Joe Girard, The World’s Greatest Salesperson Tells His Story

On November 2, 2006, I interviewed Joe Girard, who the Guinness Book of World Records named the #1 Salesperson in the world. Mr. Girard received this title for selling the most “big ticket” items “one-at-a-time.” He has written four books and presents his inspirational story to Fortune 500 clients and companies from all over the world. Mr Girard will be speaking to students on November 29 in Burden Auditorium. I asked Mr. Girard to tell us his story.

Q: Can you tell me about your most important experience replica watches uk?
“I was born in the ghettos of Detroit to a father who was worse than Hitler. He used to beat me, call me names, and tell me that I would never achieve. But the beautiful person in my life was my mother, who always fed me the spark to show me that my father was wrong. What I’m going to talk about at HBS are things that could save a lot of students a lot of time once they get out of school. Once they’ve read all the books on getting where they want to go, if they do it my way they’ll hit the top ten times faster. Because I’m going to talk about things that will save you from taking a lot of steps and help you avoid all the problems that you’re going to face. By hearing about my problems you will avoid the same problems.”

Q: What is the most important part of selling replica breitling?
“The name of the game is the people business. People buy people. What I’m going to talk about has been tested in the toughest business in the world, which was selling brand new cars. It was tested in the firing line. I want you to know that when you write this story that Joe Girard is not ATANA. ATANA means All Talk and No Action. I’ve done it. No one has even come close to my record because they won’t play the game and life is a game. Regardless of what business you’re in, whether you’re in a professional job, doctor, or lawyer, to put it bluntly the students that do not come to hear what I have to say are going to be losers-they will lose. If they don’t hear what I have to say, it’s going to take them many more years to hit the top. Because I’m going to lay it all on the line and you are not going to believe it.”

Q: How do you account for your success as a salesperson?
“The best learning experience that you can have is from the mistakes of others. [During my visit] I’ll talk about the mistakes I made. These mistakes cost me millions and I’m going to talk about why they cost me millions. I’ll discuss how to overcome adversities. This is important because I guarantee that you will hit a lot of them. Life is about becoming stronger; this is how you play the game.”

“There’s no place for second place. As far as I’m concerned, when you’re second you are a loser. You have to strive to be the best and I’ll tell you how. You must sell the world’s greatest product. The world’s greatest product is right in your shoes, right now. I’ll teach you how to read people’s faces. This will boggle your mind. You don’t have to wait to hear somebody tell you what they thought about what you said. I’ll show you how to read their lips, the most important part of the body. I’ll show you how to read their lips like you would not believe. I’ll teach you how to read their eyes, too. I’ll show you how to put people in your hands and move them like a puppet. I’ll show you how to get these people to love you, to like you, and to bring people to you. The greatest advertising in the world is word of mouth.”

Q: How did you go about this on a daily basis?
“So how did I go about my business? The average sales person only sells four to five cars a month. How did Joe Girard average six or more retail cars every day? Did you ever hear of buying a car by appointment? With me, you had to wait from a week to ten days to see me. And people would wait because of what they had heard about me. You must do things that will get people’s appetites so hungry that they’ll wait a year to see you regardless of what business you’re in. The name of the game is selling yourself and getting people to love you. I’m going to show you how to get people to remember your name until the day they die. And this will blow your face away.”

“What I’m going to talk about is not what you get out of those books. Once you take your nose out of those books, the game starts. I’m going to teach you how to play the game the street way. If you don’t play the game by the street you’re going to lose. You will lose. I’ve made mistakes by the tons. But Joe Girard makes one mistake and he learns like you won’t believe. When I finish my presentation, you’ll never make another mistake in your life because mistakes are costly. They’ll cost you your life and they’ll cost you all your money like they cost me.”

Q: Do you think your ideas relate to other fields besides car sales?
“The game is the same whether you’re playing football, whether you’re a lawyer, or whether you’re a doctor. It’s a game whether you’re selling cars. People came from all over America to buy from this kid who never graduated from high school. I’ve learned what the street is all about. I’ve also learned how to love people. Watch how I love people. I’m going to let students get into my shoes and any time they make a move they aren’t ever going to forget what I said. I will show you how to get people to love you. And I’ll prove it. I’m in the Guinness Book of World Records for selling 1,425 cars in one year. The average sales man doesn’t sell 60 to 70 cars a year. How’d I do it? I did it with love. Instead of waiting to buy a car every few years, my customers would come from all over America every single year to buy a car, just to see me. When you show love you’ll get love. When you show hate you’ll get hate. You get what you give.”