Stroked Purr-fectly
On August 2nd I traveled from my home in South Bend Indiana down south to Noblesville Indiana just outside Indianapolis, about 250 miles round trip, to meet with a Manufacturer’s Representative of several gift companies.
This visit came on the heels of my Radio Shack liquidation purchase and I wasn’t in the mood to make the trip, as it seemed unnecessary when viewed against the backdrop of my immediate “business position”.
But I gave my word, so I grabbed a handful of my favorite music and set sail for my first business appointment with “horror of horrors” a Sales Rep. (Those new to ‘MEA’, that was my occupation before my eBay adventure)
Now, I have nothing against Sales Rep’s, it’s an honorable profession, sort of. But lets be clear about this, going to visit a Sales Rep is tantamount to waving the white flag before entering enemy territory. A better image still is crawling into a lion’s den on hands and knees and asking what’s for dinner.
The guy I met seemed of the sincere sort but barely showed signs of a pulse, which really threw me off. To say that is not me is an understatement. So Mr. Excitement that I am initiated conversation when needed to draw out information, which I had concluded before the appointment, was more valuable to me than any products he might have.
It’s always amazes me when I make others “feel important” how much information they’ll dump from their lips. I mean, it’s like turning a key on a wind up doll. Wind it up and out comes the information. It doesn’t matter if the information divulged is pertinent to his livelihood, some stranger has just stroked his precious ego, and like a cat, he is “purr’fectly willing to tell you his inner most trade secrets.
Don’t try that with me though it won’t work! In fact I’m not telling you what he told me.
But I will say I walked from this appointment glad that I made the trip and eager to get my ‘arse’ over to Chicago’s Merchandise Mart or maybe even the one in Atlanta in the near future.
I’m not implying going to one of these shows is imperative to success on eBay but I’d sure like to stroke some bigger egos I’m sure I’ll find at the gift shows located in these large cities. Who knows what secrets I might be able to pry from their lips?
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Comments
Steve,
Yes I am struggling with how much information I should reveal on “MEA’. As the ‘reality of consequences’ come into sharper view it seems unwise to divulge information to those who, for all I know, could someday be my competition.
I’m playing for keeps here and the sooner I realize and act on that realization the better.
I have a spirit that longs to help others achieve their own dreams but first I must achieve mine and then I’ll be in ‘the position’ to help others.
And as far as being busy….I guess so…if you ask my wife she’d say so and those who have seen what I’ve done so far would also say so but compared to some other times in my life this does not compare in the slightest.
I am purposefully going slower than I want to. More important to me in the beginning phases of my ebay adventure is keeping my balance so that I always remember to keep the needs of my family and of God before my own. I’m not always sucessful but that’s the goal.
It’s been tough letting go of this blog for long periods but I use everything in the cause of my success even in the ‘letting go’ of things I love.
Have a purposeful, prosperous and eventful week Steve!
Hi Mark
I have just checked in again after having had a couple of weeks vacation …good to see that you are still keeping up the blistering pace …well done my friend
Gill and I have just finished ’spring cleaning’ in August!!leaving with a good few items top sell ( nothing compared to your new warehouse in the basement though :-)… so I will be resurrecting the eBay sales over the next couple of weeks …hopefully it will pay for the Holiday we have just had 
take care… praying for you
Rob
Hey Rob,
Good luck with your ebay sales.
Hey I was thinking about you this past weekend. For the next 4 weeks our church’s theme is “Reel Dating”. I know you have teenagers like me so thought you might be interested in checking our service online. The link, if your interested, is located in the bottom right corner of “GCC’s’Home Page - http://www.gccwired.com/
When Windows Media Player opens up slide your “play bar to about 15 minutes into the service. It starts with a cute video they produced with a male and female IPod communicating with each other through music. The message is after that.
Take care and good to talk with you,
Keep the faith and share it with those with the ears to hear it,
Mark
Wow, Mark…
You’ve really been busy! I’d been missing your updates and thought maybe you’d decided to keep everything secret. Now I see you’ve had so much going on there couldn’t have been much time for posting.
“Damn the torpedos…full speed ahead!”