Laying new floor! So what? What’s the difference?

My latest Facebook Live video had to do with laying new flooring in our house. We are about to put our house up for sale and build a house so we are starting to do some things to spruce it up a little. Now, there’s not much wrong with our house since it was built in 2011 or 2012 but sometimes you have to change some things in order to get the most out of it while possibly changing someone’s perception.

Now, laying down flooring can be somewhat expensive and labor intensive so why would we decide to do this particular upgrade before selling? Well, for starters our house had a lot of carpet and we all know that carpet doesn’t take long to get dirty especially if you have children or pets. So, if there is dirty carpet in the house that could immediately change what people perceive the house to be while walking through the house especially if they think that the first expense they will incur would be quite expensive. So, many times just putting out a little money in advance and investing it in replacing the flooring could make a huge difference in one’s buying discision. Painting could also help which we are doing as well.

What is my point you might ask? Well, much like changing the flooring in a house could change someone’s perception and possibly add value, changing someone’s perception of you could come by just changing something small about what you do or possibly change a characteristic about yourself through effort! It may take some time to change someone’s perception of you but you have to start somewhere. If you’re known as a liar then stop lying! If you are known as dishonest or a thief then stop stealing! It’s that simple! Many times you start doing things every once in a while because you get away with it then before you know it that becomes a habit and then you’re doing it all the time.

I know what you might be thinking! You’re thinking that you don’t care what people think about you! I think that in itself is a lie because most people want to be liked and respected but let’s say that’s not the case for you. If you’re in commission sales of any sort you must care about what people think about you because nowadays you are not the only game in town or in the area like you may have been 10 or 20 years ago. Today a customer can search, price and compare a few different business and sales people online without leaving their house and much of what they find online can determine where they do business! If they search and see that your place of business has a bunch of 1 star reviews doesn’t that affect you if you work there? Sometimes it might affect you directly or indirectly but you must do all you can to change their perception even if you’re not named in the review or source.

The moral of this short lesson is to make sure that what people think and say about you is mostly positive because that could make the difference in your future business! It may not 100% affect you right now but it could catch up with you down the road maybe with your current place of business or possibly a new place that you’re looking to apply. Remember that even business owners and managers may search you online before they make that final decision whether to hire you or not because ultimately your online presence is your new resume whether it’s good or bad!

Do you make a difference?

Jeff Parton and myself did our Facebook Live this morning as usual. Today we decided to talk about that 1 customer or situation that was either special or moved us in some way. I went first and I talked about a situation that I experienced with one of my previous customers.


Wednesday I came in to work, it was really my off day and I hardly take a full one off, but I was in a bad mood. I have been having a few tough days and for some reason or another I couldn't shake it. I was even a little ill toward my wife this same morning which almost never happens. I even got out of my truck and said to myself that I should just go back home since my attitude was terrible. It's rare that I'm in a bad mood but today it was definitely on my back.


As I was getting settled in at work this same morning one of the service advisors came to me and said a customer was here to see me. I then said to him that I didn't have the right attitude right then to talk to anyone. After I said that, I asked him who it was. He then told me her name and I immediately tried to remember the last time that I had talked to her and her husband. She was in service a few months ago and we talked about her husband and how he was doing. He had developed Alzheimer's and wasn't feeling well enough on that day to come in. I ended up paying for half of a new car battery that she needed and she left. I haven't seen her since that day.


Now back to present day.... I walked in the side door and she was standing there looking towards me. I could tell immediately that something was bothering her and that she had something to tell me. I felt that I already knew by the way she looked and the fact that Mr Jullian wasn't with her again. I hugged her and as I was hugging her she started to tear up and inform me that he had passed away last month which would've been May. As I stood there speaking with her I tried my best to comfort here but it's really a hard thing to do when someone loses someone that they really loved. But I noticed something while we were speaking and that was a since of calm that was on her. She started talking about the love for Jesus that he had and that seemed to help comfort her since she knew where he was and the comfort he had and the lack of pain he had. He was now praising his Savior face to face which is something that all true believers dream of.


