So you're saying you have actual field experience. Which I mentioned in the original post. This guy obviously did not. What he was telling our other spray guy was wrong.

Rick, I don�t care. I�m not butthurt. I don�t get butthurt very easily. In all seriousness though, I have been in sales a long time. I take it seriously. I hav never lied to a customer. (I�m not saying we have never shipped something late, or I haven�t made a mistake. I have never intentionally told a customer a lie.).

Professional salespeople are a pretty unique bunch. They work hard. They are disciplined. They aren�t just punching a clock. If they do their job right, they are an asset to their customers.

On the other hand, there are plenty that are sleazballs. My take is that you came of sounding like they are all the same. Then you said you ought to do it. Looks like you ruffled some feathers of some folks that have spent some blood, sweat and tears at their craft.

Again, I don�t really care. Doesn�t bother me. I�m tired of working for the week anyway. I have been to a couple of different states this week, and I�m whipped.

I'm not anti sales. I know their are a lot of really good sales men and women. This guy was not in my opinion. He just didn't have the knowledge he should have. I could tell he was just quoting stuff he memorized. When I started questioning him he started stumbling over everything. This guy has been the rep for the company I work for for several years. I've been with this company for seven months. They have been fighting the same problems for years. Since I have been there, I have fixed several of those problems. Most of these problems stem from this guys product. Plus several procedures that he suggested to my employer.
I have been doing what I do for a very long time. Started wet sanding in my grandpa's shop when I was about 6-7. Just to be with grandpa. Took paint and body for three years in high school. Two years was all that the school allowed at the time. My shop teacher wanted me back the third year to basically be his assistant around the shop. After high school I got out of it until I was 22. Been pretty much doing it ever since. Minus a couple times I tried my hand at something else. There is much I haven't sprayed. There isn't a gun I haven't used. There isn't a product I haven't used. I know the chemicals. I know the equipment. I've sprayed in just about any condition you can imagine. I can take anything from bare metal to a finished product. I can do body work. Fiberglass work. Even fabricate a little. My best skills are in the booth. I enjoy what I do. Always have. Sure I may be a little twitchy here in a few more years. Probably die an early death from all the chemicals. Sometimes I'm even a little spacy. But I do what I enjoy and make a pretty decent living. I have very little stress at work. I know my business. This guy does not.

To you sales guys on here. I'm sure most of you do know your product and you're really good at what you do. I sincerely didn't mean to **** all y'all off. I was talking about those other guys. Be honest. Y'all know they're out there in large numbers. I offer a humble apology. I should have taken more time and explained my position a little better. I was on a short break. I typed it up quickly, as I was still shaking my head over the conversation I had with the guy.

I hope I explained it a little better in this post. Cut me some slack. I'm just a dumb painter. You know all those fumes and all. Also the blowing smoke up the rectal region was intended to be in jest.

And you didn't ruffle my feathers either. I just like stirring the pot.

You have good sales people and bad. Here in the oilfield, it has been about 60 to 40 bad to good in the last year. I simply politely weed them out most of the time. There are times you have to be a jack azz to make them quit calling on you. In my industry, I can usually ask them two questions and melt them down inside of three minutes when they are full of caca. I hate it when they come in and tell me they can save me money on let�s say a valve, and they have no clue what I pay, what I use or where I get it. They then ask if they can prepare a quote, and when they do they are either not comparing apples to apples and are cheaper, or they are totally out of line on the price. They screw up by not listening to the customer, and asking questions. So then you quiz them, and ask them technical questions about the product, and get the deer in headlights look. That is an example of why sales staff get a bad rap. I want them to earn my business and provide quality products and service at a competitive price. When they say, just tell me what you pay, and I will beat it, that is not earning it. Fuel and lubricant salespeople are among the worst.

I could teach people a wealth of knowledge on how to purchase fuel. There�s a ton of ways they can put it to a Customer and they�re never the wiser.

5 cents over rack. Sounds great. That�s where they get you.

Especially since the spread between rack and street price is about .60 a gallon right now.

That, and the bid price and the midday price increase or decrease gets people all the time.

I'm one heck of a salesman, sold my wife on me.

The biggest swing is the bill of lading from the loading rack. Nobody understands the net and gross number and just pay whatever they�re told. Could be a 180 gallon swing and they�re never gonna know.

The first day we started tracking delivery at Pioneer they caught the transport driver shorting them 600 gallons of diesel.

West and south Texas fuel thieves are a talented and dedicated lot.

The funny thing is, that they tell you they are barely making $.01 per gallon on a load, and it�s really not even worth it, and then they get real sideways when they find out you bought fuel from someone else.

If you�re buying transport loads of fuel it gets really easy.
Send me a pm and I�ll hook you up with some wholesale fuel brokers that can make a big difference. If you want to know where it goes that�s my gig.

6 years field experience and I still don�t know anything, but I�m a salesman.

I don't know chit, but I've sold myself to my customer base. So, your statements are wrong. Sell yourself and you've sold your products, period. This business world is a relationship business, no matter what angle you approach it and no matter what industry it is, with exception of one, healthcare...


Oh, and BTW.....I've been blowing smoke up rectal regions for years.