A day in the life

[dias]

Ahh, in one store that seemed promising, the owner was genuinely uninterested.

 

Have you seen the film Founder? It's one of my favourite films. The film starts with Ray Kroc trying to sell multimixers to restaurants and the owners are closing their doors in his face. This is how it is indeed. And I am not trying to "sell" in reality because the app is free. I don’t even know if I could monetize the app in the future. I do get some sort of enjoyment though, can't really explain why, maybe I am a masochist.

 

I think even if you are the best salesman in the world you still need to beat the numbers game. If you are a salesman getting paid mostly by commission and it's your full time job things can be pretty tough. It would be very easy to get disappointed and depressed.

[Jibralta]

Sales is really an art. It doesn't get a lot of respect, but it should. The best salesmen develop and build upon relationships where they've won the trust of their clients. They are very devoted and follow through with their promises.

 

It's going to be challenging for you to make sales because you aren't currently in a position where you can develop or rely upon relationships. You are just cold-calling, which is the toughest of all sales.

 

One thing you can do to leverage yourself is strategize.

 

I don't know what the best strategy for you would be, but I have an example I learned from a car insurance salesman: Instead of marketing to homes and individuals, he targeted businesses that owned fleets of vehicles, so that one sale would equal multiple policies.

[dias]

I am not cold-calling. I am visiting the stores myself and ask for the manager (we keep 2-3 meters distance). I have the flyers with me. It is a good pretence to pitch the app. With cold-calling I would have 0.000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001% chance. Imagine listening to a hefty Greek accent on the phone-very compelling lol. Besides, I always prefer face to face, it's more real, you see what you are dealing with. Like this, I have about 0.00001% chance haha. I will probably make it though, at least I will try as much as I can.

 

From my super small experience so far, the stores which are more interested are small-middle size places where the owner is still running the place and wants to improve the customer service and expand etc. If it's a chain, even a small one, you will never find the owner and the managers will just forget you in 3 seconds. In very small places, they just do not care about technology. They look me like I am talking about rocket science lol.

 

Let's see. When the stores open in 2 weeks (if they open), the real game will begin.

[Jibralta]

I am not cold-calling. I am visiting the stores myself

 

That's cold-calling: an unsolicited visit or phone call. "Call" also means to pay a visit in person.

 

Both meanings of "call" apply here, although when I google it, I see that the British have a law against phone cold calling.

 

Point is, the call is unsolicited and there's no prior relationship.

[dias]

That's cold-calling: an unsolicited visit or phone call. "Call" also means to pay a visit in person.

 

Both meanings of "call" apply here, although when I google it, I see that the British have a law against phone cold calling.

 

Point is, the call is unsolicited and there's no prior relationship.

 

Aha, I am learning something new everyday :)

[DancingFool]

Heh...the best salesmen aren't disappointed and depressed, they are obsessed with making that sale. Obsessed.

 

Free or not, you are selling. Get in that mindset. Lots of books, videos, seminars on selling. Hard as it may be when you have a day job, you've got to immerse yourself in that when not working that day job. It's not as simple as numbers - how you say things, what you do and don't say, listening, addressing objections, etc. There is literally a formula, but it's not a one size fits all - you have to figure out how to present yourself so it works for you and is effective for you.

 

For example, I went to a live seminar run by head of sales for a Fortune 500 company. He stated that your goal is not to ask the customer, but for the customer to ask you to sign up and you get there by offering solutions to their problems and you find out what their problems are by asking questions and listening carefully.

 

Granted, this was more in a context on how to close bigger contracts, but it's a principle that scales. What are your marketing challenges? Would you benefit from more customers? Are you interested in that? Get a conversation going rather than talking at them and pitching your app. Ask questions, listen to their problems, offer a solution. Of course, I'm telling you what works for me personally. It doesn't mean that it would fit your personality. You have to try different approaches until you find what clicks for you, what's effective for you personally and gets results. That's where you really have to roll up your sleeves and work at it. It's not as simple as just numbers game. Numbers is just a part of it. Effective sales people can close a huge percentage of deals because they have an approach that works for them more often than not.

