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Lessons from a Used Car Salesman
Feb 29, 2024
My paternal grandfather, “Pap Pap,” a.k.a. Dave Gettemy, Sr., was a used car salesman for most of his life. He owned his own lot, Motor Sales and Service in Bridgewater, PA. The locals still remember me as the little redhead girl in the pretty dresses running around the garage where her daddy, Dave Gettemy, Jr., was the mechanic. How’s that for self-branding? And I never even got that dirty among the carburetors and muck - although I loved it.
My grandfather was a complicated man: he loved people more than he loved his family. I’ll keep it simple and say he gave the best of himself to random strangers, not those who shared his last name. He died in 1999 from melanoma, before I was able to have those grown-up conversations with him about his life and to try to understand some of his decisions that I’ll never get closure on, or an explanation for. At his heart though, he was a hustler, and I often wonder if that’s why I’m one too: first for companies, now for herself.
It makes me feel closer to him to think it might be inherited. And I think marketing for start-ups isn’t that much different than selling used cars. Basically. I'm hired to make sure the vehicle for a company's forward momentum is in top working shape so they can get to where they have to go with no issues or breakdowns. Sometimes that company is a lemon that breaks down on the Pennsylvania Turnpike leaving you stranded (if you don’t know what I mean, imagine going 80, being squeezed between a Jersey barrier and a semi-truck in punishing rain or snow. Ain’t nothing better to make you feel alive).
Sometimes, you’re lucky and the company turns out to be a ‘67 Chevelle Super Sport that runs fast and steady. You get the same high being the driver in a successful business as you do mashing the gas and feeling the rumble of the engine and the smell of octane. The hustle of business and the love of building things were traits Pap Pap and I shared.
While his family relationships were extremely complicated, it was the total opposite with everyone else. People just loved my grandfather. He valued a good laugh and could charm anyone. He was always up for an adventure. Most people back home still tell the stories about Dave Gettemy, Sr., and I still hear them every time I’m back in town. His open personality helped him in his used car profession, and this wasn’t a sales gimmick.
Marketing, at its core, is a people business. It’s how a marketer gets things done. Our focus is across any organization, and that means building trust is necessary to succeed. I love the people I’ve met through my work. I also enjoy a good laugh with my friends and the camaraderie that happens when you’re under the pressure cooker of start-up life. I don’t know if they have Crystal stories. If they do, the stories probably shouldn’t be repeated (Please don’t; I got kids now).
Motor Sales closed when I was 10. The business failed as part of the rough-and-tumble world that was Western PA in the ‘80s and ‘90s. I hope my business has a longer lifespan than Motor Sales. Regardless of how long I get to do this, I plan to enjoy the ride, pedal to the metal as always surrounded by my nearest and dearest.
My paternal grandfather, “Pap Pap,” a.k.a. Dave Gettemy, Sr., was a used car salesman for most of his life. He owned his own lot, Motor Sales and Service in Bridgewater, PA. The locals still remember me as the little redhead girl in the pretty dresses running around the garage where her daddy, Dave Gettemy, Jr., was the mechanic. How’s that for self-branding? And I never even got that dirty among the carburetors and muck - although I loved it.
My grandfather was a complicated man: he loved people more than he loved his family. I’ll keep it simple and say he gave the best of himself to random strangers, not those who shared his last name. He died in 1999 from melanoma, before I was able to have those grown-up conversations with him about his life and to try to understand some of his decisions that I’ll never get closure on, or an explanation for. At his heart though, he was a hustler, and I often wonder if that’s why I’m one too: first for companies, now for herself.
It makes me feel closer to him to think it might be inherited. And I think marketing for start-ups isn’t that much different than selling used cars. Basically. I'm hired to make sure the vehicle for a company's forward momentum is in top working shape so they can get to where they have to go with no issues or breakdowns. Sometimes that company is a lemon that breaks down on the Pennsylvania Turnpike leaving you stranded (if you don’t know what I mean, imagine going 80, being squeezed between a Jersey barrier and a semi-truck in punishing rain or snow. Ain’t nothing better to make you feel alive).
Sometimes, you’re lucky and the company turns out to be a ‘67 Chevelle Super Sport that runs fast and steady. You get the same high being the driver in a successful business as you do mashing the gas and feeling the rumble of the engine and the smell of octane. The hustle of business and the love of building things were traits Pap Pap and I shared.
While his family relationships were extremely complicated, it was the total opposite with everyone else. People just loved my grandfather. He valued a good laugh and could charm anyone. He was always up for an adventure. Most people back home still tell the stories about Dave Gettemy, Sr., and I still hear them every time I’m back in town. His open personality helped him in his used car profession, and this wasn’t a sales gimmick.
Marketing, at its core, is a people business. It’s how a marketer gets things done. Our focus is across any organization, and that means building trust is necessary to succeed. I love the people I’ve met through my work. I also enjoy a good laugh with my friends and the camaraderie that happens when you’re under the pressure cooker of start-up life. I don’t know if they have Crystal stories. If they do, the stories probably shouldn’t be repeated (Please don’t; I got kids now).
Motor Sales closed when I was 10. The business failed as part of the rough-and-tumble world that was Western PA in the ‘80s and ‘90s. I hope my business has a longer lifespan than Motor Sales. Regardless of how long I get to do this, I plan to enjoy the ride, pedal to the metal as always surrounded by my nearest and dearest.
