He totally answered my prayer!

I am month two into a new promotion. I am a National Sales Director in my company. We are currently in the middle of a large merger with a competitor, so things in the company are crazy and there is an incredible amount of pressure to hit our 2016 EBIDTA target (nothing new in business right?, LOL). However; this year we are really struggling in our sales efforts, so much in fact we are several million dollars down in how we track sales.

My new sales team has averaged a sales rep turnover rate of over 300% a year for the last 3 years. Out of the 75 Sales Managers on our team over 30 have been in their current position less than 18 months and only 12 have been sales managers for 3 years or longer.

Needless to say we have missed our weekly sales numbers every week since I have been in the role. Now, most people in sales and business understand that you cannot use a new, inexperienced sales team as a reason or excuse for missing your numbers, not if you want to be taken serious or keep your job very long. It doesn't matter if it is true or not. This is the corporate world with a highly demanding Private Equity Firm ownership that wants a return on their investment and will not accept anything that interferes with that.

 The pressure that I have felt in missing these sales numbers over the last two months has been immense to say the least. I get the regular emails and comments like" When are we going to hit a sales number" and things like "your whole division is sinking the company". Last week I was dressed down on a conference call by an executive in front of my peers for giving our sales team the Fourth of July Saturday off to spend with their families. This gentleman is actually a pretty solid guy and I like him, he is just under a high amount of pressure to deliver a big number so I don't take it personally.You cant in sales or business-if you take it personally the "Jungle" out there will destroy you.

 Our sales team has worked 6 days a week and almost every Saturday in 2016 and has averaged at 40 working Saturdays a year over the last 3 years. They deserved the time off and we gave it to them.

The calls and emails had been coming with more and more regularity (almost daily now) and the pressure continues to heat up. It reached a boiling point this past week when I was asked to submit yet another email asking why we aren't making up any sales ground and helping to sink the company's sales number. I truly feel like I went from the penthouse where I was performing very well, over budget in every category and trending for a potential six figure bonus at the end of the year to the outhouse where I couldn't hit a sales number to save my life.

How could this have happened? Where did I go wrong? How could I have been foolish enough to accept this position? I had it so good, working 15 miles from home, a solid team, well respected in my field, etc.  As a Christian, I believe promotion comes from the lord, why would God allow me to walk away from a position of comfort and success to one of constant stress and pressure? The answer is simple..."To drive me closer to him". God knows the stress and pressure (circumstances) would drive me to my knees in prayer to seek his guidance and support. 

None of us like going through trial by fire, but it is in the midst of those refining flames that God molds and chips away our selfishness, arrogance, worldliness and it forces us to our knees where we find the end of our own strength so we can come to the beginning of his!

Yes, friends this refining takes place as much in the business world and marketplace as it does in personal financial matters, health and relationships. Our God knows exactly how to grad our attention!

It worked, this past week as I sat in the Airport awaiting my flight home, all I could think about after a long week was the Friday conference call that would have me report out my weekly sales results that were horrible. This was the same call just a week earlier I was called out on the carpet for giving my sales team Saturday off. I asked the lord for grace and strength to get through the rest of this week and his favor and blessing over my company, my boss, my sales reps and our sales performance. Shortly after I boarded my two hour flight for home.

The next day around 10AM, I received an email notifying me that our weekly sales call had been cancelled due to a conflict with another call. Bam!!!! God heard my prayer from the day before and answered it! I literally jumped out of desk and did the fist pump in the air and was very excited and immediately thanked him for his favor and goodness.

Now some people would say, this is pure coincidence or happen stance-That would have happened if you prayed or not. ABSOLUTELY WRONG! This was God answering my prayer out of his goodness and confirming his word that says..."All things are possible to him who believes" and "Victory rests with the lord"! When you are a Christian and I have been for 26 years-nothing just happens-everything in our lives as Christians is father filtered and happens for a reason both good and bad.

I am so glad I serve a loving God who longs for and stands ready to have a personal relationship with me daily. A God who cares about the minute details of my life(even if it is as insignificant as a sales conference call), the God who loved us so much he sent his only son to die on a cross for ours sins. Amazing! Over the last 26 years of serving God I have seen many miracles and answers to prayer in both my personal life as well as my business life.

That is exactly what this blog is about- sharing the good news of a God who desires to show himself strong on behalf of his people and to encourage those who need to hear a story like this while they remain steadfast and wait for their miracle or answer to prayer!

I hope you have been encouraged by this post. My goal is to post every week. Thanks.