This Isn’t An Art Gallery
Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5 | Page 6 | Page 7 | Page 8
Life Changing Moment #5 - Showdown at the Car Dealership
Selling Cars
I wanted to get away from over-the-road truck driving. I needed a different job.
A car dealership called. I don’t even remember how they got my name or how they knew I wanted a different job. I went in to the interview praying I wouldn’t get it because everyone knew the reputation of car salemen.
You guessed it. I got the job and worked there for two years. Little did I know then how the job would
teach me to organize. I also learned to be honest in a dishonest profession. I knew that when I sold a car to someone that I still had to be able to look in the mirror without turning away in horror.
You’ve got to understand - it was hard selling cars then because interest rates were very high. It was very tough to get loans. My claim to fame is that I actually sold the first “buy here pay here” car in the state of Indiana. I’m not sure that’s something to be proud of, but I tried to treat those people like I did the Cadillac buyers.
Management told me I was spending too much time with my customers before AND after the sale. Customer service wasn’t as high on their priority list as it was on mine. A normal workweek for me was 60-70 hours so I still wasn’t seeing my family that much. To top it off, there weren’t a whole lot of sales either.
At that point, I started showing my artwork in my office at the dealership. The way I figured it the walls needed to be dressed up and it might as well be my work! That’s when one day the owner of the dealership told me to “get that crap off the walls. This isn’t an art gallery.”
(Little did I know then that 10 years later that very same owner would buy 140 of my limited edition prints
for gifts and become one of my top collectors! It’s funny how God works…)
However, when it happened, it was one of the true low points of my life. I couldn’t believe that someone would use that terminoloy for my art. I wanted to quit work right on the spot but couldn’t. Finally I was called in by the owner and asked “Why don’t you do us a favor and quit? You’re not a car salesman.” To which I replied, “You’re going to have have to fire me because I’m not a quitter.”
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.
[...] you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5 | Page [...]