If you ask Jose Martinez to describe his journey that landed him in the automotive industry, he’ll laugh.
“Life took me on a weird adventure,” he said.
Born in Mexico, Jose and his family moved to the United States when he was a young boy. He got bit by the sales bug when he was 20 years old. He started in the printing industry.
But a hard rejection – and a random sign on the side of the road – changed Jose’s course.
For 22 years, Jose has been a part of the Garber-owned Sunrise Chevrolet dealership in Illinois. He is now the Used Car Sales Manager, utilizing his bilingual abilities to serve customers from different backgrounds.
Jose’s story is of the Cinderella variety: proof that the place you start isn’t always where your story will end.
From Bitter to Sweet
Jose was disappointed.
After working in the printing industry for nearly 10 years, he applied for an open sales position. He had the knowledge, the experience, and the desire to grow.
But he didn’t have his employer’s support.
“I was not considered at all,” he said. “I thought I had the qualifications; I knew the vendors and processes and had been there for a while. But they didn’t consider me. I was super jealous of the person who got it. This was more than 20 years ago, and those jobs back in those days were very rewarding: he got a sign-on bonus, money for a company car…and I was super jealous.”
Things change. Lessons are learned. It was that same employee Jose was jealous of who gave him an important eye-opener
“After six months, the guy that was hired didn’t make it in the job,” Jose said. “We got along really well; he wasn’t trying to be mean, but he said to me, ‘Why they didn’t give you the position is because of your broken English.’ I was hurt and thought, ‘Crap.’”
Jose took a job at a different printing company. Despite what his original employer had labeled a weakness of his, Jose still wanted to get into sales.
A sign changed everything. Not a metaphorical sign. An actual sign on the side of the road.
“One day on my way home, I saw a car dealership that had a sign out front that said, ‘Bilingual preferred’ and I was like, ‘My English is broken. This is perfect,’” he said. “I applied and got the job. That’s how I got started in the car business.”
Jose was excited.
“The thing that was a burden or didn’t work for me for one company actually helped me get a job for the other,” he said.
Seeing the Sun Rise
So Jose had left the printing company for the automotive world. Now it was time for a different change: a switch of dealership groups.
“I knew someone who worked here at Sunrise – Luciano “Primo” Garcia [sales associate at Sunrise] — and I’ve known Primo for a long, long time,” Jose said. “I knew that he was working here and then one time, I said to him, ‘Hey, I’m selling cars.’ He’s like, ‘Why don’t you come work for us?’ The dealership was closer to my house. It was the early 2000s. I applied. It was selective. It was hard. It went on for three months for interviews. I gave up. Then one day, Primo called me and said, ‘Hey, do you still want the job?’ That’s how I ended up here at Sunrise.”
Jose began his career with Garber at Sunrise as a sales person. Again, the bilingual abilities that once were deemed his weakness were now a major strength – and continues to serve Jose well in helping customers to this day.
“It’s great to be bilingual; we need that diversity,” he said. “The clientele…we have a large Latino clientele, so the transition to being bilingual, it was a blessing. It is important to be bilingual because we are providing a service. It is needed. It makes it a lot easier for the people we serve; it makes it easier for the customers, which is most important. It is needed and we recognize that.”
Working in the automotive industry also helped Jose, as well.
“Spanish is my first language, and I think my English got better as I worked here,” he said. “It made it easy to be able to communicate in both languages.
His confidence gave him the courage to apply for a promotion. But unlike his attempt at the printing company all those years ago, Jose secured his spot.
“After my 13th or 14th year as a sales person, I was comfortable and enjoying it and wanted to become a manager, so I applied,” he said. “I was confident, thanks to having the support of the team and manager. I have been in this position as Used Car Sales Manager for over 6 years now.”
He said the automotive industry offers variety.
“The biggest thing I enjoy about the automotive industry is that every day is something different,” he said. “We are consistent in what we do, but every day, we have different situations and dealing with different matters: upgrading, trading, selling, whatever the case may be versus being around a printing machine doing 9 to 10 hours doing the same thing like I used to. I like it here.”
A Lasting Career
Jose has been at this dealership for 22 years. A career in the same location for over two decades is no coincidence.
He said Garber has equipped him with what he needs to see success.
“What has kept me here is you have a solid company that you work for and they pretty much give you the tools to succeed in your career,” he said. “You’ve got that solid foundation. Everything else comes with the effort you put in.”
Beyond his skills in the professional realm, Jose has grown as a person in multiple ways.
“I don’t know how to describe how much I’ve grown…I used to be very shy,” Jose said. “I kept to myself. But by working here, I just think I have developed and am more confident. It’s been a great journey. A great ride.”
As for that fateful day when he saw the sign on the side of the road?
“I’m so glad I turned into that dealership,” he laughed. “And I haven’t had a bad day at work since I started at Garber. That’s such a great feeling.”
Fast Five
First job? I was a cowboy. I did horse riding. We went to Mexico as teenagers and I was a cowboy. Have you seen the series “Yellowstone”? That was me. I went to a ranch and went to the mountains and looked for cattle and marked them. You chase cows all day. I did that when I was 13 or 14 into my early 20s. I do miss that. If I hadn’t ended up in the automotive world, I would go back to that.
First car? I wanted a ’86 Chevy Short Box. I couldn’t afford it, so my first car was an ’88 Ford F-150
Favorite meal? Beef soup
Three words to describe your personality: Happy, outgoing, active
Bucket list item: Buy a house in the mountains
