Life Sucks

Here I sit at the East Bank Club on a lonely Sunday afternoon. I have worked out on the elliptical and rode the bicycle for about an hour combined. Then, I drank  soy milkshake. I am all alone. I know a million people from business dealings, gambling, and being a man about town. But, that does not matter. There is no one to go to dinner with or have a drink with. I do not know what I will do tomorrow because my custom t-shirt business is not booming right now. I am trying to figure out how to promote it. This life sucks.

Ah But No Choo

I usually cannot complete a sneeze. There is the Ah but the Choo does not follow. This has been happening for over a year. I am a 57 year old man in excellent health. I sneezed normally my entire life. Then, I got self conscious about sneezing and started failing to complete sneezes. 

 

I have gone up to 10 weeks without sneezing.  I will infrequently  sneeze and think I am cured. However, the inability to complete a sneeze soon returns.  I have researched endlessly and asked questions and have seen all types of Doctors. No one has heard of this rare problem. They all say not sneezing will cause no medical problems. There is scarce research about this because it is not medically significant or hardly ever seen in people. My psychologist and a neurologist say this is absolutely a psychological condition.

 

 I have no other symptoms or consequences of this condition ,just frustration. I sneeze once in a while and feel "cured" only to have the inability resume. I actually now go into a state of anxiety when I feel the urge to sneeze for fear of how depressed I will be when the sneeze aborts. Any information will be greatly appreciated. 

 

Thank you.

David

Boy Toy Goes Lymph Cause Viagra Does Not Work

Here I am at Dunkin Donuts blogging about my crazed, sad life. You see, just a few days ago l was living the life of luxury one would expect from a boy toy. I was with my older but glamorous sugar mama eating dinner at the fanciest restaurants, getting pedicures, going to plays. The whole nine yards. In return, I spent my time with her, in large part, enjoying our bodies locked together in the same  passion and bliss we have seemingly had forever.

Then, it was time to take her back to airport so she could get back to her real other life. I am merely filler as much as she says she loves me which she has proven over and over. However, not enough to throw in the towel on the high life and become a slave to my neediness and neurosis.

It was just a few weeks ago that I went off to Arizona with my mamas blessing to pursue an old relationship. Things were all set for me to find a 24/7 mama who I had had a relationship with years before.

When the moment of truth came the stinking Viagra would not work. My ticket to ride into this persons life was through a great sexual experience as we had had in the past and all I had to offer was a lymph dick, a still  talented tongue and a bunch of excuses about how the Viagra didn't work because of all the food and drink that had absorbed it's potency. It was a lame excuse. I needed my dick

 I flew home shortly thereafter and stayed in the house clinically depressed for several days. My sugar mama said to see a shrink and she would pay. I did.. He gave me a strong anti-depressant and a prescription that I actually filled for a long term SSRI 
 medicine for OCD and depression.

Here is hoping 

 

 Depression and loneliness are colliding within me at a furious pace. It's hard to tell which one is heavier. I am so shrunken internally from the bombardment my demons have launched against me that I feel inhuman. I am walking around like the mere atom I have long felt I would reduced to someday which is today.

I just came back from out of town. I went to Arizona hoping to make a magical connection with someone from long ago. Instead, we were both left looking at my shrunken penis which would not work it's old

 magic which is all she was really interested in. Instead, I left there still trying to explain why I    couldn't get it up. How could Viagra have failed me at such a critical time? It was not as if failing
 with her had not meant a lot. It meant everything.

Back here I have  no job, no friends who are available when I need them to be, no money which I have gambled away, and a neighbor who has me sleepless as I lay there and listen for when he will start sawing and drilling against my wall as he sets up his condominium.

I look at all the men, women, and children all leading purposeful lives at the sports club I'm at where I am hidden away writing this dribble. I am so empty inside.

My long time girlfriend just left town yesterday to go back to her long time boyfriend who does not  know about me. She really does love me but is unable to help me in my horrid mental state. She will be on the phone tomorrow calling me with the names of psychiatrists who she will demand I see. She will pay since she can and I have no faith that any of them will be able to even get a conversation going with me let alone help me. I need medicine for my head as well as years of psychotherapy and I am already sixty five. Ha!

So, tonight at 7.30 there is a Gamblers Anonymous meeting that I always attend. It is  about 3.30 pm now

There seems to be no outs for me.
   
                                                                                                                                                    

Tips On How To Sell Advertising Space

When attempting to sell low cost print advertising the salesperson should keep in mind a few guidelines to be followed. Always remember that persistence is the critical component when selling advertising space. Develop a canned formula for the aspects of your pitch that allow for it. Learn what to say in response to any question or challenge. Only training, experience and practice will succeed .

1- Make sure you are speaking to a person who has the authority to spend the advertising money.That is, if you are calling an auto dealership on the phone find out immediately whom the person is that makes the advertising decisions. That question should be asked to the person who picks up the phone. You need names .
An operator or receptionist usually knows exactly who does what in the various departments of any business. It 's simple. Just ask "Who is the person who buys the advertising ?" Also, get the extension of the buyer. You will need it later.

