Elizabeth Holmes was the founder of a blood testing company called Theranos. She claimed to have invent a machine that would quickly and easily test blood to discover early formation of diseases and sicknesses. The device was called the Eddison device and was meant to take blood samples and test them, giving rapid and accurate results. Holmes was able to gain the interest of many high-profile investors; she was good at sales but was extremely unethical with her tactics. Holmes tried to emulate Steve Jobs with her physical appearance. She even lowered her voice to be taken more seriously in a business world that was dominated by men. Holmes was similar to Billy McFarland (Fyre festival) in that she was very egotistical and wanted to achieve something that was not possible. Holmes was very well educated and even told one of her professors at Stanford about her idea; her professor told her that it was physically impossible. She was such a good salesmen and speaker that people never even asked to open up her device to see the mechanics behind it. The device was also hidden from the employees of the company, other than those who were working on it. This story is a great example of what not to do as far as sales and transparency. Holmes scammed people out of millions of dollars and scammed the public into thinking she created something that could help them. Holmes was smart and great with her words; however, she was a liar and did not care about the results of her actions. As a salesman you have to genuinely believe in your product, Holmes acted as though she believed in her product that was less useful than a toaster. It is also crucial to be ethical with sales and to not deceive or misrepresent yourself or your product to the public.
By heiseror22
RMcIlwain 3 thoughts on “Elizabeth Holmes”
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In sales as a Christian I think it is so important for both your wellbeing and reputation in sales to be honest and transparent with your clients. This builds trust and ultimately builds your sales.
Hi Owen,
Thanks for sharing. Salespeople are often known for doing things unethically to make their sale but in the long run this does not work out and it your example it definitely didn’t work out for her. Trust is one of the most important aspects of sales and lack of transparency kills your chance of having a client trust you.
I like where you went with this post, but I also want to comment about her lowering her voice to talk to men, which is a telltale sign of attunement, one of the “ABC’s.” This obviously proved to be effective, and while she had some bad motives, attunement is a great way to endear yourselves to the customer and kind of attach yourself to their wavelength of problem solving.