The third encore of Gerard McLean
If you have not yet read the first part AND the second part — while I appreciate your enthusiasm — this would probably make more sense if you started at the beginning. But do what you want; I’m not the boss of you.
I sold exercise bikes to paralyzed people
That is the most interesting thing about me and it is true. Sorta. I received a call from my real estate agent who had sold me my house when I moved to Dayton as she heard I was back in town. Another client of hers was in the business of some exercise equipment and they were looking for some marketing help. I had worked for Huffy and they did exercise bikes and stuff so perhaps we could do something for each other.
Ok, I bit and set up a meeting to talk with the owner of ELA. He was a good ol’ boy from Mississippi who had lived around the world, made a fortune and now found himself owning this bio-medical company that made all sorts of screws and implants that you never, ever want to need. But, if you ever found yourself needing them, he was the go-to man.
He paced the room in a very animated strut, while his engineer sat staring at me somewhat bug-eyed and told me the story about this electronic recumbent bike that allowed paralyzed people to peddle a bike using their own muscles. (True! NASA says so!) Basically, the rider strapped himself in a seat and three sets of electrodes were placed on his hams, quads and gluts. These were hooked into a computer that fired a stimulus, contracting the muscles in the precise order it took to pedal a bike. I signed up to market and sell them and within three months, we had Christopher Reeve’s endorsement as “The Care for the Cure.” I was selling anywhere from seven to nine units a month at $15,000 a piece, half up front, balance due before delivery, no discounts, no refunds.
To date, that is my best answer ever when asked in a job interview, “So, what makes you qualified for this job?” Ahem. I sold exercise bikes to paralyzed people. You just can’t fake that skill.
This story is being told here is small bits for manufactured drama.
Book | Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six
