Weekend Successticated Meter

I declare this weekend a 9.5/10 on the succesticated meter.

It started with brews in celebration of our favorite Cajun, Lance Laurent, and continued with a dip in this little bit of paradise known as Krause Springs:

The best news: I didn't get sunburned!

On Sunday, I made 150 massage bars to donate to the Texas Souk project at Burning Man. Oh, and I made a really delicious curry. The only thing that would have made this weekend better would have been a nice, long bike ride. There's always next weekend. :)

8 Words and Phrases That Are Now an Inherent Part of My Vocabulary

Before I became a sales person, these words hardly ever -- or even never -- came out of my mouth:

"Cadence" - Refers to a rhythmical cycle of the sales process. Calls and emails to prospects should happen regularly, and proper cadence can establish a flow for closing deals.

"Follow Up" - Following up refers to the tried and true "just checking in" approach, and it can also be used to set the stage for another conversation. See also "Circle Back" and "Touch Base."

"Next Steps" - One should always be thinking about what the next step will be -- even if it's just a follow up. Ideally, the next step will get you one step closer to that contract.

"Go Forward" - Similar to "Next Steps", this one can be used to push the momentum of a deal.

"Scalability" - This isn't even a real word, but EVERYONE in the C-Suite loves to use it. To use it in a sentence, "Why, yes, our solution can meet scalability requirements to increase your returns on an exponential scale!"

"ROI" - Apparently this is all you need to prove to get a signature.

CATBEARD

I'm having a hard time staying focused this week (yay, post-vacay!). To spread the distraction, here is an adorable picture of my cat with our friend:

Persistance pays.

I had the lovely opportunity of spending this weekend with my father and childhood friend, Kristen.  I get to see these two simultaneously about once a year, and without fail the same conversation always comes up: 

"Emily seriously had a Phoebe run growing up. You should have seen how awkward she was!"

The Friends reference is pretty accurate. I was lanky and uncoordinated well into my twenties -- but I didn't let that stop me from running. Every day I would wake up hellbent on getting my miles in and my speed eventually increased and my runs got longer. 

With four decently-timed marathons under my belt, I must admit it's pretty cool to think how far I've come since my first shuffles around the block. 

My running "career" can also be applied to my actual career. Sure, plenty of people are naturally good at sales, but practice can definitely paid off. I'm at a point right now where I'm determined to stick with selling and hope to see major improvements as my skills mature.

Cheers to persistence, learning, and self-improvement!

Life's not a sprint -- it's a marathon.