Faces of GM

John Gahan: Working at GM is just another ball

August 3, 2010 at 9:00 am

John Gahan is a Chevrolet district sales manager for General Motors in the northeast region who uses skills he learned in sports to forge stronger relationships with dealers. For John everything is about developing a shared vision. As a single father of two boys, the hours that he spends with his kids on the field influences the way he interacts with dealers and customers. We asked John to explain how his life experiences influence his work.

Since playing sports is my passion, I take my cue from experiences on the field or on the court. Sometimes I will spend the whole weekend coaching my two boys – John and James – in football, baseball, soccer and basketball. I was the captain of my high school football team, and the Marist college football team, and learned vital life and career skills from playing sports. I learned all about teamwork and the importance of relationships; and that is what I bring to my work every day.

I started as the OnStar territory representative and solved dealer and customer issues for six years before becoming the district sales manager for GM.

I am currently responsible for more than 17 dealerships in the northeast. I work very closely with these dealerships every day and make sure that customers understand our product offerings and get the best-in-class sales and service experience.

I’ve been on this job for seven years and the most challenging part of my role is to ensure that dealers are committed to GM the same way that I am.

I rely heavily on the skills learned on the field for this – my leadership skills, my knack for forging individual relationships and my ability to bring people together go a long way in creating a common vision for my dealers.

It’s great to see GM’s initiative to reach out through programs like Project Outreach, which bring together employees, consumers and dealers to share experiences, learn about products and receive feedback from each other.  I had the opportunity to participate in Outreach Long Island last month where I was able to bridge the gap between customers and dealers.

I am happy to see that GM is taking a page out of my personal book and building relationships across regions. I now feel an integral part of GM’s vision.