Ideas para vender ms y mejor segn el mejor vendedor del mundo

Algunas ideas que fueron aplicadas con xito por el mejor vendedor del
mundo segn los Rcord Guiness, llamado Joe Girard.

Cmo comenz Joe Girard, el mejor vendedor del mundo?

Joe Girard se encontraba desempleado, con esposa e hijos que mantener, con
una deuda hipotecaria que asomaba estrangularlo an ms. Desesperado y sin
dinero para alimentar a su familia, toma el autobs decidido a comenzar una
nueva vida, desde donde ese autobs se detuviera. El autobs se detiene cerca
de una concesionaria de autos. Joe Girard implora al jefe de la concesionaria
que le permita trabajar all, que no le iba a fallar y no importaba que no le
diera una oficina ni las condiciones acostumbradas, slo un telfono.
Comienza a llamar a sus amigos y familiares, llama persistentemente. Casi
todos los dems vendedores se haban ido a sus casas. Eran cerca de las 08 y
30 de la noche, cuando de pronto llega un cliente y realiza su primera venta.

En ese momento y por la desesperacin de su situacin, solicita un adelanto de

$ 10 a su jefe para poder alimentar esa noche a su familia. Desde ese momento
y hasta hoy, la vida de Joe Girard no fue la misma.

Desde ese entonces Joe Girard, fue convirtindose en uno de los vendedores
ms destacados de su regin y ms adelante, fue uno de los vendedores ms
destacados del pas. Y, con las impresionantes cifras que alcanz, logr
convertirse en el mejor vendedor del mundo. Ms de 300 autos vendidos al
ao. Lleg a vender inclusive, en un slo da, 18 autos (cifra impresionante
considerando que la mayora de los vendedores, en una poca regular, vende
slo 4 autos al mes).

Atencin al cliente.
Notas de agradecimiento.
Clientes internos.
Birrdogs.

Servicio excelente al cliente

Cuando nos referimos a que, una de las claves del xito en las ventas, es
brindar un excelente servicio al cliente, significa lograr superar las
expectativas de las personas que confan en nosotros.
En el caso de Joe Girard, este servicio excelente al cliente, se traduca en
acciones concretas como:

Trataba como reyes a sus clientes. Si comprabas un auto con Joe Girard,
tenas la seguridad de que si tu vehculo presentaba problemas, bastaba
una llamada y, en pocos minutos, tendras a tu disposicin, tcnicos
especializados en el mantenimiento y reparacin de los vehculos. Esto era
especial, teniendo en cuenta que los dems tardaban horas e incluso das,
en atender los problemas de los clientes.
La clave que utilizaba Joe Girard para brindar este servicio diferencial, te la
explicar ms adelante, en este mismo artculo.

Notas de agradecimiento
Joe Girard sola enviar cada cierto tiempo a todos sus clientes, notas de
agradecimiento. Enviaba trece tarjetas al ao, indicndole lo mucho que los
apreciaba. Realizaba esto una vez por mes y enviaba una nota adicional para
las fiestas navideas.

Clientes internos
Una de las famosas enseanzas de este vendedor tiene que ver con la
importancia de establecer contactos (o lo que hoy se conoce tambin como
networking). Deca que, cada persona tiene dentro de su red de contactos, por
lo menos 250 personas. Sino basta ver cuntas personas asisten a la boda de
una persona, o a un funeral o a otro acontecimiento importante. Casi siempre
se podrn observar este nmero de personas.

Consciente de esta situacin, Joe Girard buscaba de tratar bien a todas las
personas con las que se relacionaba. Especialmente con las personas que
estaban relacionadas con su trabajo. Mantena una buena comunicacin con
las personas del rea de produccin, con las personas del rea de
mantenimiento, etc. Es lo que tambin conocemos como los clientes internos.

stos, no slo le pasaban referencias de nuevos clientes. Sino que,

principalmente, atendan rpidamente y con presteza sus requerimientos.

Por este gesto, Joe Girard sola invitar una vez al ao, un almuerzo, una
jornada de confraternizacin, a sus compaeros de la empresa (clientes
internos) y a sus familiares.
Genial idea? Verdad?

El arte del Birrdogging

Los birddogs son personas que se encuentran al acecho para enviarte nuevos
clientes. Son personas que constantemente estn buscando nuevas personas
que puedan adquirir tus productos y servicios. A cambio de ello, por la tarea
realizada reciben un bono, una cuota fija, una tasa de remisin que,
constituyen un ingreso extra para esas personas y para ti, constituyen una
fuente importante y poderosa de nuevos prospectos. El sistema de birddogs es
una versin temprana del programa de afiliados muy utilizado en la
actualidad.

