I read this article about the so called “greatest salesman of all time” and there were some major takeaways that I had with the article. Joseph Samuel Girard has the Guinness World Record for selling the most items; he sold 13,001 cars at a Chevy dealership between 1963-1978.
The secret to his success was to stay in touch with all of his customers. In fact, Girard would send each one of his 13,000 customers a personalized card each month that would send positive messages to his clients and let them know that he was thinking about them. This idea is called “positive marketing” and made his clients not only feel valued, but they also felt special and cared for as well.
By the end of his car selling career, Girard had so many clients that people had to set up appointments for sales often months and weeks in advance. The secret to his success was to have a simple, positive connection with his customers and have a genuine connection and interest in their lives outside of selling them cars.
Article Link: https://bettermarketing.pub/how-the-greatest-salesman-of-all-time-sold-13-001-cars-in-his-career-d60f15b17ff
BoweryJE22
I hadn’t heard of Joseph Girard before, but I think you’re right: we could learn a lot from him! It’s interesting how far a simple note or remembering a small detail about your client can go. I think he exemplifies everything we’re learning in Sales in the Startup, that to be a good salesperson, you have to have good integrity and character!
I really liked your post and can see how we could maybe look at him and learn but from the book reading it didn’t seem like he actually cared for his items. He was like a and whatever the customer said about themselves he would say the same. If they said they were traveling somewhere he would say he’s been there, when more often than not he had not been there. The book sheds light on his other sneaky tricks that one worked on so many.
I think this is awesome and the fact that he made personal relationships with all of his customers is what led to his success. Having these personal relationships is awesome and definitely helps his position as far as marketing his business and also leads other people to want to buy from him by the happy customers spreading the word.
It’s crazy to imagine that he was able to connect and keep in touch with 13,0001 people. But having personal relationships really goes a long way because this will help in referrals and I’m assuming word of mouth was really important then.
It is always inspiring to hear of an unbelievable success story. Sometimes people don’t believe they can have an effect on the world around them. This guy did, so can you.