OH Mountain How I Did I Get Here...

Here I stand alone upon a mountain top,
My trials and fears no one will ever know.
I have struggled beyond my wildest dreams,
The darkness like a river continued to flow.

My ignorance, my weaknesses and even my insecurities,
were what walked me down this path.
It was my lack of attention that brought this mountains wrath.
And now that the storm is over and the winds have died down,
I look out over this mountain top and cannot wear a frown.

For a brief moment I look out at the serene beauty of the valley below
In my mind I remember; but my fear I do not show.
For my emotions took me through a dark place, and my weaknesses I did pack.
Through life changing chasms and cliffs I did face.
My fears I did overcome; my weaknesses I did attack

I do not know how I got here, this mountain was not on the map!
This was not my destination, nor part of my plan.
This Mountain just showed up as a challenge to where I stand.
Nor friend nor enemy was this mountain was to me!
Just another chance to witness God’s grace that he wants me to see.

Many days I've traveled and now here I stand,
It is a beautiful place but not what I understood of God’s plan.
I know this is not my destination, so my journey is not over.
There are many miles to go through valleys of flowers and fields of clover.

The mountains are high and the valleys are low,
The crimson fields in front of me are where I must go
I speak to the mountain and I say why did you hide
The mountain spoke back in loud rumbling roar
Nor trick or surprise did I bring to you, with the eagles you did not soar,

Pride and ignorance is the undoing of us all
As you were climbing up my sides I awaited your fall.
Your strength and courage you surely did find
Now mastering your lessons will be the test of time!

For love and courage is not all that you need,
But a strong back, a strong will, and the desire to succeed.
Knowing what to do will not let you plead,
But your actions over time will show you how to lead.
So push on do not linger you must continue for what you seek.
I was not your goal, so let your travels take you afar.
A relationship drives your journey so keep your eyes on the stars.

The pain and anguish my heart swept away, as this mountain explained that I was not here to stay
So I took one last look from this very high peak,
After I caught my breathe I grabbed my flag to create a memorial,
It was not this mountain but a relationship that I did seek.

I plant it firmly in the rock and the mountains rich soil.
My soul is refreshed and I have forgotten my pain and toil.
As I place this flag in remembrance of my challenges, I look down into the new valley below.
All I see is her face, her smile and how our future will grow!
I love her and her son as if they were my very own.
My love is not in vain, and my commitment now in stone!
Upon the mountain top I stand firm with a chart in my hand,
My dreams are wide, and my visions are grand.
For it is a woman that I love and a family that I have made
That pushes me on to victory and to take on my fears.
It is her love that motivates me and dries up my tears.

look at my flag as it reaches out of the soil,
I remind myself of the things I did learn, of the things I did toil,
And one last time I linger and take one last look at my map
The mountain speaks to me yet again, "what are you doing now?"

I have learned a great lesson that I do not want to repeat.
I have plotted carefully so that I know where you are and have tracked my feet!
So that I do not make this mistake again or tempt life I do not dare.
Surviving a visit with an unseen mountain was not just a great feat,
But a life lesson that I will want to share.

I replied as I started to make my way down the other side…

Scary Times – Ricoh the one world leader succumbs to bad economy and is vulnerable like everyone else…

Now this is just hearsay, but I was just told that Ricoh is making employees take a week furlough without pay and has started lying off employees. This is a very similar situation that I am seeing across the boat I mean board with companies in our industry. From Konica Minolta's huge layoffs right after Xerox and Kodak cut roughly 20% of their global workforce. I'm sure it is not a shock to see HP step back and act cautious in new hires and expansion. Now with Canon in complete desperation to see them partner up with HP is almost funny. These types of partnerships are not uncommon in our industry, good bedfellows they make as they both struggle to assert their once top tier status. With Oce bleeding profusely to now even Ricoh showing their humanity we see salary's decreasing, employee benefits being cut or disappearing all together to sheer headcount reductions in almost every company.

IKON has even make changes and cutbacks in our company 401K matching program. The one thing I will say is that we are still expanding headcount and retooling our demo facilities and go to market strategy. We have not given up that we can be successful in such trying economic times. "Be Bullish In Production" our RVP says religiously. IKON is very bullish in times when even the greats are cowering. In fact we seem to have put on the war paint and run into the streets to meet our enemy head on. We continue the fight regardless of the naysayers.

