Shawn Samuda has been salesman of the month every month at Audi Gwinnett since June of 2017. Not bad being that he started May of 2017. Aside from his tireless work ethic, Samuda genuinely believes in the brand. Prior to working at Audi, he had already owned 6 of the German luxury vehicles. With about 540 cars sold per year, he’s not only an Audi Brand Specialist, he’s also a client.
Why are you personally so passionate about Audi?
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I love the brand. I’ve owned 27 Audi vehicles in my lifetime. I’m a product of the brand, cause I’m not just selling it. I’m living it, I’m walking it, I’m driving it.
At what point did you realize that you stood out from others around you in sales?
I’ve been here for seven years, and when I got here, the top guy sold 20 something cars in a month. The most I’ve done so far is 65. I’ve sold over 540 cars per year, so that’s an average of like 40 plus cars a month. And I take six vacations a year.
You sell cars, but no longer classify yourself as a salesman. Sounds like you’ve discovered some transferable skills we need to know.
I’m more of a customer advocate for my people. I don’t even look at myself as a salesman anymore, I look at it more of a teaching thing. I’m like, ‘These are the pros and cons, and this is what I could offer you.’ The more transparent you are to people, the more they trust you.
What are some other fundamental secrets to your success that can be applied in other fields?
One thing you can’t take away from me is the work I put in, and what I do every day. If you’re not making phone calls, and following up on your past leads, you’re missing out on lots of sales opportunities. I make a lot of calls, and I take nothing for granted. My phone doesn’t stop ringing. My wife gets so annoyed sometimes when I answer the phone on vacation. She’s like, ‘Are you on vacation?’ I said, yeah. Bills still there, still gotta get paid. If I take a minute, two minutes, it’s not disrupting anything. You can’t treat this job like a 9 to 5. You can’t work and go home.
