Sales

I glimpsed at the clock, it’s 10:30 PM. The restaurant? Le Bistro Gourmet. A great mystery of why most middle-aged businessmen have a beer gut has been solved for me. You don’t have to look far for the answer, just go to a business dinner with your friendly local sales engineer.

True it’s a company paid expensive meal, but what I didn’t expect is the stress and heartburn that resulted from the formality. Dress professionally, but not too flashy. make small talk, but let the sales people do their job when they get into it. Provide whatever support, be it a simple nod or a long string of explanation that ensures whatever success might rest in the future.

Whoever invented mixing food with business deserve a pat on the back and then a lead in the head. I mean, how do I steer away from getting fat if I have to do this every day? I am barely keeping it down without doing this on a daily basis. In another life, I’d jump at a chance for free meals, let along gourmet food that’d make me cringe just by looking at the menu. Currently, I just want to drink tea and eat cookies everyday.

Go home, sleep, wake up and you are at work again. It’s harsh to be in sales because you abuse a lot of the fantasies that you used to think are fantasies; travel the world, stay at expensive hotels, sample gourmet food, watch awesome live stage shows. Mix any of these with business then do it for 365 times a year, you’ll start dreaming of a simple farm life before long.

It has definitely changed my outlook on life. Before, I used to take whatever a person says and dream/think/fantasize/debate about the content. Now, before anything kicks in, there’s a layer of “What will the person achieve by saying this?� to filter out the crap. I started seeing that others do this and there are some who are very experienced at this. Some appreciate your understanding; some will brush you off as a new bird on the block.