He was a very effective salesman.
(BTW the company still exists, http://cmtengr.com/ is their website. My grandfather was Ray Tilly.)
My friend told me that he could remember faces well, but that more often than not it contributed to awkwardness when he could remember the other person's name, but the other person couldn't remember his.
I have been told that, in a sales context, this actually helps. It fires off some sort of feeling that you need to make up for the social faux pas.
(I am truly awful at remembering faces and names - so have never had the opportunity to find out myself :-)
The awkwardness is easily removed simply by greeting someone by their name and repeating yours without giving them a chance to 'not remember'.
"Greg! Hi! Mike. How's Sarah? Did you find your dog in the end?"
My ex was career military. He relied on nametags. My son has done some reading on faceblindness. Faceblind people often identify people by voice or some other trait instead of by face. Sometimes it goes largely unnoticed because they find another means to recognize most people reasonably quickly.
In general, the sooner I get it out there, the better off the conversation goes. The worst is when I get their name and I still don't remember context. I mean, an ordinary wearable rig with a twiddler and an email lookup would take care of that.
For me, getting to be on the other side of the equation has been a growth experience. People with the kind of innate abilities I had frequently become what I view as con artists and master manipulators. I think they don't necessarily intend for it to be that way. They just don't necessarily understand what it is like to be at the disadvantage. I hope more of my innate abilities return. But I cherish the lessons learned from walking a mile in their shoes. It has made me a better person.
Peace and best of luck.