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"Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences.
A person fashions one's consequences as surely as one fashions one's goods or dwelling.
Nothing that one says, thinks or does is without consequences."

Norman Cousins

GETTING TO TODAY

HERE'S THE VISION. -- HERE'S THE FUTURE.

Here's my proposal... Here's my FREE offer.

Here's why!

There are many ways to grow a community; high/bio tech, advanced manufacturing, education, tourism, culture, retail, medical, and more. Each provides opportunities.

However, most all require infrastructure -- much of it new... therefore, some require a major capital investment... some are cyclical / seasonal / or short-lived... some add burden to the city's with indefinite return.

Then of course, there are the jobs. Some require degrees -- often advanced... some require levels of security... or some require non-sensical barriers such as one's last pay-stub (The latter makes no sense since people who want to have more, may have been under-appreciated, blocked by a boss, in a poor paying company, etc... or such as a credit rating, which may be wrong... in dispute... or negatively affected by health -- theirs or a family members, or a death in the family.)

Seemingly, none of the above address the famous quote of President Teddy Roosevelt:

"Do what you can do with what you've got"

Here's what we've "got" in Pittsfield without a dollar more to be spent;

the ability to become a viable marketing center for the entire country.

BACKGROUND IN REMOTE

"One can hunt from the lodge."

My career is in sales and marketing. In the mid-70's, I pioneered remote selling for big-ticket computer hardware and software. Since the Greek word for remote is "tele," let's call it tele marketing, but not in the current sense which has caused the creation of "Do Not Call."

In 1977, I employed a UNIVAC mainframe in NYC to perform database marketing by Telex/TWX machines that had speeds so slow that they are incomprehensible by todays standards... 10 and 30 characters per second. BUT IT WORKED.  (For younger people: The TWX, or telegraph, machine was a clunking machine that looked like a typewriter which you see and hear in vintage movies with newsroom scenes that had a "Contol G" function which rang the machine's bell to alert the newsroom that thhere was "breaking news.")

I'd like to tell you that it was "genius" that drove my career in this direction, but in fact it was "hate!" I hated driving hours in traffic... arriving dishevelled... wearing out suit pant thus rendering the jacket worthless... playing on the buyer's turf, so to speak... not having immediate access to in-office staff and resources to answer a buyer's question, and the list continues all the way down to waiting like a dog for a cup of coffee while my borish prospect sipped his or hers.

GEE,.. CAN ANYONE PLEASE GET ME A COFFEE!

I just travelled over an hour, paid $30 to park,

and walked three blocks in the rain to get here.

At the same time, through thousands of TELE phone calls, I received feedback that my accent sounded as if I were from the mid-west. (Pittsfield does not have have a Boston or New York accent). This was a great thing! Back then, the "perfect" speech was theoretically one promulgated by NBC for its news anchors. Its was basically a mid-western accent and there I was making a living with that natural accent. Cool!

Fast forward: In 1983 I formed a direct marketing agency. No surprise, telephones -- inbound and out -- were a significant part of the business. Often, clients would command that they did not want a person with a Boston accent on the phone.  More often, I would receive compliments that the people did not have one.

Remarkable!   Despite the moaning about the Mass Pike bypassing Pittsfield back in the in the early '60s, I realized that PITTSFIELD'S ISOLATION (other people's words not mine -- 20 mnutes to the Pike is nothing compared to hours wasted on highways in Metro Boston & NY) had a significant advantage to my tele-approach to sales and marketing.

Back in the mid 80s, I had this epiphany... you know, add the easer to pencil moment.

"Isolation" plus remote sales/marketing = advantage to Pittsfield.

Pittsfield has the ability to be significant player in direct sales and the vast marketing arena which include big league advertising Over the years, such companies have thrived in and around the city; however, "the city" never really exploited this fact into a community mission.

When I returned to Pittsfield a few years ago, many things had changed -- ah but the moaning about the Mass Pike induced isolation had not.... despite USPS /UP / FED EX and big box store travelling to this "remote outpost" daily.

Two of the most notably changes are

1) "New Yorkers," however defined, who one were once tourists to the Berkshire were now owners in the Berkshires.

2) There are slick, award-winning marketing companies / subsidiaries / departments / individuals (for ease I'll use "marketing" as the broader term for the inclusive advertising, promotions... the works... specialties) knocking down significant accounts through their excellent work.

3) Despite these current and past success, the idea that Pittsfield and area can be the hub of marketing and the resort office just up the street from Madison Avenue has not sunken in. Instead, Pittsfield

Think about it. Really think about it from all perspectives:

1) Every business has to go to market. In Pittsfield and the surrounds, there already exist excellent independents and agencies which both validate the promise of the the industr'y possibilities and will benefit from such a concentration through an improved talent pool.

