Day 51: The First Thing to Go is Your Ego

Oh shit. He broke character.

Sales.

A friend called asking if he would do well with real estate sales.

I had to give that question a good deal of thought because it forced me to look at what I do for a living and evaluate not only his chances of hacking it in this industry but my own situation in it.





 The first thing to go is your ego.

Remember the first time a person with whom you were deeply infatuated turned you down?

Remember the second time something like that happened?

Do you remember how it felt?

I get that every day.

"I don't think we're ready to make an investment in one of your condos."

"While tempting, I really don't have the money to buy a condo right now."

"I'm sorry, but I don't think this is right for me at this point in my life."

Then there's manning the booth.

Once you step into the booth at the mall, you instantly become among the most invisible people in the building.

Honestly, nobody notices as you try to smile and give passers by your flyer in the hope that they will find interest in what it is you're trying to sell. Here is the link to a previous entry highlighting this experience.

Then they say you hold your own time.

That's a lie.

Well, sort of.

If you're one of the in-house salesfolk and the boss says you have to be at the showroom from 8am to 5pm, you have to be there.

Then as you're leaving, if the boss says you have to be at a booth to hand out flyers from 10pm to 2am the next morning, you have to be there even if you pulled a full 8 hour shift.

Then you have to be at the showroom at 8am again.

If a client calls at 5:30 in the morning, you have to wake up and sound like you didn't just wake up.

If a client tells you that you have to email a sample computation in the next ten minutes, it doesn't matter that you're on vacation, you have to find an internet connection.

If a client calls you on Labour Day, it doesn't matter that the government says you're on holiday.

You have to work.

I take pride in the fact that nobody sees me visibly stressed out about anything. In fact, the guy that gave me a call said that he's only seen me stressed out once. After a 10 or so page philosophy term paper.

But now, the stress shows.

My eyebags are bigger and I snap much easier.

Writing as #0019 helps me cope.

That being said, it can be financially rewarding.

Very financially rewarding.

But is it worth it?

Also, the awesome people I've met while out in the booth or making client calls and getting myself out there makes it fun if you're that type of person.

I enjoy it.

But is it worth it?

Remember the first time a person with whom you were deeply infatuated agreed to be exclusive?

That's how it feels to have somebody commit to a sale.

But is it worth it?

The first thing to go is your ego.

But if you think its worth it, who needs an ego anyway?