"I'm a workaholic.
"I had an office at home in Denver, CO, and this meant I was always working. I would call East Coast prospects and clients before I went to work. I would do paperwork after I got home. So I was a hermit, a recluse. None of my friends had seen me in six months.
"One evening, I was assaulted by phone calls from everyone I knew. What was wrong with me? Had I given up on bars and all the good stuff that came inside them -- music, beer, women (in order of importance)?
"So with the threat of my buddies' total abandonment, I took a cab to the club.
"I made up for six months of alcohol abstinence in one night.
"It's 3 a.m., and bleary-eyed and blitzed, I stagger into my home. Having programmed myself to do so, I wander right into my office.
"I grab my phone and call my biggest prospect, a company that was going to spend a monster-sized amount of money on somebody, hopefully me. Sputtering and slobbering into the mouthpiece, I pitched him.
'Oh, please, you've got to buy from me. You're the biggest company I've ever called on. I can do a great job, I swear. Besides, my commission on this project would be beyond belief. Please use me for insurance. We're the best. You've got to give me a chance.'
"I passed out on my desk. The screeching dial tone from the disconnected phone didn't even wake me up.
"There was only one phone call the next day. I missed it, as I didn't get to the office.
"It was the guy I had called. 'Uh, Joel, I believe it was your caller ID on the message left here at three in the morning. Please don't ever call me or our company again.' "
The Moral: So a prospect passes out of Joel's life as quickly as he passed out of consciousness. First, you have to figure that that guy saved Joel's voicemail and shared it with everyone. Next, you have to figure that Joel shared his experience with no one in his office. Finally, you have to regularly back off of business and get some rest and recovery. Managing energy could be more critical to success than managing time. You need those breaks from business. You also need to show some wisdom in how often and how well you mentally and physically leave your work behind.
Sales from the Dark Side is compiled by speaker and trainer Dan Seidman. For more tales, visit www.salesautopsy.com.