1) All the infrastructure which needs to exist to make this a reality is in place. Even the colleges currently offer the requistie courses for specific and interdiscilinary study.

2) The city and region desires creative people; the region is liked by creative people. Layout an ad... Block a stage... Design an interior all require people having visual accuity and talent. Pitch an idea... Pitch a political platform... Pitch a proposal requires the salesperson / pitcher to pull all the same triggers.

3) Many visitors to Pittsfield and the Berkshires are upscale... desire to vacation here... might love to find a reason to open a legitimate office here and just need to see the possibilities if overtures were made. Agencies and specific areas in marketing department are easily "remoted."

4) It's figuratively equidistant from NYC -- the bastion of advertising -- and Boston which has many powerful agencies with major accounts. It is even a shorter distance or Albany / Capital District, Harford, Springfield

5) Having watch high tech shift (the total disapperarance of computer manufacturing and marketing in Boston during the 70s)...with regions shifts as well, I experienced the one absolute truth in business...

THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A NEED TO MARKET A "THEN CURRENT"
PRODUCT, SERVICE, NON-PROFIT, or OFFERING, BUT THERE IS
NO-TO-LITTLE ASSURANCE THAT THE "THEN CURRENT"
WILL LAST BUT A FEW YEARS.

6) Kings 'n' Queens come and go, but king/queen-makers always live another day. With extremely few exceptions, it is impossible to stay atop a high-tech or innovative bubble. Often, this reflects little on the company, but the never-ending on-rush of new products, changing laws, war, peace, interest rates, attitudes and an unlimited number of unanticipated change-agents-of-the-times.

Anthony W. Sottile Sr., my father, had one favorite expression regarding his role as a dad: "To improve the breed."

Hold on! It wasn't a supremist statement. It was one just this simple: He and my mother wanted more for us than he had.

His father and mother immigrated from Italy at the turn of the last century. His father worked at Wyndott Mills (upper North Sreet); his mother died; some part of the family had to temporaliy disperse to an orphanage and a relative as far as West VA while his father worked for back then there was a line of replacement workers eager to take his job.

Eventually, my father went to Bentley Business School (2-year Back-Bay Boston school back then now a remarkable university in Waltham MA).

He along with my mother wanted more for my brother and me -- with honestly nothing in return. They sacrificed to make it happen. Their's was the American Dream. I've been fortunate to live that dream -- with footnotes of course! ;-)

It is time to pay-forward their investment.

Therefore, this FREE EDUCATION, with no strings attached, is for all Pittsfield residents who are seriously interested in bettering themselves.

I have not created a school, as defined by law, and this is not an accredited degree program... it is career skills program to help lead toward income so that should you desire a degree program you will have the income to pay for it NOW rather than be burdened by college debt LATER.

Uncertain? You need not be certain to drop me an email. It may not be for you -- any part of it... sales or marketing. BETTER THAT YOU KNOW THIS IN ADVANCE OF EXPENDING TIME AND MONEY FOR COLLEGE COURSE/S.

A Tortuous (Sometimes Torturous) Background

It's imperative that I tell you of my once deep suspicions about selling, and how I ultimately came to embrace the sales and marketing professions.

Graduating from high school, I was accepted by Dartmouth College, an Ivy League School. Trust me, no one goes to the Ivy League to become a foot-soldier salesperson upon graduation. Nonetheless I attended and graduated from Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH.

Graduated, engaged-to-be-married, and jobless, I reluctantly accepted a sales position. But having been raised in an environment of professionals, who had professionals as friends, I hated every minute of selling.

Though I did well, I frankly perceived selling below the dignity of man, or woman... and clearly never expected my success to come from it.

But, as I sold and studied the art over the years, I came to understand and appreciate the opposite:

Selling is the very dignity of men and women, for in a free society, mental persuasion is a quality unique to humans. Affecting the perceptions of another's mind and persuading that person to act in a manner prescribed by you is the most powerful capacity that a person can develop. Except for the uncontrollable events of nature, nothing in this world ever happens until someone has been sold... even if it is a person selling him or herself on an idea!

Out of this tortuous (sometimes torturous) background, and honed by rugged years in sales and marketing, I continually look for new and challenging ways to expand my craft.