As we were finishing our conversation she showed me a video from this past Christmas of Mr Jullian smiling as he was listening to a song about Jesus. She told me that he didn't really smile much and that it was hard to see emotion on him but at that particular moment he was joyous. She told me that he listened to that song a few times and the whole time he had that big smile on his face. (Who knows, maybe he was thinking about what it would be like when he finally meets his Savior and it brought joy to him?) After the video we hugged and she looked at me, as I'm trying to choke back tears, and said to me, 'Gary, I love you and so did Jullian and I pray for you all the time. I have your face on the refrigerator and I see it everyday'. At this point I couldn't talk or I would lose it so I said I love you too and thank you for that and walked away. I had no idea how I would continue to stand there and talk with her anymore so I had to go.


Later on I went and took care of her service bill and from what I was told she was almost in tears as she left.


The moral of this story is you never know who you are going to come into contact with that could help or change theirs or your life or at least make an impact on. If you are the last person that someone could potentially come into contact with what would you say? What would you talk about? What help could you offer them that might make a difference in their life?


We get in such a big hurry in life that we sometimes overlook those that are struggling with something and we tend to miss things that we could say or do that might change the direction of their life. I'm guilty of this as well. I have no excuse except of the fact that I can be selfish sometimes with my life and that gets in the way of me noticing someone else's struggles.


I hope this particular post helps someone that may be struggling with something in their life and you feel there is no way out.

How’s your Open Door?

The past few days I did a Facebook Live video on my Facebook page and the primary focus was for you to be able to check your Open Door and see how effective it is. I essentially gave 3 ways to improve it and gave 4 things that you could be missing if you didn’t follow the 3 ways to improve your open door!

Tuesday and Wednesday I basically covered the 3 ways to improve your Open Door. The 1st way is to be Proactive and not reactive. The more Proactive you are with your people the easier it will be for you to head off serious problems and opportunities as well as help keep up morale. In other words, be more seen by your people and let them know that you care by actually talking with them and actually hearing them. Sure, you may have a few that do nothing but complain but those are the ones that are probably hurting your business and culture and need to go anyways. The 2nd point was to actually show your people you care. Much of this could be accomplished by simply listening since that’s all most people want anyways. This doesn’t mean to give them everything they want and fulfill all there demands and desires but simply lending an ear and actually paying attention to what they are saying. The 3rd point was to be interested and involved with your people and in your business. Actually caring and being engaging can handle this one sometimes but if you’re always couped up behind your desk it isn’t going to be too inviting. Remember that most people are timid and intimidated about talking to management especially if they don’t believe your door is actually an open one and confidential one. So, not only to you need to make yourself available you must also be trustworthy!

Now, there are a few things you could miss if you don’t have an effective open door. The 1st is you could miss one of your employees that’s really struggling with something and it would’ve been an opportunity for you to help them. There again if you’re Proactive instead of reactive you might have seen this earlier before it got so serious. The 2nd thing you could miss is the next superstar. There is always one unique and gifted individual that slips through the cracks because they aren’t noticed or shown attention. This mostly happens because management overlooks them because they aren’t involved with their people as they should. Next thing you know is that superstar is working for your competition and there’s nothing you can do now but cry over spilt milk! The 3rd thing you could miss is a great idea. Often times great ideas come from the least greatest of people or situations. If you would just keep your eyes and ears open and actually converse with your people sometimes you might pick up an idea that will send your business skyrocketing! The 4th and final thing you could miss is the fact that someone may be stealing from you or taking advantage of you without you knowing until it’s far too late! This often happens because you aren’t interested and invested in your people enough to be able to pick up on questionable situations and people! If you were this may not happen!

All this to say that I believe that having an effective Open Door or not having one is both the cause and solution of poor morale in the workplace. If you have an effective open door and actually use it regularly then chances are you have pretty good morale in your place of business. On the other hand, if you don’t have an effective Open Door, or one at all, then chances are the morale in and around the workplace is suffering and then so is your profits.

Take a serious look at your Door to see if it’s actually open all the way or is it closed and locked! Just because it’s open doesn’t mean it’s really open to your employees!

Why the debate?

As I sit here on my couch watching SportsCenter I am having a debate with myself about going in to work today! Wednesday is typically suppose to be my day off but I rarely take it off so why am I having a problem with not actually wanting to take it off? I actually have stuff I could be doing today that need to be done around the house so why am I having to justify it?

