One Step At A Time…

Some time ago I was told that Tuesdays are the best days to ask your boss for a raise and to get a positive response. Applying this logic to my sponsorship search, last Tuesday I set myself up for a day of follow-up calls. With the phone in my right ear and my computer’s earpiece in the other, I clicked into my ‘sponsor prospects’ database on my lap top. Beginning at 10:00am, to avoid coming across as too demanding, I started working through the list.  

One by one I dialled the numbers and one by one the phone rang out or I got through to a voicemail or I was told he or she, “…is in a meeting, can I take a message?” After an entire morning of calls I had spoken to absolutely none of the people I wanted to speak to, not one. I didn’t get to test the theory that people are more likely to say yes on a Tuesday ...I think you need to actually speak to someone for that! 

So, last Tuesday was particularly draining. To be honest, the last few weeks have been really tough. My schedule has involved very early mornings and very late nights; hard days and sleepless nights. But although the physical training is hard, it is the sponsorship search that has created this lifestyle. 

Now, with only four months to go we are running out of time. The deadlines for the stage payments for the race are looming. We have done so much to come this far; a fantastic article in this Sunday’s Sunday Business Post about my team and the race really brought home how much work we have all done over the past 8 months – how fit and together the team is: both physically and mentally. So, the pressure is now on my entrepreneurial skills to secure the rest of the funding! We have raised £50,000 of the £126,000 costs of the expedition and need another £75,000, (nearly €100,000). Companies, people are seeing the benefits of being associated with the race and with our team, but it is difficult to get to talk to decision makers and people in the business world are feeling less than brave at the moment about spending. I do not know where the sponsor is going to come from but I think we might be developing a team motto – one step at a time.    

I just have to keep calling, emailing and meeting potential sponsors – one step at a time. The training is about focusing on each session – one step at a time. And I expect when we start the race we will have to take each day as it comes – one step at a time. As I write this I think I should put the computer away and start making calls again, but who knows, maybe you will read this, be able to help us in some way. I’m sitting here, phone in hand - give me a call! Mark Pollock, 087 22 333 72 (from Ireland), or +353 87 22 33372 (from outside Ireland)