Good sales people make very good money; excellent sales people make excellent money. This is true because salepeople are literally worth there weight in sterling silver, if not gold. There are several reason for this:

In corporate speak there are two broad functions: "line" and "staff." Line functions are responsible for REVENUE which is the life-blood of any company. Staff people administer and/or support the line function. Perhaps it is easier to comprehend in military terms, which is actually where this distinction was drawn: There are troops who fight such as infantry, armor, combat pilots etc. They carry the war to the enemy; a line function, Then there . troops who support the warfighters. They may be cooks, quartermaster, motor pool mechanics etc. they provide their services and support to the warfighter. It's general held that for every combat troop there ar 7 support troops. Clearly, their function is important. The expression that an army fights on it somach is true in not just a food sense but a broader senses. Line and staff are a team.

Notwithstanding, line carries the burden and risk of achieving sales quotas (winning the war) which are basis for budgets. Selling is the first level line function.

Line positions dominate over staff. People in line positions normally earn more income or at least have the opportunity to earn more at quota achievement than staff. And, when expenses need to be cut, it is normally staff positions which are discontiued.

There are two schools of though regarding company organizations: Some companies have a Sr VPof Sale and a Sr VP of Marketing. Others have a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) a name which takes its root from the emrgence of the Chief Executuve Office (CEO).

Do you possess a line or staff personality? Ah, that's an important question to ask oneself if interested in "sales/marleting/bizdevelopment: It is a very complex answer. Some people are challenged by the "open-end" income potential of sales... and the growth up the line. Other people rather know -- or need to know for their personal or family budget -- what they are guaranteed to earn, assuming that they perform their job as described.

To further confuse the issue... not all selling positions are the same... and not all staff position in support of selling are the same. More importantly is one's personality and passion An excellent person selling books may not thrieve selling professional book series. A great staff writer for fashion may have no enthusiasm for a topic less "glamourous."

OF COURSE... THEN THERE IS ULTIMATE WHERE ONE TAKES THE STAFF FUNCTION THAT THEY ENJOY AND FOR WHICH THEY HAVE BEEN EDUCATED AND TURNS IT INTO A COMPANY THAT NEEDS TO SELL IT PRODUCTS OR SERVICES. Advertising / PR / graphic artists / newsletter companies / tracking services/ customer service and help desk software companies... and hundreds more.

Naturally, the reverse is possible as well. ONE SALESPERSON, as an independent representative, picks up one item... builds a product line from there... needs to add staff functions to support the sales (a day suffling papers is a day away from selling)... then decides to make his/her own items... discontinues repping other people's products and has a ROCKIN' FIRM.

Regardless the aproach to selling, for people who diligently learn and successfully apply interdisciplinary selling skills, THERE IS A WORLD OF OPPORTUNITIES WAITING FOR A TOP PRODUCER. Not all opportunities are equal; however, with each success, new and better opportunities arise. C

Look, here's the real scoop. When you are a top performer, you can write your ticket, or create a new one yourself. You can write your own ticket becasue whether you are a salaried sales person, one with salary plus commission and or bonus or both, YOU WILL ALWAYS BRING IN MORE MONEY TO THE COMPANY THAN YOUR COST. This is NOT TRUE for staff positions.

Which person is you? What do you want to do? What do you need to get started?

The first two questions are yours to answer.

The last one is mine: Send me an email. Tell me a little about yourself... your goals... and your availability.   There is not obligation and the the info stops at my desk.   Groups will be organized.



This means that as opposed to staff people who support in say a newsletter, the sales person faces the customer (In direct marketing -- which is distingquished by a "call to action" by the consumers as opposed to seeing a heartfelt Budwiser ad with a puppy and the horse that just leaves you feeling good about the compnay. Think infomercial.  For now just leave this topic.)



7 High-Growth Jobs That Don't Require a College Degree*

Skilled Labor Jobs Provide a Financially Feasible Alternative to College

By Aaron Gouveia, Salary.com contributing writer

The following is taken from complete article (Click above link for article)

6. Sales Representative

SALES REPRESENTATIVE
Projected increase in jobs by 2020: 16%
Median annual salary: $75,666
Projected 2020 salary: $93,059

"The ability to connect with people and sell them successfully usually isn't something you can learn at college. It's something you're born with and hone with lots of real-world practice.

Obviously the exact duties of a sales representative will depend on the industry in which they work, but salespeople must stay positive, energetic and friendly all while being aggressive enough to close the deal. Workers in sales are judged almost exclusively on results, making it a high-risk, high-reward profession that often values street smarts and people skills over knowledge gained in the classroom"

*This is not to advocate not getting one.

However it is to advocate that one can

earn money to pay for one rather than

graduating with enormous school debt

after earning a degree!

Further, some people are more inclined

to sell. Notwithstanding, everyone has

the ability to sell, for it they are buyers

JDS

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