We are up in Arkansas this week “beating the bushes” as my pop would say. We’ve been up here since early Monday morning and I’ve really grown to love this city.  It’s nice and spread out and so far, the folks here are unbelievably nice… reminds me a lot of East Texas. The only downside to a city being so spread out is trying to get from manufacturer to manufacturer. It can be quite time consuming.  I’ve learned something valuable this trip however, don’t ever pass up a lead because “it’s too far to travel to.”  Do not only travel to that lead, but be sure to visit the companies that surround it.
We traveled a bit out of our way to Conway Arkansas and it was well worth the visit.  The company there produces various types of furniture and uses a lot of metal stampings, aluminum extrusions and even plastic formed parts. We ended doing lunch with one of the nicest guys and with time, we should be a good fit for one another. We followed up this visit with some cold calling in the area and turned up a few additional RFQ’s… again, it was well worth our time.
Long story short, a little over a month in and I am really learning to love this job, love the people I meet, and genuinely love being able to provide a service that provides a mutual benefit between companies. My sales career began selling a product that didn’t actually exist.. it wasn’t tangible, and the benefit was a risky gamble for my customers.  Now, I am able to sell a tangible product, whether it be a metal stamping, a metal formed part, or an aluminum extrusion that actually meets my customers need… honestly this job is refreshed my drive for sales and I look forward to a long career in this industry