Waiting for the sale

Ok, first of all today was a great day to be outside. Next, I am only beginning to understand that sales is a tough but rewarding way to make a living. I am experiencing the tough part. I still haven't made a sale yet. I know it only means that the first sale keeps getting closer the more presentations I do. Yesterday I went to Syracuse, NE and talked to about 12 households and did three full presentations. No sales. Scott says it was a productive day nonetheless. I gained experience in doing my presentation. Today I went to Fremont and got really frustrated. I was told by one gentleman that I didn't know what I was talking about. He didn't believe the facts and statistics I am using to illustrate the gaps in Medicare coverage. I guess my biggest frustration was that I didn't feel spiritually prepared for the day. I need to get an earlier start, and pray with my wife before I head out for the day. I hope to remedy that Monday morning.
God is in control.

It begins tomorrow

The day of my new career is here. I have been appointed and I can now begin to sell, sell, sell. I am totally relying on God to provide for me and my family in this new business. I have never really sold for a living before, let alone working for straight commissions. Praise God for this opportunity to be dependent on Him and Him alone. I thank God for my friend and mentor Scott. He has provided me with some great training so far. He will be providing feedback as I go through my sales opportunities for the remainder of this week. I would also like to thank my wife for being so patient and tolerant these past few weeks as I have been home and derailing her days. I know she has been more than ready for me to be out of the house and her hair. With God's abundant grace we haven't killed each other. God is good. I will post how my first day goes tomorrow.

Repenting from my absence

My absence was in part because of my feelings of irrelevance. My concern that that no one was reading my blog site. I allowed those feelings to dissuade me from doing what I enjoyed so much with this blog, and that was to express my thoughts and experiences. To write them down so I can review them later. Kind of like a diary of sorts although I write as if others will be reading it. If anyone is consistently reading it then that is a bonus. I have returned in part because of encouragement from my wife and because of inspiration from a blog I try to visit often.
Irish Calvinist is a blog site of a good friend of mine and brother in Christ. He shares some great insight and is very committed to posting something relevant every day. His site is visited by numerous folks and creates many comments and dialog.

My wife and I are also celebrating our wedding anniversary today. We have been Married 14 years now, and as my wife likes to say "and they didn't think we would last". We would not have made it if not for God's rich and abundant grace. He gets all of the glory.

Much has happened since my last post in April. I shared that God had seen to it that my employment with HP was done and that it was time to move on. I have been led by God to pursue a totally different career than the one I have been in since 1985. I will be selling insurance. This is the kind of job where I will be totally dependent on God. It is work that is all commission. I will be going into folks homes and convincing them of their need for long term care insurance. It is a product I am only beginning to really believe in.

For the past few weeks I have been studying for the Life and Annuities / Accident and Health insurance exam. I failed it the first time and took it again a week later and passed it with flying colors. Praise be to God. I have also just finished my final college class to receive my BS degree in MIS. The class was Intermediate Algerbra. It is a required course for the MIS degree program. I tried taking CLEP tests in advanced math but failed because I have not studied any advanced math since high school. (A long time ago) I took the Algebra class at Metro Community College. It was a tough go but with God's help and my wife's encouragement I passed. Woo Hoo!!

The type of insurance I will be selling is one I can truly believe in. Nursing home or long term care insurance is a huge need for the elderly. It is a product that I am inspired to provide for the elderly. It helps to fill in the gaps of Medicare coverage. There are some rather large gaps. I am being mentored and trained by Scott, a friend of mine, who is very successful in this career and has eagerly been helping me get prepared for my new career. I will be selling under his agency. I will write about this some more at a later time. It may be boring to some, but I am learning to appreciate it.

To close out this much anticipated posting (ok, I may be fooling myself) I will use a quote I found that I think applies here.

"Repentance is a grace of God's Spirit whereby a sinner is inwardly humbled and visibly reformed." By the puritan Thomas Watson.