G - Glen Crocker

At some point in my high school years, there was a man in my church named Glen Crocker who took a special interest in me. I don't remember when it started, but I remember before I had my license my mother drove me to Glen's house to dig up his septic tank. I spent the whole day out there. His wife fixed me lunch and we sat out in the back yard and talked about life.

It's always cool when an older person actually pays attention to a teenager. Not a lot of people do. Plus, he was actually interesting to talk to. He often had me out to his place to clean the gutters, clear out the basement, clean his garage and other things. He was retired and had money to pay to have this stuff done but he "didn't like people I don't know messing around in my stuff." So, as long as it didn't require special skills, I usually got the job.

Occasionally, he needed to drive somewhere out of state to pick up an item or go do something (I really don't remember) and he would pay me $20 just to ride along and have someone to talk to. Easy money.

After I got my license, I could get to his house on my own. He always had something he needed to be done and I went over there at least a few times every week. Eventually, his wife got bored with the retired life of nothing to do and wanted to start a business. He started a video rental store for her to have something to do. This was the mid-80's when everything was VHS tapes. (Be kind. Rewind.) When she got tired of that, he had this business to run. So, I started hanging out there.

Sometimes I would spend the whole day sitting in his office listening to him tell me about life, about how to succeed in business, about how to woo a girl, about how to get the best deal on a car. I think he felt the same way about me as I felt about him. He liked having someone who listened to him.

And I really did listen.

He taught me how to tie a necktie. He drilled me for hours one afternoon about the correct way to shake a man's hand. He made me sit through mock job interviews to learn how to always steer things in my favor.

Glen had spent most of his career as a corporate salesman. He was a salesman, but he dealt in multi-million dollar deals. He closed deals with whole corporations, CEOs, business presidents. He knew how to read people and how to work a room. He believed I had the personality and the temperament for this type of work, but there were many skills that had to be learned. So, he was always trying to teach me.

He joined the sales team of a water treatment company that was trying to expand their market into our area just so he could drag me along. He talked them into letting me be part of the team despite not being 18 years old. Since this was going to be door-to-door sales, they did not want minors knocking on strangers' doors.

He had me wear a recorder on my jacket to record every conversation I had with a customer. I know that sounds creepy, but it was so we could listen to it afterward and he could point out "what I should have said" or "where I missed an opportunity" or how I could have gotten the sale. Sometimes, he would make me go back to a house where I had failed to try again. This always seemed ridiculous and scary to me because they had already said no. But Glen believed that until the person died, the sale was always possible. So, with his encouragement and a specific set of directions, I would knock on that door again. And most of the time, I walked away with the sale. He was an amazing teacher.

Right after high school, I moved up north and sold Electrolux vacuum cleaners door-to-door. Glen wasn't around anymore, but I did not forget his lessons. I had a reputation in the Electrolux office. This was said in a sales meeting: "If a person makes the mistake of letting Brett inside their house, they are buying a vacuum cleaner."

A few years later, I sold cell phones. I won Salesman of the Quarter for the entire company several times. I give Glen all the credit for me being able to do those things.

At the time, Glen was just the old man who I respected because he actually heard the things I had to say and he had plenty to say that was interesting to listen to. He was just one of the people in my life at the time. Looking back today, I realize that he was a very important character in shaping the man I became. Not just in sales, but in many areas of adulthood.

Thank you for your guidance, Glen.

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This month, I am participating in the A to Z Challenge. Each day this month, people around the world are writing blog posts and working their way through the alphabet. Each person decides their own personal theme. I am writing about people who have affected my life.