While many people don’t enter the automotive industry because of the hours, that’s exactly the reason Navin Kumar, sales professional at Courtesy Chevrolet in San Jose, Calif., chose a career in car sales. He prefers the flexible schedule the career offers. His other reason for getting into the business, however, is the same as many: earnings potential.

After graduating from San Jose State University, Kumar began selling vehicles in 1997, and in 2004, he joined the staff at Courtesy. He moved to Arizona for a couple years, where he worked for another dealership, but returned to California and Courtesy Chevrolet in early 2008. He said he likes working at Courtesy because of the “great people to work with and a great location.”

Barry Rodenberg, general manager, is equally happy to have Kumar on the team. “Navin possesses great selling skills … He has a great attitude and he seems to be always up … He is a gem!”

Kumar added that another perk of working at Courtesy Chevrolet is the dealership’s in-house café, which is where his workdays begin. “After I have [Chef] Philippe’s lunch special, I go down to my computer and open up DealerSocket, and it has the list of clients that I need to call for the day.” He said the system generates his daily call list from different types of clients, including past customers who may have re-entered the market and unsold prospects. From that list, he sets appointments for the rest of the day. “You sell some, and then the ones you don’t sell, you make another appointment and follow up with them again and go from there,” he said rather matter-of-factly.

And maintaining that positive attitude is very important to Kumar. He said, “If you’ve got a great attitude, people sense that off you, and that leads to a sale. If you have a bad attitude, people can sense that too, and that leads to no sale. In this business, you’ve got to have a positive attitude all the time.” When it comes to what he thinks about the economy affecting the car business, he said, “I’m doing real well and I’m making the same kind of money I made back in, I call them, the glory days, from the 90s to the 2000s, so … I don’t see the slowdown.”

Rodenberg also commended Kumar’s adherence to processes, which no doubt contributes to his success as a sales professional. Rodenberg said, “[Kumar] is able to follow the steps to the sale every time and does not try to pick who the buyers are and who isn't buying today … He follows up very well and is consistent in his daily routine. He comes to work to work.”

Kumar’s 90-day sales average is 16 vehicles a month, and about 20 percent of his sales are repeat and referral. One of his goals is to increase his repeat and referral business, so when he’s not on the clock, he’s prospecting for customers by handing out business cards. He said, “I go through business cards pretty quick. I’m proud to be a sales consultant, and I pass my cards out to people wherever I go. And that usually leads to sales down the line.”

Although, one place he probably didn’t hand out many business cards was Costa Rica. In late September , Kumar indulged in his favorite hobby—traveling. He spent a week in the beautiful Central American country in a resort that sat next to a volcano and visited the country’s jungles and beaches. “On my days off, I travel a lot, but this is a special trip. I do a couple of these nice trips a year.” Earlier in September,  he took a shorter trip to Las Vegas, which he said was his favorite place to visit. Undoubtedly, the flexible schedule and earnings potential that drew him to a career in auto sales now help make these vacations possible!

Congratulations to Navin Kumar, sales professional of the month, and thank you to Barry Rodenberg for bringing him to our attention.

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Vol 6, Issue 10