Starting many
years ago, more than I can remember, and creeping into my latter years, some
non thinking decisions … those that just happen along the way … changed the
course of a life … mine.
By
the time my Army discharge came around, I was already married to my first wife,
had a child (from her first marriage) and responsibilities. She carried her end
of the financial load by doing medical transcription, a field where she had 4
years experience by then. In fact, she was very good at this; she was so fast at the typewriter that she
wore out a couple of balls from the Selectric typewriter, IBM’s then brand new
model. They could not believe this until
she did a demo for them at a blazing speed of some 115 wpm. After seeing this,
they gave us a supply of new balls …
Like many who find themselves in the
same situation, we had bills to be paid and money to be made. My sales
experience had begun at age 18 in Puerto Rico ,
when I was trained to go door to door to sell magazines, domestic appliances,
etc… So, my first job out of the Army, was selling Clairol products. I learned
about hair and color blending, about chemical damage, about product positioning
and number of faces (number of rows your
product can have on the store shelves), about how to make your product
easier to see that the competition’s, about pricing and price wars; how to make
and end stall work… you name it, if it had to do with the sale of
non-perishable in a pharmacy, department store or supermarket, I learned about
it.
This,
circa 1968, was the beginning of my on-the-job sales training. Clairol was and
continues to be a good company in its field, but it was not really a field
which generated constant interest for me. My tenure there lasted for some two
years, when terminal boredom actually set in … and as a result my short, but
well equipped resume went out to a head hunter.
It was a process of some 2 months; the eventual winner of my dedicated
services was a pharmaceutical company by the name of G.D. (Initials which later on took a different meaning than recalling the
name of the founding father) Searle. This was a mid-size pharma-company,
with not much in the way of exciting products, but it was my doorway to a very
interesting and different world in the sales universe.
The
company’s claim to fame at the time was a line of products which included one
to induce bowel movements and another to stop excessive movements… as a result,
the old saying “when you lie down with a
baby, you wake up rolling in s…”
took on a whole new meaning. We did have some fun selling these products
though, along with the other members of the product line … until… somebody at
the company’s R&D department hit the proverbial one out of the park and as a result of
this product home run, we were the first to market the (in)famous birth control
pill.
This
was a revolution; Doctors’ offices where my products did not sell before (a sale is when the MD prescribes your
product) now were eager to receive me and to get samples of the new
“miracle pill” … So, sales deals were struck and doctors now prescribed several
of my products instead of their old favorites, just to get those samples for
their patients to take. My sales went up and everything was great… But, as many
folk become a one track mind and therefore have a one track life, so does a
company when the money starts rolling in… GD basically became a one product
company and their research (the true backbone
of a pharma-company) suffered, the marketing of new products almost disappearing. Yes, I had enough birth control pill samples
in my house to keep a mid size city barren for a year, but nothing new on the
horizon…
As
a result of this, more than a few of us went looking for greener, more
interesting pastures. My lot ended up with Pfizer, at the top of the feeding chain, aggressive company,
with a varied line of products. My knowledge of the pure concept of professional
sales and marketing was increased tenfold, and so was my actual market; the
company was excellent (and still is)
at this end of the game. One of the decisions made in life which was regretted
for quite some time, was my having to leave them due to very pressing and difficult
personal issues with my first wife's health. As a result of this, my job market was reduced
to the immediate area where we then lived, so I could be nearby at all times…
So it was to the car lot, to sell used cars for the local Lincoln Mercury
dealer; here, my sales learning took a unique turn and went into street level
fighting, so to speak.
Eventually,
in 1975, the industry where my professional life would develop over the next
30+ years opened its doors (in a manner of speaking) to me … Life Insurance. Most people who go into
this field never really dreamt about doing so as children. It is sort of a
catch all, where many who come in do so because of an immediate need to make money while waiting for a “real job” to come along some time soon. Somehow, this business
of insurance will wrap itself around you, grab you by the short hairs and never
let you go. It has been a good time, but
it has also run its cycle. After almost 4 decades of dealing with all
levels of insurance sales and management, I became tired of the constant race and pressure to always
do more than yesterday. Other issues have become more important and now have
top billing in the marquee of my life… but I am indeed grateful for these many
years of learning, knowledge, meeting people, travels, opportunities at opening
new doors and markets and just general fun.
On
these posts, we often touch upon the importance of the decision-making process in everyday life. What is
also true is that this includes those decisions made by default, by actually
not doing anything. Whether due to inertia, lack of interest or lack of
understanding the importance of the decision, we do accept many issues to
simply happen, or to not happen. Then, we complain when the results do not meet
our expectations. And just as it is with the consequences of making a decision
we know is not correct, the consequences of a non-decision are also our
responsibility and no one else’s.
My
life changed for the long run because when younger I did nothing about going
back and completing my degree; my time was at a premium and I was too busy, etc ... you know the usual excuses … I know of at least three instances where my lot
would have ended at the helm of a good company and, while my experience surpassed that of the others, I was passed over due to
this lack.
Do not let even small details go unattended; these are often at the
core of our extended lives. Understand the decision process, and especially understand
that non-decisions are –by definition- decisions as well; you will be the
better person for knowing this.
Be
Well … Be Back!!!
Final Notes:
- Pray for those who are fighting an illness which
may take them away from their loved ones… Every request is heard, and
counts!!
- Follow us on Twitter … @RJAsPandora
- Any comments please send to otherboxp@yahoo.com
- Remember: We are “On Air” every Sunday night at
6:30pm EST (GT –5hrs). http://www.blogtalkradio.com/theotherbox If the link does not work, please just copy and paste
to your address bar.
- “La
Otra Caja de Pandora” … The
Spanish language Blog… “otracaja.blogspot.com”
… Bienvenidos!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment