Business Is All About Heart
Have you ever had to make a big purchase before? Has it been a hassle and a chore? If you have been following me on facebook, you probably know that I just recently bought a new car. Now most people think that buying a car is stressful, overwhelming and feel they are going to have to deal with the used car sales man that will try to sell them everything under the sun. Let me tell you something, my friends, it really doesn’t have to be that bad. I actually had the best experience ever! Let me share my story with you.
Last Friday I was driving home from a meeting with my business partner. I had told her that my car had been overheating on the way to her house. I was like,” Ugh, I wonder if this is the end of the road for my Honda.” On the way home my car started to overheat again, and it was making a weird noise, created a burning smell, all the lights lit up on the dash and the car began to go into emergency mode. Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever had your car go into emergency mode before, but I pray it never happens to you. My brakes locked up on me, and my steering wheel locked in place. God was on my side because I was in the passing lane, and I just had turned my wheel slightly left before it locked just enough to have the car guide itself off the highway and on to the grass.
I called AAA and they were sending a tow right out to me. I called my mom and she headed right out to get me. The cops came and pulled up behind me. I was praying to God that I wouldn’t get hit and thanking Him at the same time that he pulled me over into safety. At this point I was telling myself that my Honda had been good to me. I bought it with 65,000 miles on it, and I drove it for 6 years and put an additional 185,000 miles on it. That car didn’t owe me a dime. I drove it right into the ground. I knew this was time to put old Betsy in her grave and go car shopping. It was more about my safety than anything.
If you are a follower of Dani Johnson than you know the principles she teaches in her War on Debt program. Well, I saved a lot of money and knew I didn’t want a car payment. I had done a lot of research prior to my car dying so I would be prepared for when it came time to go shopping for a car. Well, etc. the car that I was originally thinking of getting was not the car I drove off the lot with. I had to put more time and energy into figuring out what was the best car, the best safety ratings, gas mileage, for the price I was able to pay. Thank God that I have an uncle who is in the car business and was helping me through the entire process because my knowledge with the car industry is very limited.
By Monday of the following week I had narrowed down my search to two cars, a Jetta or the Toyota Rav 4. I looked online and wrote down which models in which I was most interested. Tuesday came and I went to the car dealership. My uncle had hooked me up with his connection at one of his locations. My gut feeling was to get the Jetta because it was still under factory warranty, with fewer than 35,000 miles on it and was fully loaded and would get better gas millage. Well, when a 5’9 person tries to fit herself into a sports car, it just doesn’t quite work out so well. I bumped my head on the roof just trying to squeeze my way in. As I took the car for a test drive, I said to the man (whom I could tell was a Christian right from the minute I shook his hands because like the bible says you can tell a Christian by his fruits) I’m a hard- core Christian, and I know that God will lead me to the right car. He said back to me “Faith without works is dead, my sister”. At this point I was really praying to God for direction.
So I asked the car salesman, Ron, if he had the 3 models that I was interested in on the lot. He went to go check. Every time he went to go find one, he’d come back and say, “Sorry, that one was sold.” Two of the three were sold and one was out on loaner. One of my requirements was that I wanted leather because I’m always eating in my car, and leather is much easier to clean. Well, now all of the cars that I had wanted to see were gone. At this point, Ron suggested I at least drive one of the Toyota Rav4’s to at least see if I liked it because if I didn’t, then leather at that point might not even matter. So I test drove one he had on the lot, but it didn’t have the leather interior. I fell in love with it the minute I sat in it. I knew that this car was the one I was meant to have. The only remaining factor was the price. As I sat down with Ron I asked so what does this vehicle go for? He told me the price, and I froze. I said this is out of my budget. He sat both my mom and me down he looked at us and said, ‘This is what I’m willing to do. I’m willing to go to the boss and work something more out.” He pulled my mom aside to tell her that on our test drive, he loved talking with me. He said to my mom, “Your daughter is special and God is going to use to her to do great things.” My mom told me he filled up with tears. My mother started to cry. Little did this man know that I am a young adult leader at my church and act as the prayer leader.
You see, my friends, it wasn’t the fact that I got the car that I really wanted. What matters here is that I used some simple skills to be able to connect with this guy and touch his heart. One of the biggest things I can tell you about success is to find what matters most to others and let that light shine through them. It may not matter most to you, but this is how you will get further ahead in life. This man saw something in me that I couldn’t see for myself. Why because I let loose, let the light of God shine through during our conversation and that direct honesty connected with his heart. I told him what I believed in, was honest with who I am and not trying to act fake just to try to impress him. By doing this the man gave me a gift that I wasn’t expecting at all. I had no intentions of getting a discount. I went in there thinking I was going to have to pay full price like everyone else. This man gave up a huge percent in his commission. He quoted “you know, my God provides. So a man sow therefore he will reap.”
The moral of this story is. Find out what matters most to others. Let their beauty shine. Make others feel special and important. If you follow this simple principle you’ll be living a life full of rewards and pleasures.
If you need a car I highly recommend calling Ronnie Bonner at Hoffman Honda 860-651-3501. This man isn’t just your typical car sales man. This man is someone who really truly wants to get to know you and build a personal one on one relationship with you. That is what matters most. When you can see that someone genuinely cares about your best interest, then you’re going to want to come back and have repeat business with them. Ronnie wasn’t in it for the instant gratification. He was in it for the long term effect of a professional business relationship and the referrals he knew he would be getting from me. This is important key facet to any business my friends. I hope you can take this as a lesson learned and apply it to your own life.
Until next time,
God bless,
Coach Courtney
