Co-worker Chris Porter says he nominated Gregg for one reason: “This guy sells 50 cars every month”. Even with 33 years in the business, averaging 50 deals a month seems like quite a feat, until Gregg topped that by saying his record was 63 vehicles in July of last year. “I’m the guy. I won the Golden Globe. I’m the number one Hyundai salesman in the world for 2006,” he responded to speculation about his co-worker’s motivation to nominate him.

Gregg’s exemplary achievements are certainly appreciated at Jenkins Automotive Group, where he’s set the bar a little higher every year. Now a senior sales consultant/floor manager, Gregg also holds an MBA from the University of Tennessee. He was in management at a dealership in Tennessee for 17 years, spending 12 of those years as finance director.

However, in 1985, fate stepped in during a Florida vacation. He laughed, describing his impromptu move to warmer climates, “I had a vacation in Florida, and I never went back.” Gregg held the number one sales position in his district, from 1993 to 2004, in St. Petersburg. He said an unsatisfactory proposal from his then-employer redirected his focus, triggering the move to the Bradenton-Sarasota market.

If you ask Jenkins’ Managing Partner Ernie Parisi why Gregg is so adept at pushing cars over the curb, he says, “Carl’s a very passionate professional. The fact that he earns top performance awards on a regular basis, truly, is not a surprise. Carl is an excellent goal-setter. He develops a plan that allows him to meet, and even exceed, those goals. I feel like, in three years, I’ve gotten to know one of the best sales professionals who performs at the highest level.”

In a dealership, teamwork is essential to customer satisfaction, which may explain how his wife of six years, Nina, became his assistant. The couple works – and plays – hard, according to Gregg, who says they vacation 12 times a year.

Everywhere he goes, Gregg hands out his business card, making friends and would-be customers of every stranger. A self-proclaimed “smooth-talker”, Gregg said, “My favorite customers are the ones who say they’re ‘just looking’.” Apparently, it’s not only his co-workers who think Carl Gregg is number one, “To be honest with you, with my talent and my position in the car business, and 30+ years, it’s very difficult to be a salesman if you aren’t secure in who you are.” His customers think so too, according to his 18 to 28 percent repeat rate each month. “The difference between a professional automobile person and a car salesman is the integrity placated by a proper, healthy relationship with the client,” Carl Gregg explained.

Now, widely recognized for his success in the industry, Gregg cites customer service as his first and foremost priority as a salesman, adding, “The number one thing that the automobile person today is clueless about is the dominant buying motive. If you don’t know what a person’s buying motive is, you could have them in the wrong car and not even know it.”

He offers advice to other salesmen, stating there aren’t 10 steps in a sale; “there’s only two.” Gregg’s theory is, “The first step to a sale is a proper, healthy meet and greet; and the second step to the sale is qualification. ‘Cause if they don’t like you, they’re not gonna buy, and if they can’t qualify, you’re wasting your time.”

To those considering a career in car sales, Gregg says you must have confidence and integrity, and “you’ve gotta care about the client.If you have a heart, talent and tenacity, you can rock and roll.”

Congratulations to Carl Gregg our Sales Professional of the Month, and thank you to Chris Porter for nominating him.

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