Greetings from Torrance, California!
I’ve either co-owned or owned a lead generation company since August 2006 and I love it!
There are days when it’s 3 steps forward and 10 steps back but it’s a process and journey.
I’m fortunate I’ve been always able to take a salary from Day 1. There are times when I haven’t taken a paycheck but it’s far and few times when I don’t.
There are countless people who have started companies who had to drain their entire retirement, savings, or max out credit cards.
My wife and I have been big believers in giving 10% of our income back to people in need. Some people would call this “tithing”.
So whether it’s our alumni, charities, church or whatever God has placed in our path, we try to help financially when possible.
Read more
How Credible Are You: Part II
/in Cold Calls, Prospecting, Sales /by Ray RueckerIn my previous post, I wrote on credibility.
Here’s an example of not so incredible:
My office is in Cloverleaf Office Park among several other companies. On the 1st floor of my building is a licensed counselor / therapist. Read more
How Credible (Not Incredible!) Are You?
/in Cold Calls, Prospecting, Sales /by Ray RueckerIf you’ve been following my blog, you know I’m been commuting back and forth between Kansas City and Torrance, CA.
6 trips down, 4 more to go!
I work out at a gym near the hotel which is owned by a former bodybuilder. He’s not just an owner or a manager.
I was asking him tips to lose weight and he gave me 2 main points:
1. Stay away from dairy, sugars, and wheat. Read more
Entrepreneurship and Giving Back
/in Sales /by Ray RueckerGreetings from Torrance, California!
I’ve either co-owned or owned a lead generation company since August 2006 and I love it!
There are days when it’s 3 steps forward and 10 steps back but it’s a process and journey.
I’m fortunate I’ve been always able to take a salary from Day 1. There are times when I haven’t taken a paycheck but it’s far and few times when I don’t.
There are countless people who have started companies who had to drain their entire retirement, savings, or max out credit cards.
My wife and I have been big believers in giving 10% of our income back to people in need. Some people would call this “tithing”.
So whether it’s our alumni, charities, church or whatever God has placed in our path, we try to help financially when possible.
Read more
It’s not over…. unless you give up!
/in Cold Calls, Prospecting, Sales /by Ray RueckerA few weeks ago, I wrote about a potential client that I thought I had landed. I thought it was in the bag. Then my contact told me the next day he was no longer with the company. Ouch!
So the story isn’t over just yet. I haven’t landed this prospect as a client yet but there’s progress. Read more
Employee or Entrepreneurship?
/in Cold Calls, Prospecting, Sales /by Ray RueckerAs I mentioned in a previous blog post, I’m currently commuting between LA and KC for a software client of mine. I’m performing some sales coaching for their inside sales team. 45% of their yearly sales revenue happens between September 1 and December 31.
I was offered the Director of Sales position in July and politely turned it down since I didn’t want to uproot my wife and 2 kids and move to California. But I don’t mind being onsite through the fall.
I’ve co-owned or owned my own company since August 2006 and love it. Read more
Inside Sales vs. Outside Sales: Is There Really A Difference?
/in Cold Calls, Prospecting, Sales /by Ray RueckerSeptember is nearing an end. October is coming around the corner.
The last quarter for most companies starts soon. For many companies, it’s their busiest time of the year.
One of my software clients gets 45% of their entire business between September and December.
Times have changed in sales. Traditional sales has been typically done face to face.
With the Internet and telephone, companies spend thousands and millions of dollars with each other and rarely meet in person. Read more
I lost a sale. He lost his job.
/in Cold Calls, Prospecting, Sales /by Ray RueckerI had been engaged with a Sales VP of a target company. There was pain, need, etc.
We spoke on Tuesday and he needed approval from his Divisional VP to move forward and requested a proposal.
I emailed the proposal on Wednesday and the Sales VP and I agreed to review it today for questions or clarifications before he submitted it to his boss. He accepted my meeting invite for 10:30 am and I thought it had a 75% chance of moving forward.
30 minutes before our time slot, he declined the meeting. Yikes! So I emailed him to see if we simply needed to move the meeting around. No answer. Read more
Great Time Management Tool for Sales Prospecting
/in Cold Calls, Prospecting, Sales /by Ray RueckerHappy Fall everyone!
It’s supposed to cool down here in KC starting tomorrow and I can’t wait.
I love fall, football, and the MLB playoff race. I’ve been a Kansas City Royal fan my whole life. They haven’t had a winning record since 2003.
This year, they finally had a winning record AND won a wildcard spot and made the playoffs. We shall see.
The next 4 months of the year typically are the most busiest for most companies out there.
One of my clients, a software company near Los Angeles, CA, gets 45% of their yearly revenue in the last 4 months of the year. Read more
LinkedIn: The Ultimate Rolodex of Contacts
/in Cold Calls, Prospecting, Sales /by Ray RueckerThe dog days of summer are nearing an end and I can’t wait. I love the fall, winter and spring. Summer, not so much. I don’t like hot weather and I’d rather shiver than sweat.
I’m a huge fan of LinkedIn and have used it religiously since August of 2006. Read more
What does sales have to do with playing the lottery?
/in Cold Calls, Prospecting, Sales /by Ray RueckerAs you probably know grocery prices keep going up and up.
Last night, I helped my wife put our 2 kids to bed and I hit the grocery store. I checked out and realized that I had a $1 coupon that I forgot to redeem. So the cashier told me to go to customer service and they’ll take care of it.
I went over to customer service, explained my situation and handed my receipt. I asked if they could simply just put the money back on my card. The gal said no because anything under $5 is returned in cash. Fine with me. No big deal except I rarely carry cash.
So I decided to do something out of the ordinary and buy a scratch lottery ticket with my dollar. Read more