BooksBarbecue
Back Pecking Order
Chapters (37)
  1. Cover
  2. Colophon
  3. ALSO BY OMAR TYREE
  4. Title Page
  5. Copyright
  6. Contents
  7. Introduction
  8. Part I
  9. One
  10. Two
  11. Three
  12. Part II
  13. Four
  14. Five
  15. Six
  16. Part III
  17. Seven
  18. Eight
  19. Nine
  20. Part IV
  21. Ten
  22. Eleven
  23. Twelve
  24. Part V
  25. Thirteen
  26. Fourteen
  27. Fifteen
  28. Part VI
  29. Sixteen
  30. Seventeen
  31. Eighteen
  32. Part VII
  33. Nineteen
  34. Twenty
  35. Twenty-one
  36. Closing Interview:
  37. About the Author

John just stared at him again. He agreed with him, of course. Chip Garrett was a slacker who needed to be supervised every step of the way. But Ivan was giving them a whole lot to think about.

Barry read John’s look and said, “Give us a few days to think this over.”

John then asked him, “And how much is this, ah, new position gonna cost us?”

Ivan said, “The twenty percent commission is still good on the new clients, but four hundred twenty thousand in base salary would earn me twenty-four thousand a month after taxes to cover my twenty-four/seven marketing and branding of Hutch and Mitchell Accounting out in the field.”

John looked at Barry and smiled. “Four hundred twenty thousand dollars?”

“That’s twenty-four thousand a month after taxes. Plus you’ll need to double Mike’s salary.”

John frowned and said, “Hell, you can pay him the extra out of your business. What, you’re negotiating for him, too, now?”

Ivan grinned it off and thought about it with a nod. “Okay, that’s fair.”

Barry repeated, “Give us a few days to think it over. In the meantime, get back out there and try and close out these deals before April.”

John smiled. He said, “It looks like we have some new hiring to do. But I’m gonna tell you something that’s very important for your career, Ivan. You learn to be who you are,” he told him. “If you’re a businessman, you be a businessman. If you’re a closer, you be a closer. And if you’re a killer whale, you be a killer whale.”

He continued, “I’ve been around quite a few people who try hard not to be who they are, and it usually doesn’t work. So when you’re out there deal-making, you remember to keep your integrity, but you do what you feel comfortable with doing. And that means that you may not close all of the deals that you want, but at least people know exactly who you are and where you stand. And that’s the way business is, Ivan. We don’t like surprises. We like to know exactly what we’re getting into and exactly who we’re dealing with.”

John was basically reiterating the honesty-is-the-best-policy approach. So Ivan nodded to him. “Thanks. I’ll make sure to remember that.”

A WEEK LATER, Thomas Jones had finally sold Ivan’s two real estate properties: one for $320,000, and the other for $310,000, netting Ivan $250,000 after Thomas’s 10 percent and additional closing fees.