Before joining the sales team at Wolf in 1993, Smith worked in a slightly different segment of the business, selling large vehicles like beverage trailers and fire trucks. He described it as a challenging job, adding that he often dealt with committees rather than individual customers. “Everything’s easy after you’ve done fire truck sales,” he said. The amount of travel required for the job and the number of nights spent away from home prompted him to consider traditional car sales. Smith said he’s loved cars since childhood, and “the sales part of it was just kind of a natural extension of what I was doing.”

Fifteen years later, Smith has built a solid reputation for dependability among his customers, as evidenced by the fact that his current customer base is made up almost entirely of repeat and referral customers. According to Tim Rajewsky, sales manager at Wolf Motors, it’s because Smith “leaves nothing to chance with his customers, and his customers know that, too … he’s always here to take care of them.” Smith has cultivated long-term relationships with his customers by being attentive to their needs after the sale, especially when it comes to any service issues. Smith credited his earlier education as an aircraft mechanic for giving him enough mechanical aptitude to better understand the vehicles he sells and help answer customers’ questions. “I can be a good go-between for the sales department and the service department when it comes to troubleshooting a problem,” he said, then added, “We have a fantastic service department here, so it’s really kind of a team effort.”

Rajewsky described Smith as a “monster” at sales, stating that he can average anywhere from 25 to 40 vehicles per month and has had several years in which he sold about 360 units per year. Smith averaged 27 units per month during the first quarter of this year—three months that can be difficult for car sales in Minnesota. Rajewsky was confident that Smith is already on track to sell 360 vehicles or more this year. Smith stays at the dealership from 9:30 a.m. until 8:00 p.m., six days a week, which he believed many salespeople must do in order to be successful. Rejewsky acknowledged that Smith’s availability has a lot to do with his success in retaining customers for the long haul. “He’s always here, so if the customer has a problem, he’s here to take care of it.”

The amount of time devoted to work leaves Smith little opportunity to pursue one of his interests, riding motorcycles, a hobby that sprang from his desire to see more of the country. Since he didn’t have much time to devote to travel, he fulfilled the desire by completing a trip of 1,500 miles by motorcycle in 24 hours. That accomplishment also made him a bona fide member of the Iron Butt Association®, an organization dedicated to long-distance endurance riding. In addition to riding his motorcycle, he also has a passion for classic automobiles. Smith, who is married and has two daughters, currently owns six classic cars. He said that collecting and working on old cars has become a family hobby.

While Smith certainly loves cars, he cited one of his favorite things about his work: “I enjoy the people a lot; that’s the main thing. It’s easy to come to work every day.” He emphasized the importance of developing a long-term relationship with each of his customers. By taking care of the customer’s every need, he ensures that person or small business will never have a reason to buy from anyone else. After 15 years, Smith doesn’t have to prospect; the business simply comes to him. And it’s more than enough to keep the numbers high.

Said Rajewsky emphatically, “I couldn’t have a better salesperson working for me.”

Congratulations to Scott Smith, Sales Professional of the Month, and thank you to Tim Rajewsky for bringing Smith to our attention.

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