Excerpt

The Relic – “Mr Dino Sore”

Dino is an aggressive sales manager living in the past. Everything he says and does is based around old techniques and clichés. He was trained in the early eighties using the Pendle system, which was a highly pressurised form of selling. Customers are ruthlessly bullied into purchasing on the day, by any means necessary.

The sales team are expected to close customers at the first attempt and any failure to do so results in extensive questioning. Dino insists on breaking down the sale to infuse his closing tactics. An example would be placing change in front of the customer to demonstrate the daily difference being discussed. “We are only talking about 58p a day. That’s how close you are from owning this car.”

Despite not moving with the times, Dino does have the ability to manage the team. He takes responsibility and helps out with the day to day forecourt maintenance, leading by example. Unfortunately his help soon becomes interference by always having to be right. You will need to be focused and prepared to succeed under such an aggressive old school boss, as he has no intention of moving into the twenty first century.

On a personal level he dresses like he has been frozen in time since the eighties. All Farah trousers and brogue shoes, Gabicci polo shirts and Ray Ban Wayfarers. In his late thirties, he struggles to attract females younger than him and ends up going from one short relationship to another, usually with divorcees over five years his senior.