Jason McArty of DOW Technologies, this year’s Sales Rep of the Year, said he owes his continued growth to the mentors who’ve helped along the way.
Words by Jamie Sorcher
Most careers are not linear and often lead in a different direction than expected. Jason McArty—12V Account Manager for the Southeast & Mid-Atlantic for Dow Technologies—found car audio as a teen looking for a discount. If it wasn’t for Brett Kitson at Team Electronics taking a chance and hiring him in the late ’80s, McArty might’ve taken another path.
Now, he’s this year’s Sales Rep of the Year and it’s his first time winning the award. His nomination video, he said, explained how his award is “an exclamation point” on a career he’s had since high school. “I’m here, I’m successful, I’m making money and living a comfortable life. And I’m grateful. I’ve had a lot of fun in the industry.”
But just like the many others who’ve been recognized at the Industry Awards at KnowledgeFest over the years, McArty noted his family, his wife, his friends and his mentors for their support. “I thought of walking away from the industry 20 years ago. Thankfully, my wife Simone was there to provide the motivation and kick in the pants I needed to stay the course and let it play out,” he said.
Another shift came seven years ago when his position was eliminated. “That’s when John Yodzis and Dave Elkin at Dow Technologies offered me a position that brought me to the next level in my career path. Looking back, I’m very thankful for that day and for all the opportunities over the years that have led me to where I am now. That’s why it was so special to me to have Simone there with me when I was announced as the 2025 Sales Rep of the Year. It was a win for both of us.”
Finding the Way Forward
Back in high school in Decatur, Illinois, McArty said the spark for car stereo was ignited because of its social attraction. “Guys are chasing girls and girls are chasing guys, but I noticed that all the girls chased guys who had car stereos,” he said. “Of course, as you grow up, you realize how shallow that is. At the same time, it forced me to learn a lot of things. You can’t just go and put in a stereo. You need to know about cars.”
At the time, he said, he had a full-size Chevy truck. He went to the local shop and asked if he could work for a discount on a stereo. “It all started there. Team Electronics was the only car stereo shop in town. It had three install bays with three or four installers and no window tinting.” The shop featured home and car audio. “It was the late 1980s- early 1990s-style stereo shop where everything was on display and everything worked.”
Manager Brett Kitson gave McArty his first job as an installer. To this day, he said, they’re still friends. “He has been supportive of me since day one. He once said to me, ‘You’re a good installer, but I think you would be better as a product specialist or a rep.’ I said, ‘Nah, I want to be an installer.’ But I didn’t know if I wanted to stay in Illinois or go somewhere else, which is why Brett thought I might want to try being a rep.”
McArty went off to college with a plan to major in architecture and minor in math and physics. He came home when he was almost finished, deciding not to return. “I never actually finished college. I just kept working in the car stereo shop. I had the passion for car stereo and decided to make something of it.”
The choice to leave college was all his. At that age, he said, “You know it all. Nobody knows more than you. I had a lot of struggles, and this was one of them. My mom and dad are hardworking blue-collar people and neither came from money. They are the typical parents. They just wanted their only child to do better than they did.”
During this time, he took a break from car audio to work construction. Making a permanent change to construction full-time would have meant health benefits and being in a union, but McArty didn’t want to work five a.m. to 1:30 in the afternoon. He said he began to second-guess his career choices.
“I thought I should’ve finished college, or maybe gone into the union with my dad. My parents were always supportive, but they didn’t want me to be lazy. They wanted me to find a job. I had a friend who worked at an auto auction place, so I started doing auto detail work and reconditioning repossessed vehicles for the auction block.”
He wound up working the same hours he didn’t want in the first place—five in the morning to one in the afternoon. “It gave me time to sort through things and look for other jobs,” he said. “That went on for about four years. It wasn’t the best, but I learned a lot.”
McArty stressed the importance of communication in relationships. His wife, Simone, is one of his mentors. They attended this year’s Industry Awards ceremony at KnowledgeFest Las Vegas, where McArty was named Sales Rep of the Year.
Emulate Those You Respect
In 2005, McArty met his now-wife, Simone, at a race at the Indianapolis 500. The person you marry, he said, should be your best friend. “You must be able to communicate.” Their relationship, he added, was built on communication, “and it allowed us to work through any problems. I wanted to be with someone who understood me. I wanted to be someone’s rock, but I also needed someone to be mine.”
When his cousin who lives in Tampa asked if he and Simone wanted to come visit, they said yes. “As we were driving into Clearwater, Simone said to me, ‘We should move here.’ And 90 days later, in November 2006, we were there in Florida, looking at each other and thinking, ‘What have we done?’”
