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What do Santa, a Cleft Palate & a Barn have to do with my dealership?

I was recently reminded of a story about a self-development guru in the 1970’s, Glenn W. Turner, who was born in 1934 with a clef palate & a hair lip, which caused a speech impediment. He was born a sharecropper’s son and worked behind a mule as a boy. They were extremely poor, making Christmas time painful, especially because his cousins were far better off than he. 

Every year his cousins wrote letters to Santa, but Glenn couldn’t spell or write very well, so they’d let him copy their letters. The first cousin he copied wanted a bike. Glenn thought, “Wow… I want a bike too! If I had a bike I could ride to town and get a job after school.” So, he copied his cousin’s letter as best he could and asked Santa for a bicycle.

On Christmas day, his cousin got a shiny new bicycle. All he got was apples and oranges, socks and underwear. Afterwards, he said, “I went out behind the barn, sat there and cried and felt sorry for myself for an hour.”

The next year, one of his cousins wanted a baseball bat and glove. Glenn copied his letter. Christmas came, his cousin got a bat and a glove and Glenn got apples and oranges, socks and underwear. He went behind the barn and cried. This happened 4 years in a row until after one Christmas Glenn went out behind the barn, shook his fist at the sky and said, “Okay Santa, if that’s how you wanna play, I’ll be my own Santa Claus from now own!”

Glenn was a poor, uneducated hick from South Carolina (I can say hick, I’m from Georgia) who had a massive speech impediment. Yet at the height of his success in the 70’s, Glenn was worth over $300 million, owning businesses, castles, and even his own airplane.  Because he decided to believe in himself more than anything else.

While kids outgrow Santa, the sad truth is that most adults haven’t matured past the belief that somehow, someway, a person will appear and magically give them everything they’ve ever wanted. Or maybe an unknown rich uncle will leave his entire inheritance to them. Or maybe they’ll buy the winning lottery ticket. Most people are caught in the ongoing paradox that something big could magically happen to me tomorrow. This mystic hope keeps them going through the motions of a mundane life, unwilling to work to improve themselves. They don’t have to try and get better, “Santa” will be coming soon after all!

Decide now to be your own Santa. Be the maker and creator of your desires.  

If you want to sell more units and make more money, stop being the ‘doer’ of your business who’s working ‘in’ it all the time.  Nothing burns you out faster than only working ‘in’ it, and burnout leads to being uninspired, which leads to the mindset of waiting for someone to give you the magic pill that brings success and happiness. When you’re uninspired, your staff is as well. Culture flows from the top. 

Become the ‘marketer’ of your business and start working ‘on’ it. There is no more highly rewarded skill than the ability to make it rain customers. 

Speaking of making it rain customers, whether you need online or offline results, let PSM Marketing become your partner for 100% quantifiable marketing that generates an ROI. We implement direct response marketing for our clients that always fulfills the following:

1. Target the Right Audience – Prospects & customers most likely to respond and buy

2. Utilize the Right Media – Most likely to reach and be noticed by the Right Audience

3. Craft a Compelling Message – Include a call-to-action with a deadline that’s quantifiable

4. Right Time – Drip out media to better saturate the market 

We execute these 4 principals on all of our marketing, helping dealers across the country to sell more units and make more money. Don’t just wait for ‘Santa’ to bring you success.  Give us a call for more information at 1-877-242-4472 or visit www.PSMMarketing.com.

- Tory