Just over 15 years ago, I decided to make a career in the transport industry. The quantity and quality of jobs available as a heavy-duty truck mechanic seemed endless. It looked like a wide-open opportunity. I signed up for 1,800 hours of classes for Heavy Duty Road Vehicles. Thanks to someone cancelling, I lucked out and began my classes a few short weeks later.
About halfway through the program, a couple suits walked in and began having a conversation with my teacher. I had no idea people like this would one day become my customers. To say that I was a little nervous when my teacher pointed at me and the three of them began clearly talking about me would be an understatement. These guys were from a local dealership and, thanks to a recommendation from my teacher, I soon began working nights and weekends after school working in my dream job and learning a ton.
The schedule was tough and I would take a long walk, a long bus ride, and a metro ride to and from school, dropping off for a work shift before heading home for the night and putting in a short eight-hour day on Saturday. Internships were easier because the days were as long but without the travelling. I loved every minute of it, taking advantage of my long commutes to study my school material or read up on the history and news of my new industry. I was pretty surprised to learn that fully electric trucks existed in the late 1800s and yet, for many market reasons, we've completely forgotten about it all. Even today, with all the talk of electrification, no one seems interested in the brilliant, creative, and sometimes crazy ideas people made work such a long time ago.
As much as I enjoyed, and now miss, the work of fixing and maintaining the trucks and trailers that allow drivers, warehouses, factories and stores to make a living and keep the economy going, I wanted to learn even more about the industry and I thought my training and experience working for a dealership, a fleet and even doing some government-mandated safety inspections could be put to use to sell the same parts to customers that I used to maintain, adjust and fix. I was right.
Many, maybe most, people have a bad sense of salespeople. A lot of this is merited. That said, I believed and then tested the theory that by providing greater service, and always looking to help customers even if not in my best interest that I would be successful. Again I was lucky enough to find that I was correct. In business, good karma (goodwill) does exist, and anyone can create it.
Now I work for a former supplier covering my home region and I’ve had the chance to learn yet another side of the industry and work with a different group of people, including the sort of sales rep I'd had the chance to be. So far, my accumulated experience has brought another success even if the road hasn’t exactly linear or easy. Every step of the way has been filled with great people and I’ve been extremely fortunate to learn from many of them. I can only hope the journey continues even half as good as it has been to me so far.