If you cannot get through to the buyer then the next time you call you will be able to directly dial that person. Ask for the name quickly if the buyer is not available. You need to be fast before you get sent to voice mail.That saves steps later. Selling advertising is a numbers game. The more calls you make the more sales you will make.

2- If the operator transfers you to the person who buys introduce yourself quickly by first name only and whom you represent. Don't ask if they have a minute to talk. Just start talking. You can overwhelm some prospects who are too polite to hang up on you and get a pitch going. Or, they may cut you off. It's all part of the sales game. Just be polite

If you open the conversation in an interesting way you can get lucky even with a reluctant person. You can get them engaged . Plan your opening words with catchy sentences . "I've got something great to tell you " is a good opener. Who does not want to hear more after that ? I have hooked many buyers with those words just as they were about to cut me off.


You, as a salesman must also be a buyer at times. Jump at any opening the buyer gives you. You must buy enough time with your words to deliver your pitch completely. Getting an unexpected opportunity to deliver your pitch can be a major stroke of good fortune. Be prepared to pitch at all times. Intelligent give and take will enable you to move the buyer along in the process of getting them to say "YES".

Give any buyer you talk to a few fast facts about your circulation, audience, or anything you determine that is critical to the sale. Then, pause and ask for any questions the buyer may have. Do not get wordy. You only have a short window of opportunity to make your case.Then, be quiet and wait for a response. Try to be prepared with an answer to any objection or question.. You will hear them all after about 500 calls. Take notes and review them constantly. Each call made should be a learning experience .Notes are invaluable.


3- When you talk to the buyer do not talk price until the time is right. Buyers like to ask for prices quickly. Once you quote a price the game is over. The buyer can conveniently tell you they will get back to you in the future. That is usually the kiss of death when selling low priced items such as local print advertising. Talking price before you even have had a chance to present facts and information will usually spell doom to your sales efforts. You want to make your case. You are not initially selling based on cost. You are first trying to establish value.

When the buyer starts asking questions you are on the path to a sale. Answer questions in short sentences and start to try to close the sale at the same time. You will not lose the buyer once he or she is interested .The buyer is hot when the questions start coming at you.
When asked for a price respond with another question that will give you more insight into the buyers mind . A good answer is "This cannot be about the money." "We are talking about whether the advertising will work" Immediately ask "What size ad would you be interested in or what amount of circulation are you looking for?" Get that buyer engaged in what they will get for their purchase besides a bill.
Figure out what the buyers real interest is. Where has the buyer been disappointed in the past ? What is the buyers primary interest in your product ? Get into that buyers head.
You want to hit the buyers hot button or create a hot button that will give you a chance to make a sale Then, you need ready answers to anything the buyer should be told..

You, as a salesman must also be a buyer at times.You must buy enough time with your words to deliver your pitch completely. That can be hard considering it is a world of sound bites. You must be ready, Intelligent give and take will enable you to move the buyer along in the process of getting them to say "YES".
When you are in sync with the buyer and know you have what that person wants put your head down and go for the goal line. Get into your closing mode,
Then, it's time to talk about prices. Get the costs in play. Put them out there. Don't be afraid. Ask for the sale. Start closing with passion as if the buyer were getting a great opportunity. Pound at the advantages of your product in short sentences. Again, do not get wordy but keep making strong, clear selling points. Remember to keep asking for the sale whenever you can create an opening. Prepare to defend and support every price you quote. Expand the value of your product as much as possible.
The buyer may then get very serious about getting a discount. He or she is thinking about how little you will take for your product. That is the nature of selling small newspaper advertising and also selling many other inexpensive, subjective, discretionary products . Remember, advertising is a gamble and every buyer knows it. Buyers always want to gamble for low stakes at first. They may talk about the price again.
OK. Maybe you can offer a discount but only if the buyer agrees to close the deal right now in exchange for it. Shoot out a slightly lower price. Stand fast on your price and defend it until you feel the time is right to lower it again. That 's a judgement call assuming you have the discretion to negotiate .

4- If you cannot make a winning case to the buyer and are rejected then use the temporary rejection correctly. Ask the buyer when the best time to get back to them will be. Tell them you will send them an email summarizing the conversation containing your contact information.Thank the buyer for their time .
Do not start thinking that turning the buyer into a captive audience before you end the conversation will work. Stop talking about your product. It will only get you rejected the next time quickly. Accept your temporary setback graciously and make friendly small talk. Learn what you can from the attempted sale .
5- Back at the office sit down and review the conversation you had with the buyer. Look at your notes and add more thoughts. Consider any points you did not make. Practice what you would do differently if given another chance. Keep learning because the same situations come up over and over again.
It eventually gets easy to instill the things I have mentioned in your sales repertoire without even thinking. You will become smooth as butter when you have been involved in enough sales opportunities. What seems difficult now will turn into a slam dunk later..
Just keep calling, learning and selling , You will close deals and make money.
You may become a millionaire after turning yourself into a sales machine as many others have who are just like you.
Go get em..
Be persistent. Persistence trumps everything else in selling..
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