Varsity Internship Program – Summer 2009

The goal of Week 0 out selling, realistically, was to find out how well the rubber met the road, where sales and business theory was coupled with practical! There was no real quota to meet as I was the "new kid on the block", but I was pretty sure about one thing: I wanted to be number one rookie! The most interesting things I faced on the first week came late at night, at about 9.00 pm for two evenings. Once, I was calling on a big house that was a referral. Lo and behold I was mistaken for a male stripper! They knew I wasn't one, but they asked me to play along anyway as the bachelorette party was getting way too boring! I played along and it was fun, but I didn't get to even demonstrate my books or do any sales talk. The lesson was: they were not in a buying mood. Secondly, I was at a customer's house when they had to leave as they were a volunteer medical relief team, and it so happened that I left my pre-approach pad in their house. Now, the pad was our everything for us, door-to-door salesman, as we had all the referral's details on it. As expected, the customer probably saw all the information about himself in my pad and wasn't very happy about it. When I returned the next day, he gave me my pad and asked me to leave. Lesson number two: never let the customer know the inner workings of your business!

I learnt that folks from the South are really hospitable, but there are always a few sour apples here and there. Nonetheless, people from the South did leave a good impression on me! One of the extreme examples that struck me hard though was a sticker a homeowner put on his door: "Owner does not call 911, owns shotgun and uses it." No doubt I left straight away! I also quickly realized in Week 0 the power of statistics and how it just works out fine each time when you hit the right sales quota. In other words, when you get a good day, you are just flying on cloud nine! One thing I did pick up quick too was to drive and move fast, as time was money, literally. This would be a trait transferrable to every job thereafter. Finally, when at doubt, keep pushing and never give up!

In Week 1, I learnt to accept no for an answer. It was a quick change of thoughts that helped put everything into perspective. I was to accept all the objections from calls as a training ground for acceptance of obstacles and challenges. No was just fine an answer, for you can have some of your way all the time or you could have all your way some of the time but you can't have all your way all the time! I set out to achieve a very high goal, but I was quickly brought back down to earth by daily sales performances. Indeed, it is the hardest to get the ball rolling. But when the ball rolls, you cannot stop it! Similarly, getting myself to really start the day and week off was painstakingly hard, but once the first demo of the day was done, I was ready and the stage was all mine!

In fact, I really love the objections now, for it prepares me for a future in business, where according to Robert Kiyosaki, founder of the Rich Dad Poor Dad company, the first 3-5 years in a business will be fruitless labor. So indeed, objections, refusals and even ridicule will be rife in my future and here I am learning all about how to deal with them and take no as an answer. The secret formula was to move on to the next door, for faith in my product will truly bring me to someone who will appreciate it. Quit not, for the light at the end of the tunnel can be seen and is not too far away. If things don't work out, changing methods will ensure that even NO can be converted to ON!

Week 2 was beginning to get tougher and tougher, as I was in my second town already, Logansport, LA, as I had not done well in the first town, Mansfield, LA. That translated into me not being the top rookie as I had hoped for, and another girl was on top. However, this week, I learnt to not give up. This may sound like a cliché, and it really is oft quoted, but this week I really learnt how hard it was to just keep at it. Just knocking on door after door after door in the hot sun and getting multiple objections thrown into your face was more than enough to make the strongest man break down! I could already anticipate how they were going to object, be it time, finances or just plain lack of interest! Sometimes, I even wanted to just give up as so many No's had been thrown my way! Lo and behold, I hung in there. As they say, practice makes perfect! I could already recite my sales talk without even thinking about it. This was pretty amazing, no matter whether people were buying.

In fact, if things don't work out, I learnt that it's probably time for a change, be it attitude or method. Hang in there till the end, for the finisher is a winner!    

