About Sales | 11
that Gary knew exactly what she wanted to
do when she grew up, and there would be no
stopping that force of determination.
Pursuing a Passion
In 2007, Shirley Gary was serving as broker
and sales director for a respected builder in
Atlanta, yet at this juncture, she had already
amassed some 20 years of experience which
included former stints with a couple of large
national builders as well as a couple of medi-
um-sized, locally-owned firms. With respect
to her expertise and sales track record, she
had earned an excellent position with the
company she served at this time, and, by all
accounts, her life was just as peachy as any
professional in Atlanta would prefer. The
only problem was that she didn’t believe her
position was sustainable, and though the
realities of the recession had yet to be fully
revealed, Gary felt that companies like hers
were going to start downsizing and outsourc-
ing the services she was providing. She made
the decision to start her own company and
reached an agreement with her current de-
velopers to be their exclusive listing agent for
all their on-line properties. About Sales, Inc.
was launched through funds Gary had saved,
as well as support from a primary investor,
her mother. Little did anyone knowwhat was
about to happen. As banks tightened lend-
ing practices and new construction steadily
declined, Gary was delivered grim news that
the builder she had formerly worked for
(and now her main client) was closing down
the company due to catastrophic health is-
sues with the spouse of one of the principals
in the company. At this same time, the prog-
nosis for Gary’s new company also seemed
grim. “As scared as I was, the story of what
was happening to my colleague’s wife gave
me some perspective,” says Gary. “It allowed
me to consider that no matter what I was
