Not by choice in 1989, I transitioned from being behind a CM’s desk around to the front of the desk as a supplier. My old company took me back, despite the “blemishes” on my record as a plant manager. On my first day in the field, I picked up a 1987 Ford Taurus from outside our Baltimore plant (minus hubcaps) and proceeded to the nearest hotel to learn the job. I unloaded the 3-ring binders, file folders, maps, and video tapes from the trunk, laid them out across one of the beds, and started to grasp what I was in for.
I poured through carbon copies of my predecessor’s call reports, and set aside even marginally promising ones, such as: “…after many calls, Sam finally began to warm up to me.” Then I unfolded gas station maps and figured I’d only make it through a couple of my 13 states. Finally, I scanned the fan-folded pages of a green bar printout to find my existing accounts and realized I’d be lucky to see just Pennsylvania CMs that week. Such was my transition to plate salesman.
By choice in 2020, I began the transition to retirement, and “Oh, What a Feeling!”
My replacements picked me up at home: one is an industry veteran and the other a promising product of a U.S. military academy. We drove the Google-delineated route that we had planned on Microsoft Teams. On each stop, my associates could know more about our contacts from social media than I would ever know. We pulled up YouTube videos to demonstrate our wares. And as we were wrapping up one call, we texted our ETA to our next contact. All CMs on this trip made it through the worst of the pandemic and have come roaring back. So smooth has been their transition back to normalcy and so smooth is my transition from this amazingly resilient industry.
Now I look forward to the months I have left, cruising my old territory in a hot Charger when I’m not being chauffeured, giving thanks to all those who have made my last 50 years so marvelous. Though our technology has traveled light years, the personal relationships remain the key to our success.