Service industry

My next opportunity came when I was offered a job in the tent and event rental business. I was to bring in business. I was outside sales. The had calls coming in from adds and the like,  but they did not know how to reach out and generate sales. That would be my job.

I had a leg up because I sold the software platform they used. The company had no CRM, so I went out and found a free one to use, They were unwilling to pay for one. I had to learn where the business was coming from and get them to let us have their business—hardcore prospecting.

I had five different divisions within the company that I sold prospected for each of them in different cities.

I had to think creatively; I went to where events were posted on the internet Places like community calendars, radio and T.V. station promo pages, charity, and chamber of commerce events, I would research anything that was tent related and follow that trail.

I went to bridal, catering, and event trade shows. I was again using that skillset from my days in the book business.

In making bids and RFP's one had to know how to price our services and understand what the best business was, we could acquire.

We ran short of personnel, and because of my management background, I was pressed into being and on-site project manager. I had to oversee the delivery and construction of our products. No easy task because 80% of our business was in 20% of the year. Everything was stretched to the limit of personal, equipment, and systems.

I learned a lot for project management and was able to institute pricing and cost adjustments because of what I saw in the field that management wasn't aware of.

I helped reinvent the company logo, became the social media manager, and the I.T. department.  I helped institute operations and branding changes as well as a total overhaul in the organization.

We started into another venture, and I kicked off another spin-off company selling some of the equipment we were already importing for our use.

I also became the go-to person to acquire permits for our tents. Working with many different cities getting the required paperwork and regulatory information was no small task. Getting bureaucrats to facilitate and approve the permits in a timely manner took every sales skill I ever had.

I enjoyed this business and wished I would have liked to have found it sooner. But as it was, I turned 66, and it was time to retire. We needed to take care of aging relatives in another city.