can be just around the corner.
Charlie told me that half the salesmen will be
gone by April, because they need to be paid,
and right now people are not putting down the
credit card. Some of the new guys will not make
it six weeks during a time like this.
By the first of May things will get better, according
to Charlie, but only a few people will be left, and he'll
be one of them. He'll be running 50% of the leads
by then, and because he is a good closer, he'll be
in the money. Not only that, but because he closes
higher than other reps, he'll get the majority of big
dollar leads, because the company has to sell every
job it can to keep their numbers up.
So while many reps are tanking, Charlie sees sunshine
on a cloudy day. He's been with the company just a
hair over 10 years, in good times and bad." If you make
a good effort all the time, and manage your money," says
Charlie, "you don't need to worry about good times and
bad. And bad times go away much faster than you think."
Charlie is a lifelong Democrat, but he said he's made more
money under Bush than any other President. "For eight
years the television and newspaper have been saying the
sky is falling...but up until this bump things have been
pretty damn good. If you spent your money as fast as you
made it, you're in trouble. But if you managed it well you'll
be okay."
I agree.
Business runs in cycles, but the smart guy never gets too
excited when things are good, or too down when things are
bad. The steady, level headed guy always gets to the top.
From the big saddle,
Jim Whelan
At The James R Whelan Agency, we've done pretty well the past
few years, and 2008 has started very well. One thing I can tell
you for sure is that if you don't stay visible, you'll get lost in the
shuffle. Those folks that pull their advertising when times are tough
are making a bad business decision. Their are always new customers
coming into the market, and if they don't know you're there to provide
your product or service, that business goes somewhere else.
Call us now, at 206 407 3124, and get your business in front of as many
people as possible.
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