Free Web NovelChapter 27: More Sales
With that, Richard had just made his first sale.
Three million pesos.
For a car that used to be a flood-damaged Toyota Vios he had purchased for ninety-five thousand pesos.
The profit margin was so ridiculous that he still had trouble processing it.
Even after Vincent transferred the money and the funds reflected in his business account, Richard remained seated inside the container office for several minutes.
Just staring.
Three million pesos.
His first customer.
His first successful deal.
And more importantly...
Proof.
Proof that his business model worked.
Proof that people were willing to pay millions for the vehicles reconstructed by the system.
Proof that Phoenix Auto Trading wasn’t some fantasy he came up with in his bedroom.
It was a real business.
A very profitable one.
Vincent eventually left the dealership with his newly purchased BMW.
Before leaving, however, the man lowered his window.
"You know, Richard, your dealership has potential."
Richard smiled.
"Thank you, sir."
Vincent nodded.
"I’ll recommend you to a few friends. They’re always looking for premium vehicles."
Richard’s eyes lit up.
"Thank you very much, sir."
The Land Cruiser and the BMW eventually disappeared down the road.
Silence returned.
Richard looked at the empty parking slot. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
Then slowly smiled.
One down.
Nineteen to go.
Business didn’t explode overnight.
Reality wasn’t like those wish-fulfillment movies where thousands of customers magically appeared the next day.
Instead, things progressed steadily.
And honestly?
Richard preferred it that way.
The first few days after the sale were surprisingly quiet.
There were inquiries.
Lots of inquiries.
Messages.
Phone calls.
Lowball offers.
Curious people.
Some wanted financing.
Others wanted to trade their old vehicles.
One man wanted to swap his pickup truck and two motorcycles for the Lexus NX.
Richard politely declined.
Then there were the "last price?" people.
They appeared constantly.
Some never even visited the dealership.
Others disappeared after one message.
By the third day, Richard was beginning to understand why some dealerships hired dedicated sales agents.
Answering inquiries all day long was exhausting.
Then, on the fifth day, another serious customer arrived.
A businessman from Quezon City.
He had seen the Lexus NX350 online.
The man inspected the vehicle thoroughly.
Test drive.
Documents.
Mechanic inspection.
Everything.
Three hours later, the Lexus NX left the dealership.
Sold.
Another few days passed.
Then a doctor from Makati arrived.
He had been looking for a second vehicle for his family.
The Toyota Camry Hybrid caught his attention.
Apparently, he had always wanted a Camry but didn’t want to pay full brand-new prices.
Two days later, the Camry was sold.
Then another customer came.
A young entrepreneur in his early thirties.
The Mazda CX-5 immediately attracted him.
He said the vehicle looked expensive without looking flashy.
That same afternoon, the Mazda left the dealership.
One sale.
Then another.
Then another.
Not every day.
Sometimes an entire week passed without a single transaction.
Then suddenly two customers would appear on the same weekend.
Some buyers arrived alone.
Others brought entire families.
Several brought mechanics.
One man even brought a paint inspector and a diagnostic scanner.
Every single vehicle passed inspection.
Every single time.
And slowly...
Phoenix Auto Trading began developing something extremely valuable.
Reputation.
Satisfied customers started recommending the dealership to friends.
Those friends recommended it to relatives.
Then colleagues.
Then business partners.
Word of mouth quietly spread.
A new dealership in Valenzuela.
Good vehicles.
Clean papers.
Competitive prices.
No hidden issues.
The Facebook page slowly grew.
Five hundred followers.
Then one thousand.
Then nearly three thousand.
The paid advertisements also started working.
The inquiries increased.
The page received dozens of messages daily.
At one point, Richard found himself answering inquiries until one in the morning.
Business was becoming busy.
Actually...
It was becoming too busy.
He was the owner.
Salesman.
Customer service representative.
Photographer.
Marketing department.
Cleaner.
Security guard.
And accountant.
Everything.
By the end of the first month, Richard looked at the dealership lot and realized something.
Half of his inventory was gone.
The empty parking spaces surprised him.
At some point, the lot had transformed from being too full to strangely spacious.
One BMW X3 remained.
The Audi had sold.
The Lexus was gone.
One Camry remained.
The Fortuners were popular.
The Civics attracted younger buyers.
The Montero Black Series sold faster than expected.
Apparently, blacked-out SUVs were extremely popular among businessmen.
Richard opened the accounting spreadsheet on his computer.
Then stopped.
His eyes widened.
He recalculated.
Then recalculated again.
The numbers remained unchanged.
Gross sales.
Over twenty-six million pesos.
Net profit.
Over eighteen million pesos.
Silence filled the office.
Richard leaned back in his chair.
Then looked outside the window.
The afternoon sun illuminated the remaining vehicles.
He remembered standing on this exact spot several weeks ago.
Back then, this lot looked like a scrapyard.
Flooded vehicles.
Collision-damaged vehicles.
Insurance write-offs.
Junk.
Absolute junk.
Now?
Now those junk vehicles had transformed into millions of pesos.
His business account contained more money than he had ever imagined possessing.
And it had happened in barely a month.
The craziest part?
He still had more than a hundred reconstruction charges remaining.
He still had millions of pesos in capital.
He still had an established dealership.
He still had customers.
He still had demand.
This wasn’t the peak.
Not even close.
This was merely the beginning.
Richard slowly smiled.
Then his gaze drifted toward the remaining empty spaces inside the dealership.
Phoenix Auto Trading suddenly felt too small.
Much too small.
And for the first time...
The idea of expansion entered his mind.