At the time, he didn’t have a job. He only had his savings. “Simone gave me the same hard speech my parents did. She said, ‘Either find a new job or go back to what you know how to do.’ I was still at a crossroads, but there was a car audio shop down the street from where we lived, so I walked in and asked for a job. I was told to start the next day. I went back to car audio.”
Buzz-Off Alarms was a seven-bay shop with eight installers and two window tinters when it was in its prime, according to McArty. He was hired by Mike Barcia to be an installer. “Buzz-Off was known in the Tampa area for doing a lot of things right. We did high-security stealth-install alarm systems, which were different and set us apart. Everything was the same color wire. We were conveniently located about two miles from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers field and office, so we dealt with a lot of high-end cars and the players—as well as some of the Yankees players because their practice fields were in the area, too. We did a lot of cool stuff.”
Before long, McArty was looking for a new job. He wanted healthcare benefits, a 401K, and a schedule that meant no weekend work. An online search turned up an opening for an entry-level salesperson at a car audio manufacturing company in Clearwater. In November of 2011, he began work with AAMP of America. He was trained and coached during his first three years by Neal McSweeney.
“Neal always helped me and provided guidance,” McArty said, adding that he and McSweeney shared similar backstories. “He started in the warehouse for AAMP and worked all the way up to covering a sales territory.” During his time at AAMP, McArty also learned from Kevin Glatfelter, now Director of Commercial Upfitter Sales, and Jake Acker, who serves as Key Accounts Manager.
“I have tremendous respect for Neal, Kevin and Jake,” he said, adding that he still uses a phrase he once learned from Acker. “He sat me down and said, ‘Look, we’re just moving boxes here. That’s all. What you’ve got to do is find a way to get that customer to buy the box from you, not somebody else.’”
This stuck with McArty, who said he approaches a client as someone might approach a friend. “I don’t use high pressure. I don’t lie, cheat or steal to make a sale. Jake, Kevin and Neal were all the same way. They helped me grow from the green, unpolished guy in the install bay to a salesman.”
Later, during his first year with DOW, McArty had the opportunity to see Neal McSweeney receive the Sales Rep of the Year Award at KnowledgeFest.
“If You Never Fail, Then You’re Not Trying”
After leaving AAMP, McArty began applying for new positions and received an email from DOW Technologies. But at the very same time he was invited to interview with DOW, he got a phone call from his parents. “My mom needed emergency open heart surgery. I really wanted the job, but I couldn’t interview when they wanted. They were able to reschedule.”
In the late 1990s, Jason McArty was featured in this advertisement for Team Electronics, where his 12-volt career first began.
Then, he got a letter in the mail. “It was from DOW. The letter was signed by the Human Resources team, the company’s owners and the management staff. It said, ‘We understand what you’re going through and we just want you to know we’re thinking of you and hoping for the best, regardless of how the interview works out.’” McArty was touched by the gesture.
“When I was ultimately hired, I just wanted to do my best. The culture at DOW is different than at any other company I’ve ever worked at. When I was waiting in the office for my interview, I noticed how every single employee was smiling and happy. Everyone said good morning to each other, and every single of one of them spoke to me.”
He felt a warm connection to one person in particular, and this turned out to be Jim Yodzis, the head of the company.
Harkening back to the earlier part of his career, McArty’s teammate at DOW is Mike Barcia from Buzz-Off Alarms. At DOW, McArty said he’s made the investment of time and effort and he’s seen the returns. “We all support each other and have fun, but we work hard and play by the rules and don’t burn bridges.”
When it comes to finding the right career path, or making a change, he recommended doing some soul-searching. “Ask yourself, ‘Is this the route I’m going down?’ Realize that nothing in life is handed to you. There is nothing free. If it’s free, then the bill will come later.”
The next step is to invest in oneself. “You need to learn. I didn’t know computer programs, or even the most basic stuff. It was culture shock. I knew power tools, hand tools, electrical meters and scopes, but I only used a computer to search the Internet. I didn’t know anything about spreadsheets. I had to learn all of it.”
To be successful at anything, he said, a person must have goals, support and motivation, along with plenty of hard work. “I wanted the things I thought I would never have like a house, insurance, a 401K, the ability to travel, even a Corvette or two,” he said. “All of that has happened and it’s not a brag. I have achieved my goals both personally and professionally because of all the mentoring I’ve received along the way.”
However, McArty said, to state these accomplishments is at the same time concealing “my absolute failures.” One of the biggest things he had to accept, he added, is that “if I fail, I’m not a total failure. I just failed at one specific moment in time. Learn from those experiences—because you will fail, and if you never fail, then you’re not trying.”
“Learn from those experiences. You will fail, and if you never fail, then you’re not trying.”