Two events occurred recently which gave me a new appreciation for access to tools and information, and the importance of having a back-up plan. The first was an internet connection upgrade at work. The second was the moving of my living room couch away from the window.
We switched internet service carriers at our office, allowing for more bandwidth and faster browsing speed. The process was just completed and will allow us to provide even better service. However, the last couple days have been rough, with frustrating periods of down-time. Fortunately, we had backup plans. Many of us worked from home, using our laptops and wireless connections to keep up with assignments. Also, we undertook an office-wide human resources project that didn't require use of the internet- in fact, the internet being down was the perfect occasion to do it because it filled up what might otherwise have been unproductive time (and, due to the circumstances, there wasn't any resentment at pulling people away from their normal tasks). Because we made contingencies for the down-time, we had some aggravation but didn't suffer any interruption in our ability to do our jobs.
Not so with my puggle. Long ago, he assigned himself the task of neighborhood watchman. Like a cat, he routinely has climbed on the back of the couch next to our living room window. The view from his perch gives him a wide view of the street in front of our house, allowing him to bark at everything from trespassing squirrels to people walking their dogs to schoolkids to the mail-woman... basically, he barks all the time. And since my wife works from home, he's been driving her nuts. So, the couch got moved. Now he can't look out the window which, in a way, was like his internet- it gave him access to the outside world from inside the house. But my poor puggle has no backup plan. As far as being a watchman goes, he's unemployed.
The two situations made me think about what salespeople need to work- and what happens if they don't have what they need. Do you rely on your computer? Your phone? The internet? Do you have your information and contact numbers backed up? Do you have alternate means of performing your job? If not, while your access is cut off, do you have long-term projects or tasks you can perform so you're not wasting time or productivity? If you don't make plans, you may end up like my puggle!
Here at Obbee, we are a web-based sales lead company. Obviously, we use the internet on a daily basis and if we completely lost connectivity we'd be in big trouble. Thankfully, we've planned ahead, so we'll always be able to provide qualified, motivated, real-time prospects for professionals in the real estate, mortgage, insurance and debt/loan modification industries. No one's moving our couch!
- Dave
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