My paternal grandfather, “Pap Pap,” a.k.a. Dave Gettemy, Sr., was a used car salesman for most of his life. He owned his own lot, Motor Sales and Service in Bridgewater, PA. The locals still remember me as the little redhead girl in the pretty dresses running around the garage where her daddy, Dave Gettemy, Jr., was the mechanic. How’s that for self-branding? And I never even got that dirty among the carburetors and muck - although I loved it.
My grandfather was a complicated man: he loved people more than he loved his family. I’ll keep it simple and say he gave the best of himself to random strangers, not those who shared his last name. He died in 1999 from melanoma, before I was able to have those grown-up conversations with him about his life and to try to understand some of his decisions that I’ll never get closure on, or an explanation for. At his heart though, he was a hustler, and I often wonder if that’s why I’m one too: first for companies, now for herself.
It makes me feel closer to him to think it might be inherited. And I think marketing for start-ups isn’t that much different than selling used cars. Basically. I'm hired to make sure the vehicle for a company's forward momentum is in top working shape so they can get to where they have to go with no issues or breakdowns. Sometimes that company is a lemon that breaks down on the Pennsylvania Turnpike leaving you stranded (if you don’t know what I mean, imagine going 80, being squeezed between a Jersey barrier and a semi-truck in punishing rain or snow. Ain’t nothing better to make you feel alive).
Sometimes, you’re lucky and the company turns out to be a ‘67 Chevelle Super Sport that runs fast and steady. You get the same high being the driver in a successful business as you do mashing the gas and feeling the rumble of the engine and the smell of octane. The hustle of business and the love of building things were traits Pap Pap and I shared.
While his family relationships were extremely complicated, it was the total opposite with everyone else. People just loved my grandfather. He valued a good laugh and could charm anyone. He was always up for an adventure. Most people back home still tell the stories about Dave Gettemy, Sr., and I still hear them every time I’m back in town. His open personality helped him in his used car profession, and this wasn’t a sales gimmick.
Marketing, at its core, is a people business. It’s how a marketer gets things done. Our focus is across any organization, and that means building trust is necessary to succeed. I love the people I’ve met through my work. I also enjoy a good laugh with my friends and the camaraderie that happens when you’re under the pressure cooker of start-up life. I don’t know if they have Crystal stories. If they do, the stories probably shouldn’t be repeated (Please don’t; I got kids now).
Motor Sales closed when I was 10. The business failed as part of the rough-and-tumble world that was Western PA in the ‘80s and ‘90s. I hope my business has a longer lifespan than Motor Sales. Regardless of how long I get to do this, I plan to enjoy the ride, pedal to the metal as always surrounded by my nearest and dearest.
My paternal grandfather, “Pap Pap,” a.k.a. Dave Gettemy, Sr., was a used car salesman for most of his life. He owned his own lot, Motor Sales and Service in Bridgewater, PA. The locals still remember me as the little redhead girl in the pretty dresses running around the garage where her daddy, Dave Gettemy, Jr., was the mechanic. How’s that for self-branding? And I never even got that dirty among the carburetors and muck - although I loved it.
My grandfather was a complicated man: he loved people more than he loved his family. I’ll keep it simple and say he gave the best of himself to random strangers, not those who shared his last name. He died in 1999 from melanoma, before I was able to have those grown-up conversations with him about his life and to try to understand some of his decisions that I’ll never get closure on, or an explanation for. At his heart though, he was a hustler, and I often wonder if that’s why I’m one too: first for companies, now for herself.
It makes me feel closer to him to think it might be inherited. And I think marketing for start-ups isn’t that much different than selling used cars. Basically. I'm hired to make sure the vehicle for a company's forward momentum is in top working shape so they can get to where they have to go with no issues or breakdowns. Sometimes that company is a lemon that breaks down on the Pennsylvania Turnpike leaving you stranded (if you don’t know what I mean, imagine going 80, being squeezed between a Jersey barrier and a semi-truck in punishing rain or snow. Ain’t nothing better to make you feel alive).
Sometimes, you’re lucky and the company turns out to be a ‘67 Chevelle Super Sport that runs fast and steady. You get the same high being the driver in a successful business as you do mashing the gas and feeling the rumble of the engine and the smell of octane. The hustle of business and the love of building things were traits Pap Pap and I shared.
While his family relationships were extremely complicated, it was the total opposite with everyone else. People just loved my grandfather. He valued a good laugh and could charm anyone. He was always up for an adventure. Most people back home still tell the stories about Dave Gettemy, Sr., and I still hear them every time I’m back in town. His open personality helped him in his used car profession, and this wasn’t a sales gimmick.
Marketing, at its core, is a people business. It’s how a marketer gets things done. Our focus is across any organization, and that means building trust is necessary to succeed. I love the people I’ve met through my work. I also enjoy a good laugh with my friends and the camaraderie that happens when you’re under the pressure cooker of start-up life. I don’t know if they have Crystal stories. If they do, the stories probably shouldn’t be repeated (Please don’t; I got kids now).
Motor Sales closed when I was 10. The business failed as part of the rough-and-tumble world that was Western PA in the ‘80s and ‘90s. I hope my business has a longer lifespan than Motor Sales. Regardless of how long I get to do this, I plan to enjoy the ride, pedal to the metal as always surrounded by my nearest and dearest.
