“Polite,” “dedicated” and “energetic” were three words Oscar Karmann, manager of Chacon Autos in Haltom City, Texas, used to describe Kenny Bell, who is consistently the top salesperson at the dealership. While the Haltom City location is the smallest store in the six-dealership Chacon Autos organization (typically stocking fewer than 40 cars), Bell is consistently one of the top five salespeople in the organization.

In February 2011, he sold 22 cars, and throughout 2010, he averaged 15 cars a month. His fourth anniversary at Chacon is approaching, but he’s been selling vehicles since 1995. Like many sales professionals, he somewhat fell into the career by happenstance. Initially, he sold insurance until one day when he made a house call to sell insurance to a family (a mother, father and son). He ended up selling the family a handful of insurance policies, and the son (who happened to be in the car business) asked Bell how much he made selling insurance.

Bell told the son he probably increased his pay by about $50 with the sales he’d made to his family that day, and the son told Bell that if he’d been selling vehicles instead of insurance policies, he would have made about $8,000. Until that moment, Bell had never considered the car business. He said, “I went out, gave it a shot and it’s been the best move I’ve ever made.” He said in one week of selling cars he made the equivalent of a month’s salary as an insurance salesman. By his third month selling cars, he’d “caught on” and sold 18 cars that month.

One secret to his success: “I know a lot of people … I’m a local guy.” He’s well known for a handful of things. He played high school football, a hugely popular sport in the state of Texas, and was senior class vice president. He also regularly attends several community functions (including church functions, events at community centers and local carnivals) to drum up business. Additionally, he advertises in local auto magazines and on his personal vehicle, changing his message about every six months. Currently, his personal vehicle says, “Get off your feet and in the seat of your new ride in 24 hours. Only $1,000 down. No turndowns.” Immediately next to that is his phone number.

About 75 percent of Bell’s sales are referrals. Compared to selling insurance, selling vehicles is easier and more enjoyable for him. “I’m doing something that I love to do. That’s talking to people, seeing them smile when they drive away. Selling insurance, you go to people’s houses, they hide from you … Going into the car business, people were coming to me.”

Bell credited some of his success to working for a “great company.” He’s confident in the cars he sells because Chacon focuses on stocking late-model, low-mileage vehicles. “I work for a company that has a great quality product … Most [vehicles] are still under the manufacturer’s warranty. I feel good about selling them. I know I’m not selling [my customers] something that’s going to break down on them. That makes my job very easy.” He’s also planning on staying put. “This is where I plan to retire if they’ll have me,” he said with a chuckle.

He shouldn’t have an issue with that because Stefani Musick, HR manager of Chacon Autos, expressed that she would like to clone Bell so they could have at least one of him at all of their stores.

While it may not sound like Bell has a lot of down time between working and doing his own personal marketing in the community, he actually has quite a few hobbies. He enjoys riding his motorcycle, cooking for family and friends, and spending time in his garage (AKA his “man cave”). He also likes going to thrift and antique stores and finding antiques he can restore. Sometimes he gives them to family members, and other times he’ll sell them on eBay or craigslist. His most recent project was an old chest of drawers he turned into a bar, which he gave to his sister.

He also has a 13-year-old son who plays trumpet, guitar, drums, keyboard, basketball, and football and runs track. Bell outlined his typical day: “My day consists of me getting up at 6:45 [in the morning]. I go to the gym at 7. I’m back home by 8:30 … I work from 10 [a.m.] until 7 [p.m.]. After I get off at 7, if my son has some type of guitar lesson, band, track meet or basketball game, I catch the rest of that. And then we grab something to eat, come back home, watch a movie or … the news … and I probably make it to sleep at 11 or 11:30 [p.m.]” While some people couldn’t keep such a busy schedule, it’s just another day in the life of Bell. He joked, “‘Five-Hour Energy’ is my friend.”

Congratulations to Kenny Bell, Sales Professional of the Month, and thank you to Stefani Musick for bringing him to our attention

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Vol 8, Issue 4