Week 3 taught me an extremely important topic, record keeping! I was short of almost $600 after a week's worth of accounting backlog. We were supposed to do accounting like expenses and book sales daily, but I left it till Saturday night to complete it. Lo and behold, I figured out it was a miscalculation and found out where the money was, but that was not before hours of worrying! I also learnt to stay ahead of the game by planning ahead. Thinking big also helped a lot! Think big! I really loved the one night when I sold my first set of books. It was the last house for the day, I was tired and it was dark and raining. I pushed on anyways and did not expect much from that house. However, she began to show genuine interest and I was excited. I showed her every book as she was the last customer anyway. When I told her the price, she did not seem shocked or appalled, but she did ask one question, is it alright if I pay half by cash? It was the best moment of the summer!

In week 4, I got an insight into the power of self-persuasion. I was on the verge of letting it all go on Wednesday. It was a hot day and almost a zero book day! But two things kept me going; the first was the amount of checks that I was holding until November for them to be cashed and also the unbearable idea of quitting on myself. I asked myself, what was I to do if I didn't sell books this summer/ I had got me a car, convinced my mum to let me stay in the States and also taken on this commitment to hang on till the end. In fact, this commitment had been made with "Coach" Roddy Dye, he pulled me aside and looked into my eyes, and told me that I had it in me to make it, but I had to hang in there. Besides, where else would I go and what else would I do? Go home and relax? Tempting, but no thanks! I mean, even if I failed in numbers, at least I learnt to take fear and objection in the face and still stand up and keep walking! Yes I can! Self-motivation and a self-belief that I could finish was vital, and going back to basics was important too as I was in a new territory from Wednesday, Coushatta, LA. In fact, I would come to realize that sustainability was key to this business, so I had to keep asking for pre-approach, and keep the ball rolling! Yes I can!

Week 5 proved to be an eventful week of ups and downs. The first biggest lesson was that change is inevitable, it may not be what we expect or are comfortable with, but change will and must come, especially if the status quo doesn't work. I had to change places to go to, or even change myself, maybe I was pushing too hard, or maybe I was being too desperate. Two, through people's grace we thrive, as in this book business and even life. The biggest lesson though, was that it's not so much what you know, but more so who you know, literally. This was especially true for referrals, as I introduced myself and started to mention names of friends and family, I could get into the house and close a sales comparatively easily. Another thing I learnt was that when you're down and out, count your blessings, every single one, or more literally, every single book.

In fact, I learnt to not try too hard, especially when I smiled too hard, people can feel the fakeness and despise that salesman smile! Good places, work tight, bad places, work through. Most importantly, I learnt to enjoy the customers and try to find and fill in their needs. If what they wanted was what you have, then I would do well!

Humility was learnt in Week 6. That sometimes, it isn't about me. Sometimes, I can do my best and still not have anything back in return. When I got to the part of being able to tell who would get some books, and who wouldn't get any, I began to pre-judge my customers. There was this "someone" that I thought would not buy anything. But then again, "someone" actually bought something and that really shocked me! It was really a lesson of humility, that sometimes a book cannot be judged by its cover, and a person can't be judged by looks. The other lesson, which is the best one to date, is that the reason that I did well for the last two weeks was because of referrals. I knew that the next week could continue to be good if I kept the referrals going. The other value of friendship was also learnt today, as friends, or rather comrades are the ones who make the day great and all worth it! The most important lesson, though, was that I learnt to thrive under intense pressure and still do well. For that, I ended the week deciding to live on one motto: Play to Win!

One lesson that held true even through Week 7 was once again change. When things were going low and slow, I had to have a strategy. When people weren't buying whole sets of books but rather single books, I had to sell to more folks. When the going gets tough and no books had been sold and the weather was hot, I drank more water, stayed calm and cool and kept going and failing until I succeeded. In this job, I figured, a thirty percent success rate was pretty good. But one thing I had to keep reminding myself about is that there is a prancing horse in me, so every moment should be played to win. To play to win is the goal. Hence, if things do not go as planned, it is to be changed, either the game strategy or the location. But one thing remains, that whether the person will is already set, so all I have to do is show the books and if they will buy, they eventually will. This determinism somehow gave me some calm and peace.