I am getting nervous to see our "big brother" have such 'noise' coming from their employees. I knew many that went from Konica Minolta and others to over to RBS when they were the best looking for longevity; now what were long term stable employees they too are making the great pilgrimage to look for "gainful employment."

With everyone having such a knee jerk reaction it makes me wonder what is coming next. From everything I am seeing it appears that IKON is coming out on top and in a strong position to negotiate with the Ricoh first born. It would not surprise me to find that IKON becomes the "chosen one" and the pony picked to win this next horse race. I look forward to hearing the stories from my readers as I'm sure that many will find even uttering such a thing blasphemous.

If you have a Ricoh layoff story or more "inside information" I would love to hear. As for Pirate Mike I think we will see the true colors of Ricoh's intentions by April 1^st 2010! Maybe I'm wrong but hide and watch as Ricoh retools their organization to come out fighting strong in the next fiscal.

Also be looking for the new Ricoh Pro C901 ( or whatever they will call it ) This new machine of destruction will be a great advancement of the C900 of today with no fuser oil, basing its strengths on a newly formulated polymerized toner? that will bring digital quality to new heights. If I had to guess with the speed at which they are developing products I would guess mid spring or early summer. With all of the great advancements of the Aegis product you can be sure that Ricoh is looking to show the world that "Ricoh knows production." Or at least the new horse they ride IKON>

What Ricoh knows is how to buy the best technology and engineers and then follow that up with a great distribution model which they did too buy. The IKON acquisition will show that their multibillion dollar purchase was not in vain but truly put them on the map in a way that they never could have done before the acquisition.

Ricoh is slowly learning the power of the weapon that she bought. But being able to wield this new weapon of destruction is yet another story. IKON is not an easy horse to ride, and this ride is surely to get very edgy in the short term as things build and the economy continues to falter. This is an "E" Ticket for sure!

As we get into 2010 I'm sure there are more cuts, layoffs, and changes to come. All we can ask is in the end that we are paid to the champions of the day. I for one cannot complain too bad as I have had record months and a record year! I am sitting somewhere around 120% of my budget with almost 400% of my yearly units. The Ricoh Pro 550EX, 700EX and the infamous C900 have taken me to the Promised Land!

Even in bad times the pirate of Lewisville Lake is showing that it can be done with no food or water and just on new business acquisition alone!

Happy Hunting,

2009 Texoma Lakefest Regatta

(2009 Second Star Racing team consisted of: JD Hill, Susan Hill, Ben Gray, John Kleineberg, Michael (Pirate Mike) Brooks, Angela Haar, Harald TenWolde, Scott Spurlin)

Well I haven't been home for 24 hours and I am writing the chronicles of another great adventure. Texoma Lakefest (website) a long standing tradition in North Texas has been recognized as the largest inland charity sailing regatta in the nation. 2009 was no different and a tremendous amount of effort was put in by the races sponsoring yachtclub the Texoma Sailing Club (website)! 47 boats and close to 300+ competitors came to battle it out on one of Texas' biggest lakes. Lake Texoma is one of the largest reservoirs in the United States, the 12th largest Corps of Engineers (USACE) Lake, and the largest in USACE Tulsa District. ¹

4 days of fund raising for a great charity; the Make A Wish Foundation (website). Thursday is the Chaos Cup where the corporate sponsors get to try their hand at sailboat racing! Teams are sent out to have a great time and get a chance to meet the sailors that will for the next 3 days battle it out with the famous North Texas weather and the top rated competitors that come from around the nation to try their hand at getting their name engraved on the ever sought after silver cup. Thursday had overcast but fair weather as we saw great sailing from the cast of competitors. Almost event free Thursday did bring about one casualty when 2008 3^rd place competitor Nelda Ray snapped their mast to end their campaign for the silver cup.