 

If you want to push through and succeed, you have to be willing to put that kind of work into it. You've got to figure out how and it's not as simple as just numbers. If you treat it as "just funzies" you are pretty much setting up to fail because where is the motivation to really get down and dirty with it when it's just funzies. Get serious and mean it.

[dias]

If you don't want to use the app that's fine. But don't lead me on into believing you are interested and I am waiting outside of your shop in the pouring rain everyday. Mother f*cker!

[dias]

Did you know that Google and Apple take 30% of each in-app purchase from every app in the world? W*F is going on? 30% of every transaction taking place in an app? So if you charge 10 pounds per month for an app, Apple and Google will take 3 pounds. Plus, you have to pay an initial fee to upload your app on Playstore and Applestore. You understand how f*cked up this is? Then there are taxes and expenses. What is left then? 1 pound out of 10? 50 cents out of 10? I am really pissed off about this.

 

They have the monopoly and they are doing whatever they want. Where is the government regulation now? https://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/08/free-market-regulation.asp “The U.S. economy is essentially a free market economy – an economic market that is run by supply and demand – with some government regulation” What happened to the last part? Grrr

 

I am spending my holidays hustling but no luck yet. Everybody likes the app but nobody wants to use it. IT IS FREE goddamit.

 

On another note, I went to the supermarket in the afternoon. I was waiting in the queue when a mother with her child walked past me heading to the next aisle. The little girl (4-5 years old) stopped in front of me whilst the mother kept going. I had my headphones on and I was daydreaming as usual so I didn’t pay attention to the little girl standing in front of me and looking at me. I noticed her only when she kept looking at me for 20+ seconds. I was about to tell her that she would lose her mom when she smiled at me and started following her mom. She turned around again for a second. I waved at her with a smile and she ran back to her mom.

 

When I will have kids in my next life, they will definitely receive all the love in the world.

[boltnrun]

The little girl must have seen something in you she liked.

 

I love kids. When it was safer to do so I interacted with kids all the time. Now for obvious reasons I don't do that. Well, plus I seldom go out in public.

 

As for government regulation, businesses don't want that. And the current government is loathe to interfere with businesses. Regulation is viewed as a negative and an impediment to free enterprise by many.

 

I read somewhere that small businesses need to be able to go without any profit for six to eighteen months. And it's not uncommon for the business to not break even for a year. It's certainly tough out there!

[DancingFool]

Back in uni we were taught in business courses that on average it takes 2 years for a start up to start breaking even. Sure there are all kinds of success stories that beat that average, buuuuut.....you have to be mentally prepared for that kind of a looooonnnnnnggggg and difficult slog and it being an average, means that for some businesses it's even longer than that. Amazon posted net losses for 12 years from inception....... Nike is another one where the company was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy for years before finally turning the corner and becoming a giant powerhouse. What I'm getting at is don't get discouraged, keep going.

[dias]

I am so lucky I found my second biggest passion early in life (FITNESS). I don’t know how I would cope without working out, I would be really miserable. It is the only way to relieve the stress. Is something training doesn’t do? It releases endorphins, it makes you feel good, it makes you look good, it burns calories, it gives you control over something, it is free, it increases libido – in other word it is AMAZING. It is the solution for almost everything.

 

 

You had a bad day-> train

 

You got fired from your job->train

 

You broke up with you partner->train

 

You want to look better->train

 

You want to eat more->train

 

You didn’t get the job you wanted->train

 

You didn’t get the sale-> train

 

You feel discouraged->train

 

You want better erections->train

 

You want a drug to get high->train

 

You are too stressed->train

 

You want abs (for the vain people like me)->train

 

You want to have less health issues->train

 

 

The only things training does not do is making money and curing cancer (we don’t know about the latter though, maybe it prevents cancer, who knows…)

 

By training I don’t mean only weight lifting, I mean resistance training combined with low/high intensity cardio.

 

I realized that there will be a point in my life where I could not train anymore (hopefully it is very far away). I think when this day comes I will commit suicide.

