Week #2: Viva La Revolucion

           Starting a new job is difficult everywhere you go. Maybe some people hit the ground running, but I tend to hit the ground stumbling and trudging. The first few weeks are like starting a new jigsaw puzzle: Everything you need is right in front of you, but it takes a long time to figure out how all the pieces fit. Right now, I feel like I just opened up a new puzzle box, and out poured 2,000 little pieces. A daunting task lies ahead.

I glided around the office in Week 1 with supreme confidence. I had the National Sales Center under my belt, the ace up my sleeve. At that point, I was completely free of responsibility and expectation, and somehow had a sense of entitlement to the sales world. But now the higher ups want me to perform, and I feel like I’m running around the place with my head dangling by a flap of skin on my neck. I jumped straight from the minors to the big leagues, and completely underestimated the size of the leap.

As for the office itself, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a greater collection of mid-20’s dudes in one office. Even my boss is 25 years old. Luckily, at least as far as I’ve seen, these aren’t the guys that make the freshmen prove themselves in bizarre, unappealing ways, but instead have proven to be helpful and accommodating, although I still can’t remember half of their names and a lot of their advice. I think it would be absolutely perfect if the Patriots, whose offices are a short walk and an elevator ride away, were the classic mix of jocks and sorority girls that everyone expects sports employees to be. It would be the meat-heads in football versus the nerdy, alternative kids in soccer. Alas, I still don’t have my Stadium pass that allows access to every door, so I’ll have to wait a little bit longer to let you know if the picture I’ve painted is real or not.  

Which brings me to another point: Why do The Patriots work on the Suite level while we are on the ground floor? Oh yea, it’s because they have a Hummer-sized waiting list for their 60,000 season tickets. Okay, fine, so people are waiting upwards of 5 years to buy tickets to Patriots football games, but why should that make our $20 tickets insignificant? What’s that? Because they are? Well, screw you America. Soccer’s coming around, as it has been since the 1970’s. Just give it some more time…

As anticipated, the worlds of soccer and sales have collided to consume virtually every hour of my waking life (disclaimer: Exaggeration). If you do get a chance to talk with me, I apologize in advance for the salesmanesque approach to conversation that I can’t seem to shut off anymore. Hopefully it won't be too noticeable. And that's the point ;-)

Day 1 - New England Revs

                This might be my first “first day” in which I wasn’t pouring sweat from my hands. I think the combination of a “been here, done this” attitude and a swagger that stemmed from completion of a successful training program allowed me to relax a little. I pulled up to the stadium at 8 AM after getting lost a few times on the commute (I allowed time for that) and parked near the Revolution administrative offices. I was one of the first ones there. I sat for a second and stared at the gigantic stadium that lay in front of me, awestruck by the massive silence all around it. It was my first time at a stadium without an event going on, and it felt like I’d imagine the Coliseum feels like on an average, touristy day. Gillette Stadium was all very crisp and new, each seat colored in blue, the field a pristine green, and the grey slabs of concrete all serving some purpose.  I was at a gargantuan structure of contemporary mankind. It rose out of the earth like some enormous salad bowl. It felt like home.

                I went through orientation. I met 3 other orienters who I will never see again in my life. The Revolution are owned by The Kraft Group, which own the Revolution alongside the Patriots, some kind of paper company, an event security company and probably others that I’m not even aware of. The first people I met were destined for other parts of the Kraft’s far-reaching empire, and although we made small talk and embraced company policies and white and black PowerPoints, they won’t be who I work with regularly. It took about 25 stifled yawns, one Nalgene of water, and two pee breaks before orientation was deemed complete and I was finally able to stake my claim to a desk in the Revolution’s sales office.

                I had barely shrugged off orientation before I arrived at the front door of my new workplace. To summarize, it was a heavily tinted piece of glass and metal, like a huge pair of sunglasses. Since my grounds pass had yet to be created, I was instructed to press the buzzer to have someone let me in. Five buzzer pushes later, I was stuck outside. Granted, it was 70 and sunny, but it still felt cold to be stranded outside of a door you know you’re supposed to go through. All sorts of thoughts crept into my mind. Should I wander out to midfield? Should I stake out the club seats? Should I just drive home? Eventually, a gentleman opened the pair of sunglasses, I struck up a conversation, and he led me to my new home.

                I’m pretty sure people imagine offices in sports stadiums to be equipped with hot tubs, massage tables and loads of athletic tape, but actually they are just normal cubicles. The main difference, of course, is that instead of pictures of random artwork on the walls there are team logos and pictures of past players. After grabbing lunch with my boss and super-boss, I spent the afternoon going over the sales process. It served as a great refresher of what I had been doing for the past two months, with a bunch of added insights. Although my computer never showed up (damn you IT!), I felt comfortable in the environment, and spent the last 30 minutes of the day going from cubicle to cubicle introducing myself, something I would never have done prior to the Minnesota training and this job. 

Sales isn’t generally the most respected of occupations, but it DOES require a lack of shyness, and in situations like starting a new job I feel more comfortable than I’ve ever felt before. Most people assume that the best salespeople are the ones who are most naturally outgoing, but I’m starting to think that it’s the ones who are introverted but willing to force themselves to be extraverted that have wind up the most successful. Hopefully, I fall in that category.

On The Road Again...

                When “the plan” starts to go astray, a dark, murky question mark begins to creep into the vulnerable parts of your brain, and doubt creeps in. It was Monday, March 12^th, and I was at home waiting for the phone to ring, but it continued to lay next to my computer, motionless. I wasn’t totally sure what would be said when it finally did start buzzing, but any knowledgeable voice on the other end at that point would have been better than silence. I had heard promises and guarantees from afar, but no utterances directed at me. With little to do, no mode of transportation, and only those far off hopes to dwell on, a stationary cell phone can become very bad for your mental health. I needed to hear from a team, the program directors, other trainees, or anyone else, if only to boost my morale. Yet Monday crept by without a peep, and I went to bed wondering what would happen to me.

