Keys to Sanity 1: The difference between a good day and a shitty one
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and spiritual wickedness in high places. - Paraphrase of Ephesians 6:12
Men are not shaken by things that happen, but by their opinion of things that happen. - Epictetus
We are responsible for the effort, God is responsible for the results. - Unknown
I went into work today determined to sell 4 cars. A lofty goal but shit, as the Great Gretzky once said, "You miss 100% of all shots you don't take." You underdig. The day was looking good. I got to work EARLY which unless you know me you can't truly appreciate the magnitude of this Heraclean feat. Following the maxim of personal responsibility, I had procured 3 appointments because I understand that I am responsible for getting my own customers. I was dressed to kill fully prepared to rip some faces off ( car biz slang for make lots of money). It was 40 degrees and with the wind chill factor it was probably 10-15 degrees colder than that. I didn't give a fuck. I was out on the point (outside on the lot waiting for customers to show up),alone with Ipod in hand bumpin Bilal and Cannibal Ox.
Appointments often don't show and people rarely have the courtesy to call and cancel so I was gonna trap as if I had nothing scheduled. My 10:00 didn't show. Who the fuck cares. Stood out on the point for another 45 min in the cold before the 1st up (customer) showed up. I was on him before anyone else even had a chance. He refused to come inside in the heat and talk. Who the fuck cares. After about 10 min of conversation about him, his wife, his trade-in, his Orange '69 Dodge Charger, and The Dukes of Hazzard, I close him on testdriving a 1998 Black Toyota Sienna XLE with 122 thousand miles on it, priced at $8991. In the test drive, it comes out that he has 9 grand cash. This is a deal. He loves the minivan so we set an appointment for tomorrow at noon when he can come back with his wife.
I get back on the point. 5 min later a couple pulls up in a beat up ass Nissan pick up. Ding, ding, ding!!! For some reason people in beat up ass Japanese pick ups always have bangin credit. This is a greeeaaat up!!! Dude is lookin for a 4 wheel drive Xterra for under 20K and he has his own financing. This is the equivalent to shooting a free throw. He knew exactly what he wanted and already had the money to buy it. All I had to do was find the car. Balance, eye, elbow, followthrough. 4x4 Xterras are tough to find though. We didn't have any but who the fuck cares. We did have a 4 wheel drive Pathfinder w/ 78,ooo miles at our Marietta store. I was all set to take 'em to the Marietta store when they asked to see the black S.E. (Xterra) on the lot. Cool, that saves me about an hour and a half: let's run it. Pulled the S.E. into our service garage and demo'd the shit out of the car. (demo means to display a car to customer and highlight all it's benefits and features.) Take the long test drive route , which hits both the highway and a nice scenic route, to make sure this muthafucka falls in love with the car. When we get back, I go inside and try a trial close. Dude says he really wants something with 4wd after checking wit LG on how he wanted me to handle it, I let him walk.
Lazy hoing don't get paid so I get back on the point. By this time, some of the other salesmen have gotten ups by now. My 12:00 didn't show up but fuck it, who cares!!! Catch another up, a young kid around in a '89 5-speed bronco. He asks if we work with first-time buyers, so I close him on coming inside and pulling his credit in like 2min. This is great because it allows us to cut to the chase and see who's fuckin and who's not... figuratively speaking. Kid is a ghost ( has no credit) but he does have a co-signer. Coincidentally, his birthday is the day after mine. I always get excited to find people have birthdays around mine since growing up it seemed like I was the only kid born in February. Also, Aquariuses are almost always amiable, amicable and affable allies in automoblie acquisitions. (Allan's all about aliteration, AAAAAAYYYY!!!) (I'm a nerd, I know.) Kid tries to find his co-signor meanwhile I try and find him a 4x4, 5-speed, Wrangler for under 10 (grand). Much to my surprise, I found one. I go back and he's still trying to get in touch with his potential co-signor. The Co-signor still isn't pickin up the phone so I let the kid go.
By this time it's 2:30pm and none of my appointments have shown or called. I get on the horn to do some follow-ups. I call my 12:00 first. She's a young girl that goes to my church that is looking for a car. As is the case with most urban negro women under age of 21, her answering machine has some bullshit, saccharine, R&B song as the backdrop. The message was typical of people who have had their own phone line for a relatively short period of time and have no concerns about achieving any real gainful employment. She managed to work the phrase "shawty, chill witcha foak" into the message. The striking contrast of this to the soulful stylings of Joe/Avant/Tyrese/Jaheim or whatever 3rd tier R&B singer it was, created a comic effect that woulda been pure genius if it had not been serious.