From first time newbie's to Amercia's Cup sailors Texoma Lakefest brings them all together in the spirit of competition and love of the sport. Friday is the first day of competition and typically is full of emotion and excitement as the boats get launched and the competitors look over the scratch sheets to see whom they will be battling it out with. This year Friday brought lightning storms and while we all went out to the battle ground not one race was started. After the high winds and lightning got within masts reach the races were postponed and we were sent in to wait out the weather. By the time the weather was past us night had fallen. Over the Eastern sky one could see thermal lightning giving everyone a great fireworks display. Dinner was a great Texan tradition barbeque catered in from a great Fort Worth practitioner. (Riscky's Barbeque)
The night wouldn't have been complete without some great dancing to a live band and Captain J.D.'s Lavaritas! Saturday started off well as the dangerous weather had passed us and we were hoping to get out on the proving grounds and play hard! Rain started to fall as the winds had given way to glassy seas. With light to nonexistent winds we got off one race that became extremely tactical as we raced for what seemed like an eternity. The multi-hulls and the spinnaker boats got off the course in reasonable time but the working sail classes extended the race for about 3 hours till there was no more wind or light to race. Coming back to the marina everyone was joyous and in one piece all wanting more wind and a chance to compete. Saturday night Riscky's came up with a great meal of fajitas while the headliner band broke out with some winner tunes. Lavaritas (margaritas that come from a ten foot volcano) were flowing again as the mountain starting erupting as soon as the competitors landed. In sailor style competitors bid silently for all kinds of trinkets of all kinds and values from a nice massage to a Donzi boat. Dancing went on till everyone was satisfied. Everyone went to sleep early as they knew that the race starting times had been pushed up an hour early so we could get in enough races to satisfy the regatta.

Sunday was the day, sunny cold and windy. Wind started off easy 8-10 knots as everyone got suited up for the insanity. When we got out to the proving ground out in the exposed main body of the lake the winds quickly bumped up to 20 knots. Everyone suited up in full armor as we awaited the starting sequence. 3 races convened that opened everyone eyes to the dangers of sailboat racing. From the many near misses and close calls to gear breaks and collisions Sunday was full of "Lakefest" spirit. Lakefest is always a serious competitors concern as the weather is always a big factor; proved again Lake Texoma brought forth serious conditions for the competitors to overcome.

From Terra Nova getting hung up on the judge's boat to God Speed having a serious collision and boom breakage to fishing sailors out of the lake to the sad personal injury on Predator. It was a busy day indeed, and the weather came back to revel her serious side to us. To the family & crew of the injured sailor we send our best wishes. We await the verdict on the injured sailor but from some reports someone fell and possibly broke ribs and collapsed a lung. We pray that he heals fast and comes back to win more races. As the sailor lay on the deck in serious condition some of the last reported words from his mouth were, "Finish the race!" Predator did manage even with a DNC to finish in 2nd place for class #2. Congratulations to all the sailors that made that win possible! (Consequently Predator was in OUR fleet!)

All in all it was a typical Lakefest averaging about 15 knots from days at zero to days with gusts over 30. The official results will be posted on the Lakefest website
and on the Texoma Sailing Club's website.

I learned a lot and am grateful that we only had a few mishaps and no serious injuries. I am blessed to have met Scott and Harald two passing experienced sailors that graced us with their skill for this special journey. I look forward to our new J122 and learning how to use it as the weapon that it is. To everyone out there, fast sailing…

Pirate Mike.

"Sailing doesn't make a man but it reveals him to himself. His strengths, his weaknesses, his fears and his accomplishments. Sailing is a culmination of everything he knows, thinks, and feels. It brings all the senses together and like the rest of nature shows us how small we really are. Sailing puts things into perspective but yet allows us to be supernatural if even just for a moment." – Pirate Mike…

1 Reference pulled from Wikipedia at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Texoma

Leading Pirate style...

Leaders are created and not born just like salesman. Some have more of a propensity for greatness than others. Good leaders have many traits that we can admire and adopt for ourselves. I have had some awesome examples of leaders. I feel like I am very fortunate to have had and still have some great mentors at many different levels.

I believe that leadership can come in many forms, and can be very personal. I take leadership very seriously. I have a tendency to exhibit my individuality in my leadership style. I like to let others know that I am unique and enjoy sharing my passion. I like others to see this through my lifestyle and by the way that I act and react.

I like to extend my hand to those around me to identify myself as one that embraces their humanity. I like to celebrate people’s diversity and be a guiding factor to their success in the endeavors we engage in. I like to lead in little ways. I enjoy being the odd duck and am not afraid to be counted when there is a confrontation. I encourage disagreement and discussion. I do not want anyone to give me a pat answer, when I ask for their opinion I want it as honestly as they can deliver it.