                The actions I took next were simple. I made phone calls and wrote e-mails. A fidgety day of waiting had finally caught up to me, so I took matters into my own hand. Waiting for others can only last so long, a lesson I think I’ve finally learned. People are busy, people forget, people can be lousy. In the end, I can only control what I do and, in this case, I made the calls and wrote the e-mails to the people that mattered, and got a result.

                On Tuesday, I got in touch with the New England Revolution, and they offered me a position with the sales team. I had heard of their offer over the weekend, but had not officially been sent anything. Seeing as the Revolution were one of my top choices, it was a very straightforward decision. I accepted their offer.

                My first day is tomorrow. Today, I’m loading up my stuff and driving out to Boston to temporarily live with a friend while I look for an apartment. The Revolution play in Gillette Stadium, a 45 minute drive from downtown Boston. The commute is heavy, the stadium is tricky, and the team has lost their first two games of the season, yet I couldn’t be more excited about it all. The Revolution present a challenge that I want to overcome by any means necessary. The situation is not ideal, but that’s the whole point. How can I become better at what I’m doing if everything is served to me on a silver platter? 

                I don’t know what comes next. But I’ll let you know when I have an idea. Stay tuned.

This Is My Dissertation, Welcome To Graduation

I graduated from the National Sales Center along with 3 others this past Friday. Writing has not been a priority for the past few weeks, partly because I’ve been busy and partly because I’m too stunned to think it all through. I’m in the process of interviewing for positions with 6 different MLS teams, but I can’t say which until I’ve picked one, just in case they find out about this exciting and fun writing tool I have called a blog. Man, even blogs are passé now. Anyways, the interviews will be conducted primarily by phone, although one will be in person. They will last for about 30 minutes each, and follow standard interview procedure. My decision will, in all likelihood, be made by Wednesday evening.

                As a sales team at the National Sales Center, we finished up our second LA Galaxy campaign last Friday, half an hour before the final decision on who would graduate was to be made. In total, we had four weeks with the Galaxy, which is three weeks longer than we’d had with any other team over the course of the first month. This was our first taste of full-time sales work, mainly because we had time to work with people who weren’t able to buy in one week. Many of our biggest sales throughout the campaign were started in the first week and only finalized in the last. With the extra time, we were able to give buyers more time to make decisions, and better tailor our options to their interests and needs. It was a more realistic sales experience than the first month.      

The last week of the LA Galaxy campaign was tense. Nobody in the group was a lock to graduate, and because some of the biggest sales were still in the making up until the last hour, nobody knew who would end up with the most revenue. One big sale had the potential to move anyone from worst to first. We worked, on average, 12 hour days to ensure that all leads were contacted and all interested Galaxy fans were connected with the seats of their choice. To be honest, it felt like I didn’t know myself during that week. Days consisted of 3 things: Work, food and sleep. We threw in a few athletic endeavors just so we didn’t go completely crazy, but for the most part, it was all work, all the time. It sounds worse from where you’re probably sitting, but that’s what the job was, and sometimes that’s how it will be. There are days in MLS ticket sales where you work 9 to 5 and leave the office, but there are also days when you prepare all day and night for a big phone call coming up, and do it alongside your daily work. It’s the nature of the beast, and although it gets grueling at times, it adds variety and excitement to each day. 

                When the announcement of my graduation was made, I took off the invisible 50-pound suit of armor that I had on for the first eight weeks and chucked it aside. I was both stunned and exhilarated. I was excited that the work I had put into studying and learning the sales process had paid off. Moreover, I was relieved to know that working hard really could lead to success. But then I thought about the seven people that didn’t graduate, and who I have become incredibly close with over the past 8 weeks, and who, for the most part, had put in more time and effort at the office than I had. It was very difficult to assess why I was any different from them, and although obviously something set me apart in the eyes of the program directors, the thought that I wasn’t any better than anyone else continued to linger.

                Living in a dorm room in Minnesota with cafeteria food and limited mobility is not easy. As uplifting as it is to be reminded that this is an awesome opportunity, the feeling doesn’t last for long. The lifestyle of the place, however, remains consistently in focus and on the mind. It takes a certain strength and resolve to keep reminding yourself of this program’s long-run benefits. I’d be lying if I said that I never contemplated packing my bags, letting the directors know that I wasn’t cut out for this, and leaving in the middle of the night. Of course it was never really an option, but the point is that this program was, and is, tough. The first 35 days were new and fresh, and I think many of us felt that we were not ready to leave the program at that point. But now, after 60 days, I know for sure that the trainees remaining feel like they are ready to leave. As awesome as it immediately felt to be singled out as ready to go, the feeling only lasted as long as it took for the other trainees to start congratulating me. It’s not like it was their fault for wishing me well, it was just that if it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have graduated. Somehow putting me above them isn’t fair because we learned and achieved so much together. Aren’t we taught the importance of a team mentality in MLS sales? Everyone here will be hired full-time, because they are completely capable and have a ton of potential. And I know that. But it doesn’t stop the feeling that somehow me being chosen over them is unfair. In a way, everyone who will remain here for another month deserves more congratulations for their toughness and grit than I deserve for being selected.

                So I got picked. I’m elated, but a little unsettled. I’ve already had 3 interviews today, and I have 3 more tomorrow. I make my decision on Wednesday night, and fly to Albany on Thursday. There’s still a lot more to be decided. Stay tuned.