Ran into church a bit late last Sunday to find everyone robustly singing “America the Beautiful”. With those words and that spirit still ringing in my head when I returned home, I promptly finished decorating the house which now has flags and bunting covering both decks and enough other iParty stuff everywhere to make red, white and blue the official colors of the summer. I’m not exactly sure why this patriotic spirit cascades in me every summer, except that I do know that it feels good. It’s not because any one thing happened-we didn’t just joystick another Al Qaeda leader or anything like that. It’s just because it’s simply the 4th, business is pretty good, and I figure if we can stick it out through the long hot summer of politicians beating one another up, the economy should stabilize just a bit more after the elections.
But, in the meantime, it’s the 4th, and it’s time to celebrate.
As a kid, my brothers and I grew up on this same NH beach in the summers. Actually, to be more accurate, this is where my parents, both in their late 20s when they first came here, grew up living in a close community of friends and neighbors tightly packed into “the cottages” which were built on pilings with no hot water, plumbing that was questionable at best and a tiny kerosene stove for those colder nights. This is also where everyone would spend the month of June, landing here as soon as school finished, gathering driftwood for what became “The Bonfire” with wood stacked high enough that the blaze could be easily seen from the Isle of Shoals miles away. Tomorrow night, just in memory of my parents and brothers, we’ll build our own much smaller fire on the beach to watch the fireworks.
My first pass yesterday in talking to the majority of our customers is that the quarter finished very well for everyone, which is another reason for celebration and just feeling good about things. No disappointments and no surprises anywhere. Not only did the numbers work out well, but also now halfway through the year, most of our customers are experiencing much tighter control of their sales and marketing processes and tools such that their forecasts hold together for much longer periods of time.
So, it’s the 4th and time to celebrate. Celebrate the unique freedom that we have. Celebrate the fact that in spite of all of the economic problems, the business environment is stabilizing. Celebrate the fact that the first half of the year is behind us and, for the most part, performance is on plan. Celebrate your profession of being a salesperson-one of the best jobs in any business! Celebrate the reason for and the history of the 4th…and enjoy!
Gear up for the 2nd half and Good Selling!
Jack
Head Coach
DERBY Management-Associated Industries of Massachusetts
SemiAnnual Sales Management Boot Camp
"Save The Date": September 30th-October 2nd, 2012
Click HERE for a quick overview and email me to set up time for a 10 minute call to talk about this unique experience. Want more detail? Click HERE for full agenda and pricing. Early Bird pricing ends August 15th