Joe Girard pagaba $25 por cada venta realizada a aquella persona, cuyo
nombre vena escrito en el reverso de una de sus tarjetas de presentacin.

Algunas de las fuentes favoritas eran barberos, bancos, compaas financieras,

servicios de remolque y talleres de reparacin de automviles. Joe hizo
el hbito de visitar nuevos barberos cada vez que necesitaba un corte de pelo,
se haca su amigo y les proporcionaba un letrero que deca pregnteme
acerca de la mejor oferta de coches de la ciudad, adems les dara varias
tarjetas de visita y explicaba su ofrecimiento de pagar $25 a la peluquera por
cada coche nuevo que le ayudaban a vender.
El resultado? Una de cada tres ventas realizadas por Joe Girard, fueron
gracias a la aplicacin de esta estrategia. Suponemos que las otras dos se
deben a la aplicacin de las estrategias mencionadas en los primeros prrafos
de este artculo.

Conclusin
Utilizando estas estrategias ver cmo, las ventas de su negocio, lograrn
aumentar cada vez ms.

Girard razonaba de esta manera: a cada boda que asisto, en cada funeral que
voy siempre hay un promedio de 250 personas esto me dice que: como regla
general, la mayor parte de la gente conoce a unas 250 personas lo
suficientemente importantes como para invitarlas a su boda o como para que
asistan a su funeral. Probablemente habra excepciones: algunos conoceran
a menos personas y otros ms activos socialmente, a muchas ms. Una de
estas personas, con las que puedo llegar a hacer negocio, representa a otras
250. Si presto un buen servicio a alguna de ellas, existe una gran probabilidad
de que ese cliente me recomiende, antes o despus, a sus 250 conocidos. Y
viceversa: un mal servicio prestado puede crearme 250 enemigos. Si
mantengo un buen servicio, establezco buenas relaciones con mis clientes,
les trato bien y les proporciono lo que necesitan, mi trabajo se ver muy
reforzado a largo plazo.

Girard descubri algo que le diferenciaba del resto de sus compaeros: su ley
del 250, que le hizo comprender que tena sentido preparar el terreno,
creando conciencia e inters entre sus clientes potenciales, mucho antes de
que necesitasen un nuevo coche. Se trataba de simple aritmtica: con tan
slo ver a 100 clientes potenciales al mes, se cerrara una venta con 50 de
ellos. Si este nmero se aumentaba hasta 200, las ventas se duplicaran
incluso aunque el vendedor no hiciera nada distinto.

No obstante, un comprador insatisfecho poda reducir drsticamente el ciclo

de ventas. Consciente de la importancia de mantener buenas relaciones con
los clientes, Girard se propuso cuidar sus contactos y mantenerlos activos.
Para ello, por ejemplo, todos los meses cada uno de los clientes de su lista
recibira una postal del vendedor. Para el Ao Nuevo tambin les llegara la
postal correspondiente. En cada una de ellas se lea la frase Me cae bien,
firmada por Girard y rubricada con el sello del concesionario, en el cual
figuraba su nombre y direccin.

El objetivo de estos envos era que el cliente abriera el sobre, leyera su

nombre en la postal y sonriera. Mes tras mes, ao tras ao, hasta que
decidieran comprar un nuevo automvil y pensaran en el nico vendedor que
les enviaba postales: Joe Girard. El trabajo era gigantesco: 9.000 clientes en
su lista o unas 400-500 postales escritas a mano cada da, aprovechando los
momentos en que no haba visitantes en el concesionario. Tras una dcada
repitiendo esta prctica, casi dos tercios de sus ventas totales correspondan
a clientes que repetan su compra.
La idea de preparar el terreno con actividades creativas previas a la venta,
que generan clientes potenciales y llaman su atencin, posee un enorme
potencial para mejorar la eficacia de la fuerza de ventas actual. El primer
paso supone crear un perfil de los mejores clientes. El segundo paso es el
ms difcil: abordar al cliente potencial. Para conseguirlo, hay que ganarse el
derecho a dirigirse a l. A continuacin, hay que escribir unos cuantos
mensajes que podran ser de inters para los clientes. Estos mensajes no
deben hablar de productos o servicios, sino ser ms bien una ancdota, una
nueva idea, un descubrimiento, una noticia, un boletn semanal, una breve
resea de un libro o algo similar.