[dias]

I was about to reply to a thread but thankfully I didn't. Normally, I don't reply on threads and when I do I regret it. My opinion is not practically useful to anyone, if anything it will incite more useless aggressive comments. I believe in the saying "opinions are like bums, everyone has one".

 

I don't agree with most of the replies on the forum. Usually the replies are “you deserve better, you can do better than this, he/she does not deserve you”. Sorry but I don’t believe the OP could do better.

 

First of all, people do the best they can. Period. If their choices are crap this is what they deserve. It is that simple. Choosing a partner is not like a job where you need one to survive and you take whatever is on the table because you don’t have an option. It is 100% choice. And yes some of your needs will not be fulfilled when you are single. You can’t have everything.

 

Second, I do think people have unrealistic expectations. I know this because I am a dreamer and I have unrealistic expectations – until reality slaps me in the face which happens pretty often. When reality hits you in the face you have two options:

1)You keep having the same expectations and you keep getting frustrated, angry and sad.

2)You adjust your expectations, lower your standards and be content with reality. This is the truth. Sorry people but not everyone will find the perfect guy/gal/job. It is not going to happen. Sure the numbers game is real, the more you search the more chances you have to find a more suitable partner/job. But how many people are willing to do that? Some are lucky indeed and win the lottery, it is unfair yes, however 95% of the population is not lucky. Plus, even after beating the numbers game you also have to put in the work and compromise on so many things.

 

I remember the expectations I had for life in general when I was 18 and I laugh. They were just toooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo unrealistic hahaha. I am 28 now and I am distributing flyers and pitching an app that everybody likes but nobody wants to give it a shot. I have thrown my degrees away and followed my heart. Talking about unrealistic expectations lol. But I have accepted reality – I know if I don’t create a successful business I will be a low-pay employee who changes countries every few years and will never get pension. This is the reality, it is not so pleasant, it is not that bad either. It is my choice and I certainly don’t beat myself about it.

[dias]

I feel like poop today. I shouldn't, finally we are having a summer's day and i am on holidays. I don't know why i feel like poop. I don't even have energy to workout. The stores will open on the 4th so until then i can't really do anything. I have visited the open ones already. No luck yet. At least i made a change which helps. Instead of pitching the app for 2 minutes explaining what it does, i show them how it works using my phone. I got two email addresses from two store managers, i sent them a more elaborate email about the app, they told me they have contacted the directors and if they are interested they will contact me. Nothing so far. When i go to the same stores again, they are like "we contacted the directors you don't need to pitch the app again..."

 

I went to Manchester yesterday to explore the place. Manchester is much bigger so there are more chances there. However, commuting there after work is not really practical. So basically I need to find clients in Liverpool which is more difficult than I expected. You know if you need to visit 100 shops to find one client, there are not many shops to beat the numbers game. Of course i am improving my game too. I am learning.

 

Anyway, today i feel like poop and probably will end up binging on junk food and feel guilty tomorrow. From abs to flabs within hours.

[dias]

Who would think most restaurants and cafeterias in Liverpool are retail chains/ franchisees and all the changes have to be approved by the directors….

 

I was wrong initially, independent small restaurants do not care about apps whatsoever, only retail chains which already use apps like Groupon/Just eat/Deliveroo are interested. However, although some of the store managers are forthcoming and like the idea, the decision has to be approved by the directors who are usually in London or another major city. This sucks big time. They don’t give me the contact details of any decision-maker. So what happens is, they ask me to send them (the store managers) an email with more details about the app which they forward to their bosses and if their bosses are interested they will contact me. Nobody has contacted me as you can imagine.

 

The only positive thing is that when I visit a shop for the second time, the employees/managers remember me. We could say it is something positive, at least they don’t forget me. The funny thing is, Liverpool city centre is small so many times I come across people I have pitched the app to and they turn their heads the other direction lol. I will be known as the annoying guy who visits shops and gets on their nerves haha.

 

Joking aside, I really don’t know what I can do more than this. I contacted a local investor/software engineer and a regional organization-team of entrepreneurs and investors- but I haven’t got a reply from anybody. At some point there will be no stores left to visit in Liverpool. If nobody gives it a chance, then what? Do I have to move back to London? I really don’t want to do that, I like Liverpool. Plus, there is no guarantee I will have better luck there.

