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Bob the Burglar Alarm Salesman
I was teaching an art class in Sherman Oaks when I met an 87-year old man named Bob. We got to talking and he told me about his life. “I sold burglar alarms,” he said. Since he lived in a $10,000 per month senior community, I realized he must have done well for himself.
“What was the key to your success,” I asked.
“Two words,” he answered. “Charles Manson.”
He told me his story.
“In the late 60s, the only people who had burglar alarms were the ultra rich and celebrities. I sold a few burglar alarms a month, barely enough to make a living. Then Charles Manson came around and sales shot through the roof. The most popular Christmas gift in 1969 was a burglar alarm. People in the industry joked we should give Mr. Manson a man of the year award.”
“How’d you get into the alarm business,” I asked.
“I was born in Queens, got drafted, fought in Korea. After the war, one of my buddies moved to California and worked for an alarm company. I followed him and got a job installing commercial alarm systems in Long Beach and San Pedro. In 1958, the company I worked for went out of business. So I started my own alarm business.”
“How’d you find clients?”
“Word of mouth. My first customer was a meat packing house in Lawndale. The…
