NEW CAR SALESMEN

Did you ever get the opportunity to watch a "pro" work. I don't necessarily mean an athlete or a prostitute, but some one who is beyond excellent in his or her job. Someone it is a true pleasure to observe. I did when I worked with the Silver Fox.

I have previously mentioned the low pay of the banking profession years ago and how I sometimes took a part time job to make ends meet. This particular part time job was with one of the largest new car dealers in Florida. I worked a couple evenings a week there as a receptionist.

The BAD thing about working for a car dealer was that I discovered a lot of the tricks of the trade. The GOOD thing about it was that I discovered a lot of the tricks of the trade. As a result, I am now a much better informed car buyer and quite wary of most salesmen. I may like them and would willingly break bread with them but know they will do whatever it takes to get my money.

Because I was young, flirty and friendly, the salesmen spent most of their down time around my desk telling their favorite stories and various tricks. It was interesting to watch each man work for there were no set patterns. They each had their own unique approach. They were actors without a stage.

The different types of salesmen were fun to watch. There were the "I'm your new best friend" types. The "I have a family also so I know what you want" types. The "snow you with stats and horsepower" types and the really good looking salesmen that gravitated towards the single women and vise-versa. Sex does sell.

I got to the point that when I saw someone on the lot or show room floor, I could tell which salesman would come striding out of his office to approach them. Each man had his specialty. All except the Silver Fox.

This man was glorious to look at. He was an older gentleman who had a thick, neatly barbered, mane of white hair which along with his cunning nature, earned him that nick name, the Silver Fox. He was tall, thin and very tan. He moved slowly but deliberately. There was no wasted motion. But his voice was what got me. There will only be few reading this who can remember, but Senator Everett Dirksen had the same voice. It was slow, low, rumbling and came from deep inside him. It assured the listener that the speaker was honest and wise. This was a man you immediately felt you could trust.

I enjoyed watching the salesmen roll out of their offices to snag a potential buyer. Silver Fox would just sit there calm and comfortable and stayed clear of the competition. When a man in stained coveralls would approach the building was when he would get up. The rest of the salesmen stayed put, thinking by the man's appearance that this was obviously a no-sale customer. Silver Fox would get the man some coffee, take him into his office and then proceed to sell him a fleet of 10 dually pickup trucks for his huge corporate farm.

He would just as quickly snag a man in ragged cut offs,no shirt and flip flops to sell that investment banker who was just back from a fishing trip, a Corvette. No one could qualify a customer like he could. He could smell a bank balance. The other sales men tried to copy him but their men in "coveralls" were generally exactly what they looked like. Some worker or retired farmer just wishful shopping who would look at every car and buy none. Silver Fox was an artist in his profession and he turned car sales into a craft.

While he was indeed a foxy salesman, what I admired the most was that he was also a caring individual. Even the times he would slip up and not get a sale, his sincere interest in each customer would manage to cultivate a new friend who later recommended him to someone who did buy. Regardless of the outcome, his customers got his complete attention. He never rolled his eyes behind a customer's back as the other salesmen often did. Eye rollers forget one thing. They person they are rolling their eyes about might not see them, but others do. Definitely a trust flushing action.

One of the best lessons I got from watching and listening to this man interact was never to judge someone by appearance alone. Sadly this was something I often had to relearn but those basics had been set by my parents and I got to see practiced by a man with snow white hair in a very cut throat business.

The Silver Fox once told me in his rumbling tones, "I always try to treat all I meet with respect and interest. That always frees my head and heart for a good nights sleep." That man never sported dark circles or bags under his eyes. He slept well.

Often I have failed to meet these high standards, but I keep on trying. Sometimes when I have a restless night with poor sleep, I think of him and laugh as I ask myself, "OK, who did you screw over today dummy?"

Is there someone in your life who set the bar high??