Building Momentum: The Journey of “Birth of a Salesman” – AND YOU!

Building Momentum: The Journey of “Birth of a Salesman” – AND YOU!
By Carson V. Heady

http://www.carsonvheady.com

In August 2009, I started hammering away on the pages of my now-published first novel, “Birth of a Salesman.” I had no idea what the ending would be, no idea what sales ideas I was going to use; just that I wanted to write a book (I had wanted to for years) and that it was high time I did it.

That is one of the many morals of the sales story. We have to put ourselves out there. Previous articles that spilled from my fingertips have talked about not letting fear inhibit us from anything in this world. There will always be haters and jealous peers and obstacles. We sell and move through them. Living a life of regret and fear is the last thing any of us want to do.

In the selling game (or the game of Life, take your pick) we have goals – both grandiose and minute. We have one life to live and every day we are fortunate enough to awaken, we must re-commit ourselves to the fight. The day prior may have beaten us to a pulp, but this day is still unmarred, untarnished and unplayed. It’s game time.

To this day, I continue my mantra that there is nothing I have done or accomplished that someone else cannot do if they put their mind to it. Sure, I have had a storied sales career, generated literally millions of dollars for companies and touched lots of lives – but if you truly care about your customers and your people, you can do it, too. Many companies these days have their priorities all screwed up; they neglect one or more of the facets of the holy trinity of sales: the customer, the company and the employee.

Many of us also have artistic abilities in our veins; I would be hard-pressed to graduate from stick people in the drawing realm, but the gift of gab and wordsmithing has been one which has always moved me.

Writing the book was the easy part. Then I contacted 968 publishers and agents (and I still, to this day, get rejection letters; yes – even after publication!). Then I researched what were scams and legitimate and I picked one. Then I edited the book, reading it four times and shaving it from 600 to 338 pages. Then I found a cover designer. Then I contacted everyone I knew, went to bookstores, opened social networking sites, wrote blogs, filmed YouTube videos (unafraid of whether or not I looked like an idiot), have done signings, contacted newspapers, TV stations and the like. And, believe me, no one is just waiting with baited breath and open arms to tell the world about the book. But I go undeterred.

Today, the YouTube station, after 3 months of being open, will cross 10,000 views. The book is selling to people who do not know me; my abilities and lessons are reaching a bigger audience than I ever reached in the corporate world, which is my goal. If we have a gift, our responsibility to the world is to share it.

And no amount of naysayers or anonymous attackers will ever knock me down and keep me there.

So my message this go-around?

Start somewhere.

Make a goal, in whatever your walk of life, vocation or situation – where do you want to be, and where are you now? What will it take to get there? How can you map it out and chip away at it, day after day?

Do you want to be President of your company or start a charity or business? Do you want to run for office or do you want to be a motivational speaker? Learn a trade. Immerse yourself in it before making any rash determinations or decisions. Do not be afraid to misstep or fall or make mistakes. Take the good with the bad, keep heading towards the goal because – guess what? One day, you’ll look up, and you’ll be at the finish line.

It will be a long hard road, but nothing worth anything is easy. And that makes the victory all the sweeter when you reach the summit.

All the best, and, as always, MAKE it a great day!

Carson