For week 8, I gained a new philosophy, never let people tell you No. This seems to contradict what I had written above, but this comes from another perspective. This week was rather slow as I let people coax me into believing that I had run out of prospects to look for. However, when I had moved on into new territory, it was even worse as I had to start from scratch as I knew nobody in the new area. Long story short, the numbers just dropped and I learnt to never let people tell you that something is not possible. This was because I went back to Coushatta, LA on Saturday and found that I had completely ignored a whole highway worth of folks that I could approach as people had mentioned that there was nobody living down there. At least try it and then make the judgment for yourself. Besides, I learnt to stick by myself when times get bad, which is very important. As the last 4 weeks of the internship unfolds, I'll have to look out to end strong. As we move on, it is important that we keep the momentum going, so that the end will be beautiful, very, very beautiful! I truly understood that there was a simpler way of life, but it could be so much more beautiful!

Boy, was Week 9 an eventful week! I had a car wreck, bottoms up, literally! I was going down about 40-50 mph down a gravel road and I started to lose traction. My steering wheels began to shake and panic set in pretty quickly. My first response was to step down on the brakes, hard! Bad decision it was. The next thing that happened was that my steering wheel shoke uncontrollably and I lost even more control of my vehicle. The alignment of the car had been veering to the right all along, so the car swerved to the right and I went up a dirt shoulder with my right wheels at a good 20-30 mph. I remembered this whole experience flashing by in two seconds or less and the next thing I knew the car was tipped to the left and the whole car overturned! I was upside down in less than two seconds and had to unwind the windows to climb out. I sure was lucky to walk away unscathed! My vehicle ended up claiming a total loss but I was safe and sound.

I used to read in books that accounting is a very important aspect in business. I believed it but never knew how important it was exactly, just like you know that the pot is hot, but you don't know what hot is until you touch the pot. As of Week 10, I had a discrepancy of $2000 in the account, which is a pretty big amount, considering the size of the business! Right then and there, I finally understood that money is hard to earn and even harder to keep (track of as well as just keep), but very easy to just spend! The tenth week was an eventful one, not my best, but I was understanding what I was doing finally and I felt calm and serene, as I'd come to terms with myself.

Week 11 was a wonderful week. As little books as I had sold, everyday had been a blessing, especially Saturday. The most memorable thing in this job is not how many books I have sold. Sure, that's important, but it will hold no significance once I get back onto the mainstream of life. But what will stick in mind is how many people's life I have touched and blessed too. Seeing their face light up when upon my arrival is worth the ten doors slammed in my face! If money makes the world spin, love keeps the world on its axis. Saturday, I was hugged and welcomed by an elderly black couple, just like my own grandparents would have, no color and no creed. It was a simple gesture, but the old man offered t make coffee, the catch was that I had to wait fifteen minutes for it to brew. It was "money time" on Saturday evening at 7.30 pm. To go or to stay? He was 83 and I wouldn't be back anytime soon. Stay. Man it was the most meaningful 15 minutes if the summer, simple as it was, conversation while the coffee brewed.

A lot of folks decided to go easy on Week 12, as there would be no more Vision and no more goals or next week to build for. However, I looked at it as my last opportunity to catch the people I had not catch and dedicate all my money earned to my mum. I was supercharged! On average I drove 200 miles minimum every day, just to catch everyone within my parish, Coushatta, LA. It was worth it, as I knew the roads and the people and I managed to hit President's Club, of $4000 sales. The summer ended on a high note indeed, with a purse bible being sold on my last day, I was ecstatic on Friday night, it was party time, I was done!

I look back 12 weeks before and at myself currently, and indeed I have matured. I know how to read body language better, I have a more positive outlook on life which also takes a certain deterministic conclusion, that all things can be done, it's only a matter of time. In fact, I gained a lot of confidence, as here I was a foreigner or ALIEN as I am called, being able to make it on my own and having sold bibles door to door. Indeed, I have no regrets and do not ask myself what if. I have done my best and I know I can be better.