Sales?!

What in God's name was I thinking going into sales? Was I on CRACK?

So I started at AppleOne last year in March as the office coordinator.. I really should have stayed in that position, so now I am a staffing consultant. With the economy the way that it is no one is looking for people. In fact they are letting people go, I'm sure that there is a good portion of you out there that know that first hand. Every day I sit here making calls.. so many calls, to all of these companies to see if they need any people. Most of them I have to leave a message and they never call back. They don't want to talk to a sales person! When I get a hold of them I get a mixed response... "No, we don't need any one and take us off your call list!" click.. sometimes I get a "actually we just filled a position so we are fully staffed.. thanks though." click. I would say that 1% of the calls that I make generate some kind of interest. That can be very exciting.. but then I still have to go through corporate and get workman's comp and credit approved. I have now had 2 potential clients get denied.. then they get pissed and then decide that they want nothing to do with me. woo...

I have been in this position for two months now and I feel like I have made little or no progress. You see, in order for me to move up I had to find a replacement for my position. So when we found the right person I began my training in N.E.S.T (new employee success training) while I trained my replacement to do my previous position. The whole situation was very stressful to me. I couldn't really turn to the other girls in the office for help, because the area manager asked that I just go to the branch manager. Which I understand, they have enough to do without having to train me too. So I would go to the branch manager with my questions and he would just refer me back to the manual. I read that God Damn Manual from cover to cover two times and you know just because you read the manual doesn't mean that you necessarily understand all of it. So I was training the new girl to do my old position and I was basically training myself to do my new position too!

So you can imagine that I was feeling stressed about the whole situation. Yesterday was test day... all I have to say it is a good thing that it was open book. I felt really stupid, there were a lot of things in there that I did not know. It took me most of the work day for me to do the test. I mean I had candidates that I interviewed and phone calls that I dealt with as well, so it didn't really take ALL day.... just a good portion of it. :(

I get my test graded on Monday and if I fail I will have to take it again. But if I pass I will be eligible to receive commission and be on rotation to take new clients that call in. Who knows...

I think the main thing that really freaks me out is that in sales it's all about numbers. I can call every company in this entire state and work my ass off.. But if I am not getting orders I loose my job. They don't care that you try, they care that you are generating profit. I can't loose my job.. I CAN'T! I can just imagine it now.. Sitting in the cold with my shopping cart filled with garbage. Begging for money. Some guy in a suit yells "Get a job you freak!" Every penny that I make begging goes to a strong bottle of liquor to keep me warm.

I have decided to put my resume out in the world, but I will be very careful to be sure that I don't leave this job for another just to get laid off. I think with the economy the way that it is right now it is likely that I will end up a bag lady either way!