Three to six, six to nine

Our new sales guy started today. I like him but I'll reserve judgment until we get some results. Our typical sales cycle is about three to six months so we'll give him six to nine months and then bring down the hammer.

We did a legitimate search for this guy; he wasn't a friend or associate of any employees and he was well vetted. We checked all his references and extensively analyzed the pros and cons between him and the other candidates. I think it's safe to say our sales department is stronger now as it probably couldn't get much worse.

Our marketing guy actually comes out in public now. He had been pinned down behind his cube by our previous sales director who had him too scared to blink. In fact, he once came to work, saw her car was the only one in the parking lot and turned around and went home. And she once said to our CEO she was actually afraid for her life around him. I hope you're laughing right now because I got a good chuckle out of that one. Ironically, he pushed us to hire her over another candidate that we liked. Absurd.

Anyway, that's in the past. She's gone and the new guy, who we all like, is in place. And again we are hopeful.