How I got to 1004 Blog Posts.

This will be my 1004th post. This is a big milestone. That’s almost 3 full years of blog posts.

I knew I wanted to commemorate blog post 1,000 but I forgot. I was at the Sales 2.0 conference and got caught up in all that sales information goodness. I missed 1000, and this is now 1004.

In addition to getting caught up in the Sales 2.0 hoopla, I wasn’t sure how I wanted to celebrate blog post 1,000. I had a lot of ideas, but nothing really stuck with me.

After banging the idea around in my head, I felt the best way to celebrate it would be to celebrate HOW I got to 1004 posts.

My path to 1004 posts has been 3 fold. It was the mere act of starting. It was learning along the way and most importantly, it’s the frickin’ killer community that has been built here over the years.

To celebrate each of these special parts of 1004, I decided NOT to make this a “teaching” post but rather “sharing post.”

To celebrate how I started, I’m simply going to share my first blog post.

To celebrate what I’ve learned, I’m going to share my description of what I learned from blogging at 400 posts. It’s still just as relevant today as it was 2 years ago.

To celebrate this community, I’m going to say “THANK YOU!”

Thanks Guys!

The biggest and most rewarding part of 1004 posts is this community. This community rocks. I look around other sales blogs and you just don’t see the interaction and engagement you see here. Sales blogs aren’t known for their over the top engagement and slue of comments. So, this community deserves some real love for it’s participation.

Yesterdays post was a perfect example. The responses to Kimberly’s letter and her sales growth was the shit. You guys are awesome.

So, most importantly, I want to thank this entire community for your support of me and the A Sales Guy blog over the past 1003 posts. You guys rock and motivate me to keep putting words to digital paper. Here is to each of you for being a kick-ass sales community member.

My first post;

I went back and read my first post, written on February 23, 2009. I thought it would be fun to repost here and get this communities thoughts on if I’m living up to my original vision.

First posts are hard. I don’t think many people ever see a first post, so why bother with some introduction. On the other hand, why waste a good post when no one will see it. So what do you write for a first post; an introduction, a super cool, well articulated, big bang post that announces your arrival onto the blogosphere stage or something in the middle? Not sure I have an answer.

Because I can’t tell you what you’ll get out of this first post, I’ll share what you’ll get out of the rest. If I do this right, you’ll get my thoughts on how to sell, sales leadership, marketing, customer service, business analysis and management. I have been selling for a long time and in ways you wouldn’t think of as sales. I’m an entrepreneur, most recently founder and CEO of cre8Buzz (cre8Buzz R.I.P., we’ll talk about that experience in this blog a few times I’m sure). I’m a Sales Executive who has been lucky enough to have some of the best sales teams and organizations ever assembled. From these unique experiences, I’ll string together some interesting posts.

Sales is at the heart of everything. It can be direct or indirect, it permeates our business lives and our social lives. If you have a spouse, then you know what it feels like to close the biggest sale of your life . . . cause at the end of the day everything is sales.

Growing a business, building a Twitter following, getting a promotion, getting hired, growing your blog readership, getting your kids to do the dishes all have sales, management, leadership and marketing at their root. If you don’t believe me, stick around for awhile and let’s see if I can change your mind.

I hate first posts, thank god a blog only has one. Is anyone reading this? Bueller, Bueller, Bueller????

It’s fun reading something you wrote 3 and 1/2 years ago. I think A Sales Guy has evolved, but it still true to the original objective. What do you think?

What I’ve learned from blogging.

At 400 blog posts I shared what I had learned to date. It’s a good list and all of it is still holds true today.

Blogging ain’t easy. That explains why it’s been so rewarding.

Finding the time is hard, you have to be committed

It takes work coming up with new, fresh, content. I now understand “writers block”

I have terrible grammar, but it’s getting better.

I don’t have to write about sales all the time, a good blog changes it up

A good blog is a community, it’s not just about me, this community is getting stronger everyday

I have an obligation to the community, readers begin to rely on this blog for good information and content

Not everyone gets blogging; I am surprised how often I’ve had to explain why I do it. (this, obviously happens most in the offline world)

Sales is NOT the most exciting of subjects. Although, it’s critical to business success, people aren’t beating down this blogs door for more. It’s hard to keep it interesting

Not everyone is going to agree with me and my posts, that’s a good thing. But, thick skin is required

I’m out there, anonymity doesn’t exist.

I’m addicted to analytics. I check everyday to see if my readers, RSS subscribers and visits are growing

Consistency is key, people want to know what to expect

I need a filter, determining what to say and how directly to say it requires I think long and hard. I just can’t spit it out, although, at times I’d like to.

Determining my filter is hard. It’s my blog, but it’s not. Finding that balance can be a struggle.

I’ve pissed people off. Not everyone likes my voice, my style or my approach

I’ve met some great people and built some great relationships

You need “mentors.” I get inspiration from other bloggers. I couldn’t have gotten this far without them

Blogging has become a part of me. Everything in my day goes through the — would this be a good post filter?

This blog is creating a lot of opportunities for me.

I think more. I look at things differently. I rarely accept things at face value; asking, would this make a good post?

If I miss a day, it’s not the end of the world, but at times it is.

It’s fun

I like it.

How did I get to 1004 blog posts?

It’s pretty simple; I started, I learned and I had support from a killer community.

Thanks all and I’ll see you at . . . 2004, 3004, 5004?