I try to play devil’s advocate in most of my thought processes so allow myself to see both sides of an issue. I am very opinionated, but open minded enough to change my opinion when new facts are evident. I try to participate in the lives of those around me; I do not want to be seen lying around and failing to act. I make decisions quickly and react to my environment as thoughtfully as I can.

I lead by doing; when those that see me respect my thoughts and actions they have given me the greatest gift. I thrive on excellence and cannot stand it when I allow myself to settle. I make plans, plot my actions, hold myself accountable, measure my progress and reassess the situation as often as I can when in a project.

I will do what others will not. This is the key to my success. I will do want YOU will not, this is my advice to you. Look around and see what the masses are doing, then turn about face and go the other direction. As a pirate I tend to be a bit aggressive in my actions at times. Sometimes I do not ask permission. There are many days that I would rather draw a sword than a pen. Not that I forsake the pen, as that would be grossly inaccurate as well. But rather I am not shy to embrace the rule of the sword and understand and comfortable with the eventuality of my fate.

I put the war pain on every day and am grateful for my time that I have to sail and fight. I work in an environment where only the strong survive and where many a want a be warrior gets sacrificed. Over the last 4-5 years I have seen many a college graduate fail do to lack of leadership and lack of passion. You must live with passion and let it fill every area of your life.

Struggle as I may, I enjoy the fight and the feeling of victory. I am no stranger to tragedy and can cope with an emergency with the best of them. I am strong when I need to be and soft as I really am. I do not see the benefit to living as a rogue with no emotions. But yet I love to hold a lady bug as she forages along my hand. I like to watch the sun rise and fall into the water. I am not a stranger to the darkness as it shields my progress toward a common goal of overtaking my enemy.

I never let my goals or enemies out of sight or mind. I keep them close to my heart. I love a good battle and encourage competition from a formidable foe. I will take my steps without looking and draw my arm with passion. I love to put a face with my battles and a name to my failures.

I allow passion to carry me like the winds of the ocean as they sweep me off to my destination. I let emotion riddle me with fleeting thoughts. I like to sit on the bank and think great thoughts. I love to discus great mysteries and allow my mind to discover new avenues of contemplation. A great debate is a treasure. To live with passion is to be an addict to the one of the most powerful drugs of all. To let adrenaline set in is to feed the monster like a junkie.

I am quick to draw a sword and just as quick to lay it aside to embrace friend or foe. I do not take advantage but yet do not allow for mistakes from my competitors. I celebrate a victory and morn a great defeat. I allow myself to make mistakes and support others in their endeavors. I believe in the team concept and am not unfamiliar with taking the bull by the horns and wrestling him to the ground.

I have starred a tiger down and out struck a viper. I have out run a lion and rode an ostrich. I have walked and talked with the animals, and have waited quietly for their responses. I commune with nature and love to teach another my secrets. I do not cast my pearls before swine but am not stingy with the truths that have been revealed to me. My mouth carries my voice loudly but my heart quietly waits the responses of others. I listen as intently as my emotions show my intensity.

I like to lead in the small things and let the large things take care of themselves. I like to be first, and charge the door of uncertainty with the vigor of a dea agent. I believe in others and only seek their respect in return. I like to be the first into battle, and will stay until it is over. I go out in the face of a storm and take off the raingear to be one with my fears. I love to lay by the shore and watch the clouds drift by in mindless shapes.

I love to lead pirate style.

Once a Pirate, Always a Pirate

People for the longest time have asked about the pirate reference. Here is a bit of history from which I will build on that explains a bit of what the reference means. I will explain later how the reference was bestowed upon me. – Pirate Mike…

A Pirates Life is good; he lives outside the sovereign boarders of areas that are ruled by kings. Kings rule by land, Pirates rule themselves, and live on the water. Pirates do not subject themselves to the rules of the land, this offends the rulers because if what they did was taxed they would not be pirates they would be commanders of the Navy! In fact in many references that are relatively recent, countries would hire pirates to do what they could not tell/justify to their subjects that they used the Navy for.

