Page 54 - Gary's Book - Final Copy 7.9.2017_Active

I spent the next two and a half years taking a weak sales territory from $4M to
$6M. This meant leaving home after church on Sunday and returning home late on
Friday. I often arranged for the following week during evenings while traveling
and even spent some Saturdays in the office.

Most of the large Fortune 500 companies I called on had much turnover with their
staffs because of promotions, transfers or releases, which meant I would always

have to reintroduce myself, the products and Dow Corning as a top-notch supplier.
I knew that most of the contacts would clean out their business card files annually
and discard many of them. I decided, however, that I wanted them to keep Dow
Corning and me in their files no matter what; therefore, I ordered special business
cards made of metal or a veneer wood. Guess what! At the end of the year, while

purging, they realized how unique my card was, so they kept it. I recall that years
later when I was in management and made calls with our salesmen, individuals
would show me my old business card.

Also, I chose not send Christmas cards. Instead, I would individually call my
customers and wish them a Merry Christmas. I enjoyed providing this special

attention rather than sending a card that was simply placed in a pile of cards, barely
noticed and then thrown away. Another personal connection I made was to mail
them birthday cards. Everybody likes to be remembered on his or her birthday.
What an impression this made!

Family life was limited, but we made it. One night Dow Corning again came
through with a thank you of appreciation when my sales manager, Bill Varner,

called me and said he wanted to take Sue and me to dinner. He told us to get a
baby sitter and pick a good restaurant. During dinner, Bill handed Sue a check for
$2,500 with the statement, “It is yours for all of your support of Gary and the
company.” I drove over 50,000 miles each year and was rewarded with a 15%
promotional raise, a 10% merit raise and a new company car every eleven months.
Achievements were recognized and rewarded.

Bill Varner was a great mentor. There is one special time I will never forget. I had
a 9:00 a.m. appointment with Westinghouse Electric in Pittsburgh to present a new
contract. This was a little over a two-hour drive from home. I departed in my new
red Chevrolet and drove all the way on the Pittsburg Turnpike and kept noticing
the state troopers looking at me. When I got to the turnpike exit, the lady in the

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