The Art of the Hustle (Complete)

Chapter Twenty

I arrived at work early in the morning. I had a renewed energy about me. I had settled into a nice new apartment, I had a job I liked, and I had a great girl who worked in the same mall with me. I felt like I was on top of the world. 

"You see the sales results for this week yet?" Marc asked. 

"No, not yet. How are we looking?" I responded. 

"'We'? I like that." 

"What?" 

"No, that's good. You really seem concerned about the overall store performance, and not just your own," he said. "Too many people are only out for themselves and forget we're a team. In the last few weeks, you really demonstrated your passion towards the team. Last week you dominated the sales once again, but everyone else's sales have also improved since you've been here. We are up twelve percent from this time last year and I can't help but think you're an integral part of that." 

"Wow, thank you, I'm flattered." 

"Let me ask you something, Trevor. What do you want to do with your life?" 

"I'm not too sure yet, I'm still trying to figure that out. I enjoy sales so maybe I will open up my own store someday when I get enough experience." 

"How would you like the opportunity to get that experience?" he said with a big smile. 

"I would like that very much, what do you have in mind?" 

"We have a manager trainee program here and I would like to offer you the position to be our manager trainee." 

"Are you being serious?" I asked. 

"Yes, I'm confident you have what it takes to be a successful manager. When I first met you, your leadership skills hit me like a brick wall. You had such an undeniable confidence in yourself and it is quite inspiring. Not to mention you can back it up too. You're not cocky about it either, you're very humble." 

"Thank you." 

"So what do you say, would you like to be our new manager trainee?" 

"Yes, of course," I said enthusiastically. 

"Great, that's what I wanted to hear. So as you may know, with any promotion, there are some benefits. You will get a raise from $8.50 an hour to $12.00 per hour. The commission scale also increases so you can earn a lot more on top of that. You will be in charge of the daily operations of the store. So if any employees have any problems, they will go to you first. You will be in charge of the scheduling, hiring, training and of course you still have to sell." 

"Okay, that sounds great." 

"Here's your STAMP manual." Marc handed me a thick white binder.  

"Study this. There are progress reports in there that you have to complete and get me to sign. Once you complete the course, you can be a real manager." 

"Thanks again, I really appreciate it." 

"Congratulations, you deserve it," Marc said with a proud smile as he shook my hand.  

"There's one other thing," he said. 

"Okay, what's that?" 

"I want you to give a talk at our next staff meeting this Thursday. It will be a good way to introduce your new position to the rest of the team and give them a chance to learn about some of the things that make you so successful here." 

"Sure no problem, what would you like me to talk about?"  

"Sales," he said plain and simple.