Over The Bend...

This past Thursday was such an amazing day at work – it really lit a fire under my ass. Like I’ve explained, my job consists of mostly being on the phone – maintaining customers and offering services to fit their particular businesses and needs. A really amazing aspect of my particular role, as I’ve also explained, is that it incorporates marketing activities and such. As an FISP, I am sometimes able to go on the road with our Field Sales Representatives, who handle larger accounts and are on the road meeting with clients face to face and creating custom contracts for businesses. On Thursday, I had my very first opportunity to accompany both of our Field Reps on the road to visit clients – new business and maintenance clients. It was exactly what I’d eventually like to do. Many of the businesses we visited are medium sized or at least have a SME mentality – which is what I really appreciate. Even some companies who are relatively large still seem like small operations in their isolated locations. I love hearing about the inner-workings of different types of businesses, especially if it’s coming from the mouth of the proprietor.

Being a Field Rep, you're able to have a face to face relationship with so many people in each company – everyone from the receptionist to the owner. Something that is kind of weird, but that I’ve always gravitated towards is industrial parks. They seriously fascinate me. It has something to do with it being business to business, and providing such basic and raw materials and items to retailers. I almost think of it as being more business-y than a shopping mall – because it’s where everything is born and controlled. It’s such raw business activity. And I’m sorry, but it’s definitely cool how a business can survive so successfully by just selling nylon straps (… so many businesses use nylon, right?) It’s neat how one small component of a larger final product can be so imperative and successful.

From the look of it, being a Feild Rep is a lot of work. It’s satisfying and really fun, but balancing client visits and the work that comes out of those visits (new contracts, contract changes, expanding businesses) is a job within itself. You may do client visits for half a day but have to work until midnight making changes in contracts for the next few days. It’s something your heart has to be totally into and you have to do for personal fulfillment, otherwise it could get stressful in a negative way.

After Thursday, I took the Thanksgiving weekend off and relaxed. It was a full long weekend – full of going out with friends, football, food, and Peggy’s Cove. Like I often say, working is rewarding, and it makes the weekends that much sweeter.

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"I tell you that as long as I can conceive something better than myself I cannot be easy unless I am striving to bring it in to existence or clearing the way for it"

George Bernard Shaw