The reference to piracy goes back over 3000 years. It appears that the word pirate (peirato) was first used in about 140 BC by the Roman historian Polybius. The Greek historian Plutarch, writing in about 100 A.D., gave the oldest clear definition of piracy. ¹ In this writing the definition that Plutarch used was, "as those who attack without legal authority not only ships, but also maritime cities"

I think the phrase to focus on in this century is "without legal authority." Pirates answer to no one but God himself. Living on their own terms; finding their own way by day and night using the skills that they have developed by the rights of survival. Survival is the key; pirates live by sea and explore the land for resources. Pirate Captains were providers, using the resources that they find on land to maintain themselves, and their companions that follow their leadership about the ship.

Leadership is a key trait in all successful pirates. Without leadership there is no survival. Old pirates whom have lived by the sword for their entire lives have developed leadership, loyalty, tenacity, and entrepreneur desires. To desire to live free has become the utmost priority. To live and die by your dreams has become the mantra at any cost.

A pirate's fate is not a surprise. Pirates are not shocked by their end. Those that live by the sword know well that their end will be by the sword. Make no mistake, I do nothing that I am not aware of, or understand the consequences that could find me. To live fully and with emotion is important even to the modern day pirate. Without the great successes and failures, we would never know life. I put the war paint on every day and expect to be attacked, surprised, and overwhelmed. A day without such great experiences and emotions would be a sad day. To wake up without purpose, without direction would be like setting sail without a chart. Living life believing that the world is flat, as the Kings of old, is as silly as thinking that your dreams will come to you.

A pirate is not scared to sail toward the horizon. The horizon may look bleak to you, but know in your heart that on the other side is the land of riches. Those riches take many forms, love, destiny, provision, faith, all things that are worthy to fight for. This is the "land" that pirates seek. They live on the water as this is the fastest way to get from "land" to "land." And the "land" represents the riches that are needed to fulfill the destiny.

To live by someone else's rules, the "kings" is following the world and the ways that it promotes. Being subject to the harshness of rules created by marketing, advertising and the "group think" of society leaves one devoid of your own thoughts and beliefs. Subject yourself to your own thoughts, the beliefs that you have forged through fear and trembling. Take this advice with caution. To follow the ideals of "Pirate Mike" will only put you on the radar screen of those that would "steal your dream," "steal your passion," "steal your life." You will not become a pirate but simply making the choice to do so. Living the dream is more than a decision. It is a way of life; it is not easy to do those things which go against the common wisdom of others (kings). I have lived 38 years as a pirate, and I still find myself in fear of taking chances, of sailing off into the horizon. And I do this every day; you would think that it would get easier.

Once you hit the "radar screen," ships will be dispatched to intercept you. Their task will be to stop you from arriving on "land." They know if you get there you WILL get the rewards of what you seek. Not everyone is happy about others achieving their dreams. If you achieve yours that makes them feel insignificant and shows that they have not arrived at theirs. Know they will kill you, and take whatever treasure you have already found and achieved. Does this not make them thieves as well?

Know this if you venture out passed your comfort zone on a daily basis and subject yourself only to God, and not the "kings" of this world you will be a Pirate. You will begin your day putting on the war paint and drawing your sword at any that stand between you and your dreams. Do not draw your sword in jest, only as a matter of life and death. Once out of its sheath it is lethal and will force others to draw a line and come against you.

A smart pirate is quiet, takes only what he and his companions need and buries the rest for a future time. Keep accurate maps of where your treasure is. Train your companions, bring value to them, and show them the "way." A strong leader is always respected and many times feared and loved at the same time.

A pirate's life is dangerous, and is constantly changing. I embrace the change. I embrace sailing into the horizon. I do not need to know everything, for what I do know is how to set the sails to the wind, and to weather the storms. The other things like collecting the treasure need no manual or introduction. I feel many times that a warriors life is shorter, but if it means being fulfilled and satisfied than bring it on. I apologize to no one for my life, and the treasures it has brought. I wait for no one. I have lived strong, and will fight for myself and others that find themselves under my direction or on my ship.

My ship has set its course; the wind has found her sails. She is bound for port. I am heading for land to plunder what is needed for me and my crew. I fear for those that would try to stop me. I will bring to my crew what they need, and desire. Yes a pirate's life is good.