[dias]

video-1593441233 (1) by Apostolos Konstantinos Athanasiou, on Flickr

 

This is the app. First I login as a customer. I can swipe left or right checking deals within 30km distance from me. When I tap on the image, I get more details about the deal like the store's phone number and website. I can select the type of business I want to receive deals from and I can change the distance too. I can find the business on the map, we provide directions, distance and time to get there like google maps.

 

Then I login as a business owner, I can create a deal and I can also see the deals I have already posted. I can see the numbers of likes and dislikes the deal received and the number of times people looked for my business on the map. It is a good indication whether customers like your deals.

 

I have one more feature which I haven't included. The application tracks your device and when you visit a store, the business owner knows you got there. However, there are privacy issues here so I haven't included it yet. Nobody wants to be monitored. Don't kid youself though, big companies know exactly where you are. It is a shame though, you could find which restaurant your partner visited with his/her secret affair!

[dias]

How can I upload a video? I don't think you can watch this video if you don't have a Flickr account.

 

Is there an option to upload a video from the pc?

[dias]

My job in London was a client-facing position. I had to communicate with the accountants and IT departments of other financial companies.

 

So one day, a lady who was the head of IT for one of our clients added me on LinkedIn because she was facing some technical issues with our environment etc. She didn't know who to contact because it was Saturday and I was the only one who had spoken with on the phone so she messaged me on LinkedIn.

 

Just now she made a post on LindedIn promoting a mobile app. Yeah, you guessed right. Something very very similar but a bit more advanced as the customers can order through the app and she has integrated delivery as well. I was planning to implement the same features in the future.......But it is so freakin similar........................................................ They just uploaded the app and I was the first to download it to see how it works lol.

 

I am curious to see how this will play out. She quit her job for this venture. Interesting. Let's see. Are two 50+ years old ladies more competent than me? Probably but let's see. I really got scared. The ideas are so similar.

[boltnrun]

Most apps have similar apps to their own out there. Look at all the dating sites, food delivery services, etc.

[dias]

Most apps have similar apps to their own out there. Look at all the dating sites, food delivery services, etc.

 

Yes that is true. Just this one is very similar and they just started now.Maybe I can copy them lol

[dias]

Yes that is true. Just this one is very similar and they just started now.Maybe I can copy them lol

 

I was wrong, it's not only 2 ladies, it's a group of people with sh*tloads of experience in IT. This makes more sense now.

 

And the name of the company is taken from an ancient Greek female mathematician. Hmmm, maybe I need to become part of the team lol.

[dias]

My mother is never going to change…………….

 

Every time we talk the discussion ends up about two things.

 

The first one is why I don’t go back permanently. For instance now she tells me: “Oh you see everyone wants to come to Greece now for holidays. It is Covid-19 free and we have 37 Celsius. And you left to go to the cold. And you don’t make money”. She never understood, she just can’t see further than her nose.

 

The second is about my studies and work. It’s always “ I told you to study dentistry and you did a stupid master’s degree. Now be the slave for the rest of your life”. This has truth in it, I admit that. I can study dentistry now if I want. I just don’t want to study anymore in my life. The only thing that would make me happy is to create a successful company, that’s it. I don’t care about anything else.

 

I think in life you have to find balance between practicality and doing what you like. Doing only what you like is not sustainable, doing things that have been proven they produce results (like becoming a dentist, doctor etc) is practical but won’t fulfil your emotional needs unless you are cut out for doing them, I think everyone needs to find his own sweet spot between the two.

 

My mother doesn’t understand me. She thinks everyone is thinking like her and if they don’t they are wrong. Let people be is not something she would ever learn. No wonder why she gets on my nerves so quickly.

[dias]

I don't care if you like the app. Just use it Goddamit.

 

I can only handle 15-20 rejections per day. More than that it affects me.

[dias]

07/07/2020 is a historic date in the life of dias

[DancingFool]

07/07/2020 is a historic date in the life of dias

 

Do tell :)

[reinventmyself]

Hmm [emoji3166]