Just a short time ago, Thomas Kia of Highland Sales Consultant Josh Engle began his career at the dealership as a valet. Now, Engle can proudly say he’s the dealership’s Salesperson of the Year.
“It's pretty cool just to be recognized and to know that your hard work pays off,” Engle said. “It's very cool to know because you have a salesperson of the month, but this is more consistent as opposed to just being good for a couple of months.”
As Engle’s college career was coming to an end, the COVID-19 pandemic was just beginning, causing Engle to finish his remaining courses online. With a lot more time on his hands, Engle was interested in finding a job he could work during the day while doing his coursework at night, and it was then that the opportunity to work at Thomas Kia presented itself to him.
Engle found a friend and confidant in his General Manager (GM) Tom Seely as he was learning the ropes at the dealership. Seely quickly saw Engle’s potential to jump into the field of selling cars and presented him with the opportunity of a career post graduation.
“That's pretty much how it started here in the valet,” Engle said. “Once my GM Tom knew that I was approaching graduation, he started asking me what my plans were. I said I wasn’t 100% sure, and he offered me the opportunity. He said, ‘You know, you're very personable. You work hard, so it's really not that not that difficult in terms of the work that we do.’ That's how I started and got the opportunity.”
This strong set of values is what Engle said drove him to achieve this honor so early in his career.
“I think being able to learn how to take feedback and to listen to what others’ advice would be in terms of how to handle certain situations is how I got to where I am today,” Engle said. “That, and just working hard as I can – sitting by the door, greeting as many customers as I can, and trying to be the first person to answer the phone. Following up with customers is an important aspect as well in making sure that you're always keeping touch and being there to help or offer any assistance.”
While Engle has been making strides in the sales department, he is adamant to learn as much as he can about the world of Thomas Kia. He continues to admire all Seely has accomplished at the dealership, and hopes to follow in similar footsteps in the future.
“I know that Tom's pretty much held every position in the dealership–general sales manager, sales manager, finance, finance manager, and obviously the GM now. There's a bunch of different roles I'd love to try out eventually, though that might take a while. I think that's definitely one of the long term long term goals that I have,” Engle said.
When it comes to his work in sales specifically, Engle said he’s also looking forward to improving his skills even further. Even while wearing the title of Salesperson of the Year, the field itself will naturally have some ups and downs. Engle noted that he’s determined to work hard at improving his consistency to help lessen those fluctuations overall.
“I think that the most important thing is consistency, and I'd rather have that and be number one as opposed to having a lot of fluctuation,” Engle said. “My goal from month-to-month is to be consistent, whether that be the first, second, third, or fourth person each month. I want to be able to consistently use different avenues to be towards the top of each month.”
Engle is excited to take on both these short and long-term goals at Thomas Kia. He’s found his home within the walls of the Thomas Kia dealership, not only because of the people he works with, but also because he’s passionate about the product itself.
“I can't imagine working for any other dealership than Kia. I think I really lucked out just in terms of where I got a job being a valet because I wouldn't be working for Kia if I didn't get a valet position here,” Engle said. “I absolutely love our product. This is the second Kia that I'm on now. I recommend them to all my friends and family, and it's really nice to be able to actually stand behind your product and to say you have the best warranty. You have really good resale values, great reliability, and dependability ratings.”
For more information on how Engle can help you purchase your next dream car or on the Thomas Kia of Highland dealership, visit thomaskia.com.
