So Close...But Still in the Air
By Jim Bauer
@porwest (78761)
United States
March 23, 2023 6:04am CST
When you are in sales and are paid mostly on commission, every sale counts of course. As I have always said of my sales job is that the advantage is that it is business to business.
That just means my customers are always going to need more of what I sell. Once you establish a customer, he's yours until either you really screw something up or something else changes.
A couple of weeks ago I was working on some augers for one of my customers. He's got a new plant setup and he needs 5 of them. Those are big money. Big money.
The profit is also enormous—enough that in one sale I could make as much in commission as I might make in a month.
He emailed me last night to tell me to go ahead and get the augers on order. I made a note to process the order today when I get into work. Only to get a follow-up email after I asked if he needed a purchase order number to say, "Hold that until we discuss what the augers include."
No worries. I reached out to my auger vendor to get some more details, and once I have those will discuss with the customer what he needs to know. The sale is not lost, it's just "in waiting."
But it does kind of put you a bit on edge because even if it is still pretty much a done deal, there's still room for something to go wrong.
Fingers crossed I will still be typing that order up today.
13 people like this
12 responses
@allen0187 (58438)
• Philippines
23 Mar 23
Worked in sales as well.
I know exactly how you feel.
Hoping that the sale materializes soon.
2 people like this
@porwest (78761)
• United States
24 Mar 23
@allen0187 And...it is done. Order typed up. I can breathe a little sigh of relief, but I also never count my chickens before they are hatched. lol
1 person likes this
@JimBo452020 (42629)
• United Kingdom
23 Mar 23
Is this like big earthmovers we are talking about here
Is that what an auger is?
2 people like this
@porwest (78761)
• United States
23 Mar 23
Some people call them spiral conveyors. It basically moves material up through them using a spiral or rotating scoop inside a tube that moves material up through it and out a top spout into a silo or bin or other thing. If that makes any sense.
3 people like this
@porwest (78761)
• United States
24 Mar 23
@JimBo452020 lol. Sometimes bribery is the thing that best closes the deal.
2 people like this
@JimBo452020 (42629)
• United Kingdom
23 Mar 23
@porwest
I've seen them
Hope you sell a few.
Get the order Jim
Close the deal.
Use bribery if you need to
2 people like this
@Marilynda1225 (79677)
• United States
23 Mar 23
Hope that you'll be issuing that work order shortly. Does sound like a profitable sale for you
2 people like this
@Marilynda1225 (79677)
• United States
24 Mar 23
@porwest fi gers crossed it works out
1 person likes this
@porwest (78761)
• United States
24 Mar 23
@Marilynda1225 Order is typed up. I still won't count my chickens before they are hatched. I am a bit superstitious like that. lol
@lovebuglena (43065)
• Staten Island, New York
23 Mar 23
I hope that sale actually happens. As is the case with hubby who sells cars for a living it sucks when a deal falls through, especially when you spent a lot of time with the customer.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (43065)
• Staten Island, New York
24 Mar 23
@porwest What's never wracking? Or did you mean nerve wracking?
@leighnyork (1880)
•
23 Mar 23
What people also forget is that it si the most important department in any kind of business.
1 person likes this