Once a pirate, always a pirate, I have answered my own question. Yes now to horizon it is…

The ramblings of Pirate Mike…

"In the artificial world of his cities and towns, man often forgets the true nature of his planet. The sense of all these things comes to him most clearly in the course of a long ocean voyage, when he watches day after day the receding rim of the horizon, ridged and furrowed by waves… And then, as never on land, he knows the truth that his world is a water world, a planet dominated by its covering mantle of ocean, in which the continents are but transient intrusions of land above the all-encircling sea. – Rachel Carson

Rachel Louise Carson (May 27, 1907 – April 14, 1964) was an American
marine biologist and nature writer whose writings are often credited with launching the global environmental movement. ²

¹
Krzysztof Wilczy--ski "History of Piracy" http://www.piratesinfo.com/

² http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Carson

Free Gem Tumbler, Stones Not Included...

Free Gem Tumbler, stones not included…

When others look into your life what do they see? Do they look at you and see an ugly old stone, or as a polished gem? All of us are in the tumbler of life and we provide the stones for which it will polish. We are all in different stages of completion. As we wander through we find the stones that we must carry to the next destination. As we go from stage to stage we see those stones change and begin to polish up. The ultimate goal is to become polished enough that someone would want to keep us.

The sad thing is when people are too afraid to go through the polishing process. Many people refuse to change and embrace the challenges that come our way. They are always avoiding pain. They will not allow themselves to be ground into something new. The stones of our lives are collected and are never fully complete. The grit that the tumbler uses are the sacrifices and struggles that come against us as we walk down life's path.

Between the motion of crashing into the stones and the intense friction that is created with the grit the hard outer shell soon comes away and what is left is a shiny exterior that was the inner self of the stone. We too must go through the tumbler of life and let the hard outer shell of this world come off so that we may become that which we were intended; beautifully polished and desirable.

When we look upon a person for the first time what we typically see is the outward appearance that is what attracts us to them. After the first 30 minutes it is usually apparent at what stage they are in their tumbler and what stones that they are carrying around with them. It is very unfortunate that most can't look into a mirror and see what it is that others do. Often times people project what they want you to see and work very hard to hide the stones that they are carrying with them.

They do not want you to see them and know what they are and in what stage they are in. That would expose them and sometimes painfully so. I have always believed that people will eventually see your stones; therefore it is best to leave them out in the open so that if there is one of particular interest to someone they will see it upfront and not 6 months later. This is not always possible as many times we can overwhelm people with our history and needs. This is typically a process and requires some tact so that you just don't go run people off.

But what is the saddest is when people totally refuse to grow and change, and do not allow themselves to tumble. I have been tumbling for some time now and have fought the process with everything I have. I have climbed out of the tumbler on occasion and spit on the grit. Somehow I keep getting scooped up and thrown back in. I hope that as I start to wear down that someone can appreciate me. I know that it has taken everything I have to get to here. I hope that at the end of the road there is someone that really cares about what I have gone through to be the shinny pebble that they keep in their pocket.

Pirate Mike, caught in the tumbler again…

"The weather has come to discourage me from my choice of destination, but what she doesn't know is that without her wind and waves I surely would never get there..." - Pirate Mike

8:30pm and where are you?

Yes I am at work. What am I doing you may ask? Well I am preparing a file for print, so this could be considered in production terms “ripping time.” Ripping is when a print file is processed and is prepared to be printed. I happen to be preparing 6000 post cards with complex variable data that are needed for an open house that we are putting together.

Why 8:30pm you ask? Well I am in outside sales and this is the only time that I have to myself where I can sit down and think. 8 to 5 is selling time and that is when all good salespeople should be out meeting new potential clients and talking with old ones. It is the time when you should be finding leads and closing business. It is not when you should be printing something.

Time is always of the essence. We never have enough time either for ourselves or to accomplish everything that we would like to at our work. Some jobs differ as they can be walked away from and they come to a stopping point at the end of the day. Mine on the other hand never has an ending point it just starts over each day and goes till I give up.

Commitment to the task and integrity is what all companies are looking for. If we could find people that took pride in their work and made sure the task was completed we would not find many of our jobs being sent over seas. It is hard to get mad at someone just because they will work till the job is completed or have taken the time to get an education and work for a price that attracts a company’s attention.

We are ultimately lazy and this is seen in ever vertical market there is. Whether you are a plumber or an electrician an auto mechanic or a printer we all know someone that is always looking for short cuts and isn’t concerned for the quality of their work. It is a shame that we take so little pride in what we do that we can be replaced so easily.