A little back story.... I am pretty dedicated to my job and employer and have rarely missed a day of work and don’t really ask for much and so often times I work my off days and am usually the first one there in the morning. I am an okay salesman I suppose and I am able to provide for my family as a result. Here lately however I have been questioning if I want to continue in this business and also why I can’t seem to find something else that I’d be good doing. I had previously spent 15 total years with a major retailer and 10 of those years as a manager but also got burned out with that. I have been in the car business now for over 8 years and seem to be getting more and more disgruntled with what I’m doing and the effort that I am putting out! Is it because I’m not happy doing this anymore or am I just not happy where I am.

While having this debate with myself, me and my wife have decided to buy land and build a house in order to possibly go into a future business opportunity. We have just signed on the loan application and am awaiting the close. I can’t, in good conscience, leave this job especially since I make good money. As I struggle with these thoughts I find myself growing aggravated and have been a little bit snappy. 

Where am I going with this? I am simply wondering why am I having to debate taking my day off if I want? Have I put my job in front of more important things such as my family? Or have I elevated the fact that money is the most important thing in my life? I sure hope neither of these are true and that I figure this out because it has caused me to be seriously discontent with many things!

I hope this has helped someone else that may be struggling with what job they are currently doing! Though I haven’t quite figured this out yet I sure hope you do!

Do you have fruit to share or Do you keep it to yourself? w/ Gary Pollar...

Fear of salesmen playing games? Ease your fears with Gary Pollard The Fi...

Dangling chicken

One thing that has never ceased to amaze me is the lack of conscious and integrity that there seems to be. One may talk a big game about how their integrity is but when it comes down to the dollars they always tarnish what they originally said they believe and do.


I hate writing these types of posts because they seem so negative and I sure hate negativity. The primary reason that I want to write this post is because of the frustration that comes about when you think something may not be exactly right. On the surface it seems okay until you really think about what the outcome is going to be.


Let me be clear... if you know that what you are doing is wrong then don't pursue it. The problem lies in the one that has done something for so long that they don't see anything wrong with it. If you tell yourself long enough that what you're doing is okay then you will eventually have no conscious. You will eventually overlook all means of integrity to fulfill your desires which usually amounts to money. If money is your primary focus in life and all that you focus upon then most likely, at some point, your integrity will be pushed to it's limit and most likely overflow it.


Why do I say these things? Well, it's simple, do not jeopardize your reputation or integrity for money. It will haunt you at some point. It may take a while to catch up to you but it will catch you. If you have money as your only motivating factor then you will surely be blinded by what you are doing and see nothing wrong with a lie here and a lie there. You will start letting things slide under the rug just to get that next dollar. I for one need to make money, like most everyone, in order to provide for my family but I never want to jeopardize who I am and what I believe to make money even if that means that I miss a deal.


When I greet a customer I never want to look at them as a meal ticket and a dollar sign. I want to treat them like they are a person and I want them to always want to come back to me for their next vehicle. They don't always come back to me but that's what my goal is. I may not always do or say the right things but I try. I don't always sell the customer either but I always try and have their best interests at heart. Sometimes they buy and sometimes they don't but I never leave work feeling like I had to deceive or fool someone into buying a car. If I miss a deal then I do sometimes let that bother me but I try to figure out what I might have done wrong and move on and sometimes it's easier than others.


This is a short post but here is my point... If you do something that you think is okay to do and KNOW that the outcome is going to be bad then you are doing something wrong. It's just as wrong as knowing that you're wrong the whole time. Putting someone in a position that they truly aren't going to make it out of is not okay especially if you know that ahead of time. Many times you can't foresee and  you can't do anything about that but you can try your hardest to put people in a position that they can actually win and accomplish something good. If that isn't your ultimate goal then don't do it. Don't prey on people to get paid. If I were to dangle old chicken in front of a starving person, knowing it is bad, and they ate it and they got sick and died then who is at fault? I am! If I know what the outcome was going to be then I might as well be put in jail for that person dying. I would've preyed on their desperate need and that isn't right.


Hopefully this made sense to someone and that I didn't ramble. I had something on my mind and needed to get it off.


Thanks for reading!


Fist Pump Guy out!