After Jessica was born, January, 1977, I knew I couldnt be on the road any longer. The money was great but the need to be with her, Kandy & Ben became overwhelming. I went a little mental and while I traveled, I had to stop and call home every few hours. I worked for a company called Scriptomatic. They made addressing machines. Kandy and I spoke about it and I knew I could make a living selling anything. I gave a 3 months notice and explained that I would train my replacement. They offered me a job in their Atlanta branch office; I would be home every night. After 3 years, I was just done with the company. They gave me 3 months pay and said sayonara. It was the beginning of summer so I thought Id take it off before looking for a new job. Ben was showing off for one of the teen lifeguards and I sat on the side of the pool with my legs dangling in the water. I decided to get in and just did a forward roll. My head hit the bottom of the pool; I came up with blood all over my head; kids screaming and the life guard jumping in. The ambulance came. Into the hospital I went and came out with a neck brace, stitches and a Friar Tuck haircut. So much for that summer. I started looking for a job when the brace came off a few months later. I responded to an ad that ran everyday: Im a millionaire and I can show you how to be one too. I had to find out. The company was NuLook Fashions. They had been in the wig business, but the owner wanted to move his business into mens suits and womens jeans. Two different divisions. Jeans on the second floor; suits on the first floor. My interview consisted of being given 50 cards with names of clothing stores and their phone numbers. My desk was outside the managers office and after an hour with a sales brochure they would see how I did. The cards were all in Texas; the blue jean capital of the universe and Im selling jeans made in Korea. Nice. My first call was to some boutique. I explained that I was her rep but I didnt travel. I could send her a pair of jeans to inspect and she could order from the catalog. I didnt want to ask her size so I asked if she had people working there that were a different size each. I would send her one of each of my styles in each size so she could check the fit and quality. My first sale was $1,000. by the end of an hour; the manager came out and said he was surprised I was still there as nobody knew how to sell via the telephone. The term Telemarketing had never been used. I gave him $3,000 worth of orders and was hired. Little did I know that having a $1,000 sales day was considered a great day. One month later I had his job. I did this for about 6 months and loved the idea that I could make a living and be home every night. I just didnt like who I was working for. I answered an ad for an auto parts broker. He represented over 50 companies. Interviewed, got the job and had to stay in Cincinnati for a weekend to learn their product lines. He had 100s of different items and a nasty attitude. Monday morning he was to meet me at a Red Lobster in Columbus and visit local car parts dealers. He drove up and I told him I wasnt made for the job. He went nuts. I went home. I mentioned that NuLook Fashions operated on the first & second floor of this building. The lower level housed a company called K & H Fashions. A Korean company that brought in leathers, furs, suits, everything and worked the same way as NuLook, with the telephone. A friend that had worked for NuLook went to work for K & H as the national sales manager. I called him and was on my way to my new job that afternoon. A month went by, I was salesman of the month; my friend decided he wanted to live in Florida. He spoke with the ownership of K & H and suggested I take his place. It didnt go over very big with his 4 divisional managers, but I didnt care for them anyway. Having worked as a new salesman there gave me the opportunity to see who worked and who didnt. My first morning as National sales manager I fired at least 10 of my 32 employees. I had one guy, Rick Ryan, whose mother was a big shot in the state Democratic party. He was marginally fair at best. One afternoon, 2 guys in jeans came in and asked our secretary if they could speak with him. I happened to be out there and asked them why. One was the VP of a large auto parts closeout company, the other was one of his salesmen. He was up front: he was told by his boss to try to hire my guy, Rick. Evidently Ricks mother wasnt happy with where he worked and she had asked the president of a company called Consolidated International, a contributor to the democratic party, to see if he could get him a job with his growing company. He went to Ricks office, spoke to him and was leaving when I bumped into him again. I gave him my business card and told him if his company needed great, not good employees to give me a call. Its a small world. As it turns out my friend who went to Florida (Dave Cooper) and got me this job, knew this VP (Craig Brandon) who was trying to recruit one of my salespeople (Rick). Dave told Craig that I was the best he had ever seen; 2 days later Craig called and said we should talk. I told him I was making pretty good money but the job did have its difficulties. Sitting in a board room for 2 hours while everyone spoke Korean each Friday was the worst of them. I didnt want to miss work so I told Craig, Id meet him that evening. Craig gave me his home address. I went home, put on a suit and tie and went to his house. I pulled up in his drive. a modern house in a good neighborhood; a Bricklin sports car, a Corvette and a new Oldsmobile parked in front. It was a hot summers evening; I knocked on the screen door and saw 2 girls in just their panties and bras run in the house, past the screen door into one of the rooms. Craig came to the door in just a pair of jeans and had 2 beers. He let me in, gave me a beer and we sat and talked for hours. Craig was a bachelor and his house was the quintessential bachelor pad. After an hour or so, the 2 girls came out, dressed and said they needed a car. He threw the keys to his Oldsmobile to them. We sat, drank beer, smoked cigarettes and pot. We got along like brothers instantly. He said he was hungry; I was also. We got into his Vette and went to this new club called the Bicycle Club. We ate and drank until 1:00 in the morning. we drove back to his house; I went home. Kandy asked Well? I told her I didnt know if I had a job but it was the weirdest interview ever. He called me the next day and said we had to meet again that night to iron a few things out. Money, responsibilities, and the basic job its self. I went over to his house, this time in jeans and a t-shirt. We drank, got a little high and the next thing I know, were in his Vette on our way back to the Bicycle Club. I get home around 1:30 in the morning and tell Kandy I think Ive got a great job. Think? I really didnt know if he had offered it to me at all! I called him the next morning and told him the interviews were killing me (I was only 27, he was 2 years older) and did I have the job or not. He laughed and told me that he thought he had hired me the first night. My pay was twice what I had been making with huge opportunity to grow and earn more. The job was with a company called Consolidated International. They owned about 40 automotive stores called Corvairs; named after the street our warehouse and offices were on and not the car. The company bought and sold engines and auto parts and wholesaled them throughout the world. They saw a need to start a division that sold everything else: hardware, health and beauty aids, lawn and garden, toys, stationery, sporting goods, housewares, everything that wasnt an automotive hard part. Craig took one guy that had been there for about 6 months and me and found an office to put 2 desks in and thats how that division got started. Because Craig didnt hire Rick (the big wigs son from the democratic party) and he tended to come in hours late from too much partying the night before; he was fired about 2 months after I started. I was selling closeouts of everything; did very little travelling and began my lifes career. This is a to be continued story Ill write about many times in the future.
Posted on: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 09:50:58 +0000
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