At my job people always look at me crazy as I tend to offer a hand, show up at accounts that are not mine, take time out of my day to explain or teach a concept to someone new. I don’t fight over accounts. I have been known to hand over a prospect to someone that has the relationship or can get the deal done quicker. I try to put my clients first and make sure their needs are tended to.

In any organization there are many levels of management that are constantly looking at the numbers, maximizing margins, protecting the company’s interest. Who looks out for the client? I have always felt that I was that person. I was the front line sales rep that had to make sure someone that knew what was going on argued on their behalf.

Now there are times when a client is unreasonable but many times things go wrong and the customer is just waiting on an action on the part of the vendor. When things do not get done the customer isn’t sure what happened other than the promise wasn’t kept. It is our duty to ensure that the promises are kept and that things go as smooth as they can. The larger the company is and the more complex of an operation that has to be performed, the more that can go wrong. Many times things can get started off on the wrong foot with inaccurate paperwork, poor order entry, lack of documentation, lack of explanation or a vague or incomplete statement of work. When orders are delayed things start off poorly. Then if the implementation and execution isn’t smooth you know you are heading for disaster. Billing and Service after the fact just make things worse if you have already started down this slippery slope of non performance.

I get caught in between the customer and our company all the time. It is normal for something to go wrong at some stage in the game. The more experience you have and the better you get just means that you deal with these situations quicker and with more style. I like to think that I am pretty good at what I do and that many times it looks like everything is under control even when I am about to come unglued.

Customers don’t know your business like you do, and they have no clue as to what happens after they sign the “magical documents” you provide them. Many start to get excited about all of the business problems their new purchase is going to solve and start to believe all the reasons why they signed the paperwork you gave them in order to feel good about what they have done. Once things start to come down they start to have feelings of uncertainty that unravel their thoughts and give them fears that create new objections you must over come.

It is in your best interest to soft sell your timeline and to build in some help for yourself by selling your customer some of the potential pitfalls upfront so that they know there will probably be some things that go wrong and how you have overcome them in the past. When they realize that this is part of the overall process and that you have prepared for it, they tend to be a bit more forgiving.

What happens many times is that deals that we have been working for a while or deals that came up suddenly many times mature quicker than we had originally expected, as the customer comes to the decision that he or she is going to move forward. Many times this happens at the end of a month, quarter etc and then the pressure is on within the company to find product and people to do the service functions that surround it. Supply chain demands push everything to the limit. Backorders are commonplace and technicians and analysts are booked out weeks in advance. No one is available for that new order you just brought in at the last second.

But no one is going to stop an order they simply let nature take its course and everyone plays the “quiet game” till the customer breaks the silence just to inform everyone that they are about to pull the plug on the deal. If the proper expectations are set up front and the order coordinators stay in contact with the customer as the order in entered and processed to that the customer knows what to expect and what is going on many of the issues could be avoided. All to often the customer sets the salesperson up but trying to hold them to the fire on deadlines and time schedules.

This actually works against the customer in many ways. It sets an unrealistic expectation and pushes the salesperson away to their quiet place. This refuge is where all sales people go to “hide” from the potential negative responses that come from a client that is awaiting action from someone. When the desired actions don’t take place the typical response is the “pull” the order and look for a new vendor that can fulfill the order as they expected the process to proceed.

Communication and preparation are necessary to keep the customer engaged in the process and to ensure that they never feel caught unawares. Sometimes the simplest things make the greatest difference. Even a quick email sometimes can fend off the wrath of an unfulfilled order. Customers need to be able to plan and make arrangements so they do not look foolish in front of their supervisors and customers.

Often time’s promises are made on their behalf to others and no one wants to look the fool. We must protect our customers from themselves and set proper expectations so that we can over deliver what we have under promised. The reverse can be deadly to the highly sought after “new business.”

I am a hunter, and I am always looking for a “clean kill.” I like many salespeople hate to get messy. I am the type of person that pays close attention to details and can get lost in the minutia if not careful. I have to make sure that I keep myself out of the office and in the field or I will stay busy and not productive.

This is why it is 9:30 pm and I am still working. I am targeting this rip to be done by 10:00 pm and that means I will be able to go home by midnight. I will have enough time to get some sleep so that I can hit it hard tomorrow and start another hunt for my next customer.

Pirate Mike…


P.S. It is 12:11am and it turns out that the press I was going to use is having technical difficulties.