Men are not shaken by things that happen, but by their opinion of things that happen. - Epictetus
We are responsible for the effort, God is responsible for the results. - Unknown
I went into work today determined to sell 4 cars. A lofty goal but shit, as the Great Gretzky once said, "You miss 100% of all shots you don't take." You underdig. The day was looking good. I got to work EARLY which unless you know me you can't truly appreciate the magnitude of this Heraclean feat. Following the maxim of personal responsibility, I had procured 3 appointments because I understand that I am responsible for getting my own customers. I was dressed to kill fully prepared to rip some faces off ( car biz slang for make lots of money). It was 40 degrees and with the wind chill factor it was probably 10-15 degrees colder than that. I didn't give a fuck. I was out on the point (outside on the lot waiting for customers to show up),alone with Ipod in hand bumpin Bilal and Cannibal Ox.
Appointments often don't show and people rarely have the courtesy to call and cancel so I was gonna trap as if I had nothing scheduled. My 10:00 didn't show. Who the fuck cares. Stood out on the point for another 45 min in the cold before the 1st up (customer) showed up. I was on him before anyone else even had a chance. He refused to come inside in the heat and talk. Who the fuck cares. After about 10 min of conversation about him, his wife, his trade-in, his Orange '69 Dodge Charger, and The Dukes of Hazzard, I close him on testdriving a 1998 Black Toyota Sienna XLE with 122 thousand miles on it, priced at $8991. In the test drive, it comes out that he has 9 grand cash. This is a deal. He loves the minivan so we set an appointment for tomorrow at noon when he can come back with his wife.
I get back on the point. 5 min later a couple pulls up in a beat up ass Nissan pick up. Ding, ding, ding!!! For some reason people in beat up ass Japanese pick ups always have bangin credit. This is a greeeaaat up!!! Dude is lookin for a 4 wheel drive Xterra for under 20K and he has his own financing. This is the equivalent to shooting a free throw. He knew exactly what he wanted and already had the money to buy it. All I had to do was find the car. Balance, eye, elbow, followthrough. 4x4 Xterras are tough to find though. We didn't have any but who the fuck cares. We did have a 4 wheel drive Pathfinder w/ 78,ooo miles at our Marietta store. I was all set to take 'em to the Marietta store when they asked to see the black S.E. (Xterra) on the lot. Cool, that saves me about an hour and a half: let's run it. Pulled the S.E. into our service garage and demo'd the shit out of the car. (demo means to display a car to customer and highlight all it's benefits and features.) Take the long test drive route , which hits both the highway and a nice scenic route, to make sure this muthafucka falls in love with the car. When we get back, I go inside and try a trial close. Dude says he really wants something with 4wd after checking wit LG on how he wanted me to handle it, I let him walk.
Lazy hoing don't get paid so I get back on the point. By this time, some of the other salesmen have gotten ups by now. My 12:00 didn't show up but fuck it, who cares!!! Catch another up, a young kid around in a '89 5-speed bronco. He asks if we work with first-time buyers, so I close him on coming inside and pulling his credit in like 2min. This is great because it allows us to cut to the chase and see who's fuckin and who's not... figuratively speaking. Kid is a ghost ( has no credit) but he does have a co-signer. Coincidentally, his birthday is the day after mine. I always get excited to find people have birthdays around mine since growing up it seemed like I was the only kid born in February. Also, Aquariuses are almost always amiable, amicable and affable allies in automoblie acquisitions. (Allan's all about aliteration, AAAAAAYYYY!!!) (I'm a nerd, I know.) Kid tries to find his co-signor meanwhile I try and find him a 4x4, 5-speed, Wrangler for under 10 (grand). Much to my surprise, I found one. I go back and he's still trying to get in touch with his potential co-signor. The Co-signor still isn't pickin up the phone so I let the kid go.
By this time it's 2:30pm and none of my appointments have shown or called. I get on the horn to do some follow-ups. I call my 12:00 first. She's a young girl that goes to my church that is looking for a car. As is the case with most urban negro women under age of 21, her answering machine has some bullshit, saccharine, R&B song as the backdrop. The message was typical of people who have had their own phone line for a relatively short period of time and have no concerns about achieving any real gainful employment. She managed to work the phrase "shawty, chill witcha foak" into the message. The striking contrast of this to the soulful stylings of Joe/Avant/Tyrese/Jaheim or whatever 3rd tier R&B singer it was, created a comic effect that woulda been pure genius if it had not been serious.
posted by heathen saint at 5:34 PM
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