How To Find Solutions & Success with Sandy Cerami

We speak with none other than “The Solutionist” Sandy Cerami. Sandy is the owner of Sandy Cerami & Associates, SCA365 Recruiting and the creator of the 7PILLARS of Killer Business Development and the 7P strategy. Most importantly he is an incredible father, husband, son and friend. Growing up in New Jersey, Sandy moved about 17 times throughout his childhood due to his parents splitting at a young age. Moving from town to town, Sandy had to either learn how to fight or learn how to make friends… Although choosing the fight path early on due to getting bullied because of his name, he later figured out he could make people laugh and ultimately be able to make a friend. This helped him stay out of trouble at an early age and was one of his first lessons in the power of relationships for him. He attributes his mom and dad for gifting him with many incredible qualities like his humor and how to be a great person which he harnessed as he continued to make friends everywhere he moved. He did also have to learn how to be self-sufficient and independent early on and throughout the course of his childhood. Sandy’s work life started around 8 years old in his family business. His grandfather and father were the proud owners of Cerami Paramus, which was built from nothing by his grandfather who started out with just a single service station and transformed it into a booming dealership in North Jersey. Sandy’s dad and grandfather helped shape his work ethic and Sandy did everything around the dealership from cleaning the bathrooms, sweeping floors to wiping down cars on the showroom floor. Sandy always enjoyed the experience of doing work and making money, on top of working at the dealership, he also had a paper route and sold bicentennial flags and knives door to door. These early work experiences intrigued him as he enjoyed the chase and the adventure of the sale. Sandy found his real passion and calling working in the dealership. Not because of the cars but really because of the people and the legacy of being the 3rd generation in his family business. Something about seeing the excitement on the showroom floor and seeing people getting excited at a salesperson’s desk as they were getting ready to purchase their new vehicle, was magnetic for him. Sandy worked in every position in the dealership as he got older and learned more about the family business and the retail automotive industry. He went on to eventually graduate from NADA Academy in 1996. After his grandfather’s passing in 2001, Sandy took over the dealership operations. Then in 2009 GM went bankrupt as a result of the 08-09 financial crisis and his dealership was part of the bankruptcy proceedings. Having to start over Sandy was broke and broken but was inspired by his wife Mary’s words “I believe in you” which propelled him to step up and figure out a way to move forward. From there, Sandy knew using his business acumen and understanding the power of relationships, he could help other businesses out there avoid mistakes and ultimately achieve the results they were looking for. Sandy Cerami & Associates was born and has grown into an incredible business over the years. Sandy’s recruiting platform helps business find top talent and helps automotive and sales professionals find long-term career opportunities. His 7PILLARS Strategy and 7PILLARS of Killer Business Development helps sales professionals become Business Development Experts and has helped business across the United States increase their team’s ability to create repeat and referral business. At the heart of everything Sandy does in business and in life is relationships. The power of relationships cannot be overstated by Sandy, and he is a firm believer in helping others make the best decision for them in their life and business. Sandy shares with us powerful messages in this episode about how to measure success, what to do in the face of adversity, never giving up and always doing the right thing for others. Persistence and relationships are at the heart of this episode.