JOE GIRARD'S 15 RULES TO SUCCESS!

[Murali P V [MU-BC]]

Pre Script: In case you want to receive such mails in the future also, you would have to reply to this mail confirming the same along with your personal mail ID. Mails would not be sent to these group mail IDs hereafter since there would be changes.

 

JOE GIRARD'S 15 RULES TO SUCCESS!

 

 

Joseph Samuel Gerard, better known as Joe Girard, (born November 1, 1928 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American salesman. He is recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's greatest salesman for twelve consecutive years, selling 13,001 cars at a Chevrolet dealership between 1963 and 1978.

 

Joe Girard is one of those rare creatures: a highly motivated man who can communicate his inspiration and attitudes to others.

 

Joe Girard's retail sales record was audited by one of the largest accounting firms in the world (Deloitte and Touche) and checked out thoroughly by the Guinness Book of World Records before receiving the title as the "World's Greatest Salesman" - a record that still stands today!

 

He's not like any other motivational speaker. Everything he says, you can take back with you and use to achieve more sales, more confidence and a better attitude.

 

Born into poverty, Joe Girard sold 13,001 cars over the course of 15 years-not fleet sales but sales to individual car buyers. He holds the Guinness World Record for being the world's greatest salesman. In 1973, he sold 1,425 cars, and in one month, he sold 174-a record that still stands today.

 

HBR (Harvard Business Review) senior editor M. Ellen Peebles spoke with Girard about overcoming personal hardship and how he created thousands of relationships, one at a time. Now out of the car business, he speaks to people around the world about how to sell.

 

 

1. HAVE A POSITIVE ATTITUDE
   Hang around with positive people, stay away from crybabies and complainers, because they will pull you down to their level. If something isn't going right in your life, keep it to yourself, no one wants to hear your problems, make people believe you are having a wonderful time.
2. ORGANIZE YOUR LIFE
   Keep an appointment book so that you don't have to use the words that sicken me: "I FORGOT." At the end of each day, meditate upon what you did or did not do, so you can become stronger for tomorrow. Plan your work for the next day. If you know where you are going you will get there. If you don't, you are LOST!
3. WORK WHEN YOU WORK
   Don't take long lunch hours, and only eat with people who can help your cause, not with other salespeople. Do not sneak out of work early, if you do you are a LOSER.
4. OBSERVE GIRARD'S NO-NOs
   No smoking or chewing tobacco, no gum, no colognes, no profanity, no dirty jokes, no alcohol breath, and men do not wear earrings when you are working. Turn off cell phones - they're irritating. The biggest killer of them all is NOT BEING ON TIME.
5. DRESS THE PART
   What kind of people are you dealing with? If you are selling to blue collar workers, don't wear $500 suits and expensive shoes, jewelry or watches (it's a big distraction). Wear it on your own time, not when you're working - clothes can turn people off.
6. LISTEN!
   People can tell if you're not listening. The longer you listen, the more obligated people will feel towards you. The more you listen, the more likely a customer is going to do business with you. Listening shows that you care. "The mouth should only be used for eating - keep your mouth shut!" Silence is Golden.
7. SMILE!
   A smile increases your face value. If people would smile more, your customers would feel better and want to do business with you, plus it's great for your health!
8. RETURN ALL PHONE CALLS & EMAILS
   Not returning calls or emails are a way to lose customers and friends. Return your calls and emails as soon as possible. If you don't, that's a good way to burn a bridge!
9. TELL THE TRUTH
   If you get caught in a lie even once, you will always be a liar. Even if you tell the truth for the rest of your life, you won't be trusted or believed, consider yourself DEAD.
10. STAND IN FRONT OF YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICES, NOT BEHIND
    The most important thing to do for your customer is SERVICE them, and they will do business with you over and over again. This is what made JOE #1 IN THE WORLD.
11. LOCK UP EVERY SALE
    After you have closed the sale, ask your customers why they bought from you - if they tell you why, they are reinforcing their trust in you.
12. REWARD YOURSELF
    Treat yourself well for all the smart work you have done; YOU DESERVE IT!
13. Prospecting

Prospecting is the key. I once went to a funeral and noticed a lot of people, so I asked the funeral director how many people came to the average funeral. The funeral director said 250. I went to a wedding and discovered the same scenario. So I figured that in a person's life, they had a sphere of influence of 250 people. It was my job as a salesperson to put these people on my list of prospects.

I prospected like crazy. I was a big Detroit Tigers Baseball fan and would fill my pockets with business cards and when someone hit a home run I would say "Yeah!" and throw my cards in the air. I would do anything to get in front of a qualified referral. We need to prospect our clients, get these 250 people and deal with more qualified referrals on a consistent basis.

 

14.  GRIT, DETERMINATION & NEVER SAY DIE ATTITUDE

 

It's like a marriage. You need to like each other. And if you treat people right, you will love them. I told my customers that I liked them, that I loved them, all the time. I would send a card every month with a different picture, a different greeting, and the card would say, "I like you." I would close a sale, and I would say to my customer, "I love you." I even gave them buttons that said, "I like you." People may have had to wait for an appointment, but when I was with them, I was with them body and soul.

 

I grew up in the ghettos of Detroit. I started selling cars in 1963 at the age of 35. I was out of a job, had no savings, and was in serious debt after a failed home construction business, and my wife told me there was no food in the house to feed our children. I pleaded with a local car dealer for a desk and a phone and promised that I would not take business away from any of the other salespeople. I wore my finger black dialing a rotary phone trying to get leads, and that night, when all the other salesmen had gone home, I saw a customer walk in the door.

 

What I saw was a bag of groceries walking toward me. I literally got down on my hands and knees and begged, and I made my first sale. The customer said that with everything he had bought over the years-insurance, houses, cars-he had never seen anyone beg like that. Then I borrowed $10 from my boss against my commission and bought food for my family. So I appreciate every person who bought from me so much. I would tell them, "I thank you, and my family thanks you. I love you."

 

15. LOVE YOUR CUSTOMERS

 

EXTERNAL CUSTOMERS:

 

When you bought a car from me, you didn't get just a car. You got me. I would break my back to service a customer; I'd rather service a customer than sell another car. After a few years, there was pandemonium outside my office, there were so many people waiting to see me. So I started seeing people by appointment only. And the reason people were willing to wait a week for an appointment rather than go buy from someone else right away is because they knew that if they got a lemon, I would turn it into a peach.

People are sick to death of sitting around in service departments. When I was selling cars, my right-hand man could go to the service department while the customer's car was at the curb and get three or four mechanics to come right out with toolboxes and take care of the customer in 25 minutes. Sometimes they would install $15 or $20 worth of parts-a lot of money back then-and the customer would say, "How much do I owe you?"

 

INTERNAL CUSTOMERS:

 

"Nothing," I'd say. "I love you. Just come back." You get service like that, where are you going to buy next time? That's what makes businesses big: word of mouth. If you create it, it'll make you. If you don't, it'll break you.

And the reason I could get the mechanics to come out right away is that I loved them, and I let them know. I made a deal with a nice Italian restaurant, and every third Wednesday I would take all of the service people to dinner-the people who wrote up the service orders, mechanics, the parts department, everyone. I would eat with them and tell them how much I appreciated them, how much I loved them. Once a year, I invited all the service people and their families over to a big barbecue at my house, to eat with me and my family. This is something that all executives should think about: There are service people in every company. They are the ones you wine and dine.

 

[Murali P V [MU-BC]]

Pre Script: In case you want to receive such mails in the future also, you would have to reply to this mail confirming the same along with your personal mail ID. These kind of mails would not be sent to the group mail IDs hereafter.