A slick-talking salesman he is not. Aldo Utria, a relatively soft-spoken individual, has sold vehicles at Hennessy River View Ford for the past four years and within the Hennessy organization for seven years now. Prior to selling vehicles, he worked on motorcycles, a job he said is “way different” than selling cars, but different was exactly what he was looking for when he wanted to switch careers. 

Thankfully he had a bit of a mentor who showed him the ropes when he started out, so he picked up the trade pretty quickly. “After a few months, I was selling 15 to 20 cars,” he said. Today he still maintains that average, with 19 units sold in March 2011 and 17 sold in February 2011.

During his best months, he sold around 30 cars a month, which he said was a few years ago when Ford was struggling and offering customers zero-percent financing for 72 months. “Everyone was getting zero percent. It was like Cash for Clunkers,” he recalled.

Utria is rather modest about his success. “The reason why I do so well is the people around me and the good owners … Anyone that works for Hennessey always works for them for a long time,” he said, adding that he plans to stay there long-term as well.

Joe Chura, Internet and e-marketing director for the Hennessey stores, said Utria is quiet but dedicated. “He comes in on his day off.” Chura added, “He hustles his butt off” and is “one of the hardest-working sales professionals I have worked with.” Customers must recognize and appreciate the dedication Utria has for his craft, and they probably like that he’s knowledgeable and non-confrontational as well (two more traits Chura commended Utria on).

His non-confrontational personality spills over into his follow-up, where he works to find the right balance of properly following up with customers without badgering them. “I call [customers] when I tell them I will … But I give them a little break too because I don’t want to pound the phone on them, but I try to be persistent.”

Since he’s been at the River View store for four years now, he’s beginning to see a bit of repeat business, a small portion of which is from his three-year stint at the other Hennessy Ford store about 45 miles away in Calumet City, Ill.

To ensure his repeat sales increase, he keeps in contact with past sales customers. One way he continues the relationship with customers after the sale is following up to make sure they know about their cars’ bells and whistles. “With all the new technology now, I want to make sure people know how to work their Sync and stuff like that.”

His favorite part of being a sales professional at Hennessy River View Ford is when customers “leave and are happy” because then he knows “they are going to come back because we did a good job.” And he goes above and beyond most salespeople to make sure customers are happy and will come back.

“I work every day. I want to make sure everything is taken care of … For example, if I have someone looking at a Ford Fusion and the only time they can come in is on Friday at 6 p.m., when I’m supposed to be gone, I’ll still be here.”

Although he works on his days off, he still manages to have a few extracurricular activities outside of work. He loves to watch baseball, basketball, football and mixed martial arts, and he stays healthy by working out everyday.

When asked which Chicago baseball team he prefers (the dealership is about an hour outside of the Windy City), he stuck to his non-confrontational style and remained neutral. “I know people say you have to pick, but I like both.”

Congratulations to Aldo Utria, Sales Professional of the Month, and thank you to Joe Chura for bringing him to our attention.

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Vol 8, Issue 5