How to sell anything to

anybody - Joe Girard

Presented by Iswarya Murali

17 July, 2009
Agenda
 Introduction
 Girard’s law and his tools
 Selling on the phone
 Prospects’ list
 Importance of mail
Contd..
 Importance of referrals
 Strategies for handling the customer
 When to be honest and when not to.
 Just before the sale closes… and after that.
About the author
 Joe Girard sold 13,001 cars at a Chevrolet
dealership between 1963 and 1978.
 Ranked the most successful salesman by Guinness

book of World Records http

://www.joegirard.com/GirarGBFlyer08LR.pdf
How it all started
 How the stammering helped – made Girard listen
to each word yourself before you say it out to the
customer.
 Girard’s first motivation to sell - a bag of groceries

for his family.

 Knowing what you want will power your drive to

sell better.
Girard’s law of 250
 Girard’s law of 250 – Every person knows on an
average of 250 people who are important enough
to him/her.
 What happens when you make a single customer

unhappy – the cascading effect.

 The ‘Mooch’ (customer) is a human being –

though it’s war out there.

The toolbox
 Put everything you know about a customer into
his/her file.
 Let the customer understand you like and care

about him/her.
 Business cards – restaurant tips, football games,

anything – never leave out an opportunity.

Selling on the phone
 Make a pitch.
 Appeal to the customers – don’t make them

realize it’s a cold call.

 Call back, again, and yet again.
 Ask them relevant questions – most importantly

note the answers.

A prospects list
 Selling is like planting seeds and harvesting
them.
 Maintain a list of all customers.
 Your paid bills is also a good list – a salesperson

is always an easy person to sell to! 

 Make sure everyone knows you’re into sales and

about what you sell.

Get them to read their mail
 Make every mail personalized
 Send “how-to” tips, interesting n.ews clippings.
 Send out cards on occasions - Christmas cards,

birthdays, get-well cards...

Hunting with ‘birddogs’
 Birddogs –> Girard’s referral system.
 Pay them; never stall them.
 Find out people who have a lot of influence on

others – and subsequently, who have a lot to gain

from others.
 You’re actually doing a birddog a favor – the ‘feel

good factor’.
Contd..
 How to pay if people refuse to accept cash (or if
it breaks the law).
 Keep in constant touch with your birddogs.
 Try making every new customer a birddog.
Selling Strategies
 Selling lies in volume of sales – not just in the
profit you make out of each sale.
 A high pressure salesperson makes the customer

buy. Rather, let them buy.

 Greatest challenge – convince a customer who

has turned down a competitor.

 Be aware of the selling strategies of competition.
 It’s okay to lose one day, but never 250

customers in a single bad-mood day –> this is

why attitude planning is important.
Contd…
 Sell him/her the experience, not just the product or
the service.
 Think differently – The insurance agent story:
 All insurance agents after a training were told to

call people from a Business Directory. One smart

insurance agent started calling from the ‘N’s as he
figured most people starting from the ‘A’s would
never probably reach there!
Honesty is the best policy
 Selling is war – importance of the initial small
talk.
 Salespeople are not liars, just ‘actors’..
 Importance of trust not just during the sale, but

also after that.

 Never lie to the customer about anything that

he/she can check back later.

Contd..
 Telling the truth is important, but it’s ok to stretch
the truth a little bit.
 A little flattery, and a small lie…
 People love to show off how good a deal they got -

never make a customer get embarrassed later, by

overselling.
Handling the customer
 Don’t compete with the customer.
 Most common reason for losing a customer –

not listening enough.

 Don’t take advantage of a customer’s lack of

knowledge.
 A customer is a long-term investment – never

oversell to anyone who’s in a hurry.

Contd..
 Don’t ask a direct Yes-Or-No question. Nudge
the customer into talking more.
 Phrase your questions so the customer feels

obligated to help you out.

 No one likes silences – let him/her fill the gaps

in your conversation.
The final few minutes
 Don’t start operating until you know what the
patient has – listen and observe.
 Ask for a deposit right away, settle down for

whatever he/she has(if that’s reasonable enough).

 Give him what he/she wants, asap, to close the

sale – spot delivery works miracles.

After the close
 Thank the customer personally after the sale is
over.
 Treat service problems, and after-sale issues as

normal happenings.
 Throw in a free service once or twice(but not too

often) – it’s worth the investment.

Summing Up..
 There is no magic formula – it all comes with
practice, and a little bit of patience.
 Any body you meet is a business opportunity
 Listen, read, learn – but also develop your own

techniques.
 After the sale give yourself “The test of no regrets

for the customer” – always play it fair.

THANK YOU!!