The Toilet Salesman
The oh...so Necessary Guy
by
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Introduction Recently one of my colleagues along with his family was a guest on the Jimmy Kimmel Live late night television show. They were actually in their home but participating by way of Skype. They were there as part of a scavenger hunt with a Thanksgiving theme. It was an interesting segment and my friend and his beautiful family won a forty-two inch flat screen television for their efforts. I mention this event because it is one of the reasons for writing this book. When Jimmy Kimmel introduced them, he also mentioned that my colleague sold toilets for a living. As you watched Kimmel, it was obvious he could barely stop himself from making a wise-ass comment about toilets. To his credit, he stopped himself, I assume, in respect for his invited guests. Toilets are a funny looking thing when you get down to it but try going a day without using one. The invention of the toilet was one of the single most important reasons why we live longer today. Improved sanitary conditions that most people take for granted in their daily life. Today there are millions of people living without toilets and proper sanitary conditions. The death rate, especially for young children, is a staggering number. Even in highly developed countries like India, almost 1.3 billion people live with only 30% of the population having bathrooms in their homes or easy access to public restrooms. Those without toilets find personal relief in open locations like farmlands, or in deep gullies alongside railroad tracks, or along major highways. Information from leading healthcare organizations estimate over 2000 children die each day in counties like Bangladesh due to improper sanitary conditions. It is a sad story but improving the health conditions around the world is not the reason for this book. This is the story behind selling toilets in American and the developed countries around the world. Only the efforts from dedicated manufactures of plumbing fixture companies and their employees that bring these great products to the consumers help to provide proper sanitation to our country and prevent disease. To them I dedicate this book. Chapters 1 Rocks In My Faucet - Training 2 Building Your New Home 3 The 3-1/2 Day Home Show 4 The Length of Three Arms 5 Warranty - How long is Enough 6 Bearded Ladies 7 Sizes, Shapes, and Flushing Types, Oh My! 8 Do You Squat? 9 The Six Thousand Dollar Toilet 10 I Want the Whole Pie
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About the Book
Sales representative by day; author by night. This is the real story behind selling one of life’s necessities. This is the story of The Toilet Salesman. Their official name is toilet or water closet but they have many vernacular names. Crapper, John, or Thunder Buckets are just a few. You can hardly go through a day without one but still you give them no respect. When they function properly, as in flush and forget you never give them a second thought. When they clog, leak, or break, they demand your immediate attention. Selling toilets is not romantic or likely to be the subject of the latest Hollywood action flick. Selling toilets is real everyday hard work to many plumbing sales associates in our country and around the world. Millions of people throughout the world have no access to toilets or even clean drinking water. In our everyday lives, toilets fall into that category of objects we just take for granted. This book contains information learned from almost twenty-five years in the plumbing trade industry. It is tastefully written, humorous, and filled with valuable information about toilets and the selling process. Once you have learned the contents of the narrative, you will dazzle your neighbors at the next block party about the inside story of selling toilets.
About the Author
At 15 years of age, Mike Gilmore started working for his uncle’s wholesale firm selling candy and tobacco products to small family owned grocery stores, gas stations, and restaurants becoming the general manager by the time he was 23. It was a male dominated business at the time and he worked with men who had lived through The Great Depression and World War II.
In 1986, he shifted to the wholesale electrical and plumbing distribution business where he started to learn his current trade. He filled positions as operation manager, branch manager, and regional branch manager in Ohio, Florida, and finally the coastal area of South Carolina.
In 2003, he took a position with one of the world’s largest and most respected manufacture of plumbing fixtures for both residential and commercial products. He has worked as an account manager, market development specialist, and now as a national account manager servicing only one trade distributor that covers the United States, Mexico, and Canada with a sales force of over 1100 associates.
He is the author of the Levels of Power novels featuring United States Senator Randy Fisher. 2013 saw the release of The Senator and The Legislator. His followers will see three Level of Power sequels released in 2014.
He lives in South Carolina with his wife and two cats.