Pub. 1 2018-2019 |Issue 1

20 She was raised on a farm in a small town, and as far as business goes, she was pretty sheltered, but, she was just very smart about things. The first, came as an object lesson, really, within just a few hours of my mother’s passing. Literally on her death bed, she said, “you know, this isn’t nearly as bad as I expected!” For my mom, the glass was always half full. She was always positive, and she never lost hope. Things were never hopeless, there was always something you could do. The second, was to never assume that “no,” really means “no.” For my mom, the word “no,” really was a request to present it better or differently. As a sales person, those two things have served me well over the years. The third thing would be to be open to taking risks. Not ridiculous risks – although there may be some entertainment value there – but, good risks, the ones that make sense, but may just be uncomfortable at the moment. What are some professional moments that make you the proudest? Well, in the first quarter of 2017, we were named number one in the U.S. for customer retention across all Metro Toyota dealerships. We’ve been in the top ten before, but, to be number one, was incredibly significant for me because the measure is really about returning customers. That says a lot about the buying experience in our dealership. I am proud of the accomplishment, and even prouder of our employees. In 2016, for the first time in the history of Utah Toyota sales, a dealer outside of SLC has the #1 volume of new car sales – and that was our dealership. Again, I think that is a testament to the quality of our people. And of course, the TIME Dealer of the Year nomination. That is an amazing honor. If you could describe the best day in this business, what would it look like? Again, I’m going to go back to developing and mentoring people. Great days are those when a person who started with us in an entry-level position gets promoted to a significant position. The look on their faces as they realize they have achieved a professional goal is so rewarding. Our people are our best asset. Years ago, I had two red phones installed in the dealership. One in the sales area and the other in the service department. We let our customers know that they could call me at any time, and the phone would ring directly to me. The goal was to solve customer-related problems. In the beginning, I got calls from those phones. These days, there are very few, because our employees handle it. They are professional and proactive. The best days are the ones where our people take the initiative on their own to follow our slogan, and “bend over backwards” to earn our customers’ business. Was there an “aha” moment in your career that defined you? There was. The day after our band opened for ZZ Top, we raced to read the reviews in the paper. ZZ Top of course was great. Then at the very end, there was a sentence or two about us – we were good, but not distinctive. I remembered getting a dictionary and looking up the word “distinctive.” I resolved that for the rest of my life, I would be distinctive. I still live by that personal motto. I try to run my I remembered getting a dictionary and looking up the word “distinctive.” I resolved that for the rest of my life, I would be distinctive. I still live by that personal motto. I try to run my business a little differently. I try and live my life a little differently. I strive to be distinctive.