My dad has to be the most confident person I've ever known. He carries himself well, dresses impeccably for any occasion, and makes heads turn when he enters a room. He is that charismatic!! I was telling him how typing and speech were two classes that really helped me in "life" through continuing education. His reaction was to say that speeches are really not difficult at all. You have to know the subject of which you are speaking and speak with confidence. He could change the minds of General Motors executives in the blink of an eye. He knew his business, how to make it succeed, and had no problem telling "higher ups" that his method was better and he would prove it to them as evidenced in sales. He has a fun sense of humor and would sometimes just go to give a speech and end up having a question answer session. He might start out by saying something like: "I know everything you need to know, so ask away". He knew his stuff, it worked and he shared his information with so many people. He would not, and will not let a room full of people change the way that he thinks. He would just tell them: "you do it your way, let me do it mine, and we will let the end of the month speak for itself". Dad would be right in the end.
He still has friends in the car business that he has known for 50 years. He still worked when he retired for quite some time. I wouldn't think of purchasing a car without dad. He will still talk "shop" to my brother and other salesmen when we are at a party. Yes, some friends he has known for years and they are dear friends. I see the love that he shares with employees he has known. One thing I remember dad saying is that many salesmen just don't know when to be quiet. That is so true. I can't tell you how many in home parties where the sales people just won't be quiet. Sometimes I want to say, "Just be quiet for a second so we can look, touch, and read about the products. We don't know if we have any questions, because we can't think with all of your talking!!". I even tried a stint at selling home products. I will admit that I did not share my dad or brothers talent for sales. Dad said that I had to be an expert in the products I was selling. Although I enjoyed my products, I certainly did not know everything about them. Oh well. I did try to sell for a few years. It's not for me though. Perhaps writing will be my forte.