Por ltimo, habr que enviarlos a travs de los medios ms variados: un e-

mail, una carta, una llamada telefnica o un mensaje en el buzn de voz, una
tarjeta de agradecimiento, una tarjeta recordndole que sigo en el negocio.
Lo importante es entender esta actividad como algo que debe realizarse cada
da, por ser una tarea que tiene consecuencias positivas para la creacin de
una base de clientes potencialmente interesados.
Si descubren quienes son sus mejores clientes y qu es lo que les interesa, los
vendedores estarn en condiciones de crear mensajes que llamen su
atencin, la de sus amigos y sus conocidos, todos los cuales se mostrarn con
toda seguridad altamente receptivos.

Y saben por que soy el mejor?, dice en sus conferencias, y se

contesta: Creo en mi mismo. Si se quiere vender algo, se tiene que vender
uno mismo, se debe tener autorrespeto; en otras palabras, se debe creer
que eres el Nmero Uno.

Cuando venda autos utilizaba dos asistentes de tiempo completo. Los

asistentes saludaban a los clientes prospecto y los llevaba dar vueltas de
demostracin. Una vez que los clientes estaban predispuestos, Joe se lanzaba
a la carga. Llevaba al cliente a una pequea oficina en donde se sentaban a
unos 75 centmetros uno del otro, nunca mas cerca porque se debe
mantener el flujo de electricidad, el contacto visual cercano, cerrar todo lo
que no sea yo y lo que tengo que decir. Las personas siempre ven a los
vendedores como mentirosos, tramposos, dispuestos a robarles su dinero.
Pero yo soy su amigo. Le doy a todos un botn de solapa que dice Me
Agrada.

Girard dice que hay que poner mucha atencin al lenguaje corporal del
prospecto. Si lo ve muy tenso, sugiere hablar de futbol o de otra cosa que lo
haga relajarse. Joe insiste en que no es un farsante. Las personas olfatean la
falsedad. Nadie que no sea sincero ser un vendedor exitoso. El 65 % de mis
clientes ya me han comprado algn automvil antes. Eso se debe a que los
trato de la forma en que ellos quieren que los traten. Los cuido porque si los
trato bien, traern ms clientes. Nunca dejo de trabajar. Soy el mejor, pero
puedo ser ms.

RECOMENDACIONES DE JOE GIRARD PARA LOS VENDEDORES:

1. Deje que el cliente prospecto sepa que usted quiere ser su amigo y no
le d la oportunidad de rechazar su oferta de amistad. Nunca haga
preguntas que puedan contestarse con un si o un no.

2. Deje que los clientes prueben el producto hasta su satisfaccin. Girard

dice al probable comprador que tome cualquier auto y le sugiere: Tal
vez debera manejarlo hasta su casa y mostrrselo a su esposa. De
acuerdo con Girard, Una vez que la esposa vea a su marido en un auto
nuevo, se sentir emocionada. Y el desea sentirse importante. As le
ser muy difcil devolverlo a la distribuidora.

3. Use los halagos, pero asegrese de que sean sinceros. Cmo alguien
puede alejarse de alguien que se interesa por l?

4. Nunca interrumpa o trate con altanera a un posible comprador.

5. Haga que sus subordinados trabajen para usted. La venta importante

comienza despus de la venta, cuando se asegura que el cliente est
satisfecho.
 6. De seguimiento despus de la venta. Ir hasta con los directivos de
GM para ayudar a alguien engaado con un automvil que no
sirva., afirma Girard.

7. Pida un precio razonable, sin considerar el nivel de conocimiento del

cliente al respecto. Tarde o temprano este se dar cuenta si el precio
fue justo, as que si quiere volver a hacer negocio y tener una buena
reputacin, trate a todos los clientes con honestidad.

8. Nunca presione a sus clientes y no solo porque no es agradable

hacerlo. No uso tcnicas de presin, por que no funcionan, comenta
Girard.

Cmo lo hizo? Con una serie de estrategias para crear y mantener

relaciones con sus prospectos y clientes. Pero, sobre todo,
sorprendindolos una y otra vez. Y es que ya no basta con estar a tiempo,
ofrecer un producto de calidad o superar las objeciones para que te den el
s. Se trata de dejar una buena impresin duradera, incluso antes que la
reunin de negocios comience.

Toma nota de los siguientes tips que te ayudarn a impresionar a las

personas en ese primer encuentro. Esto no slo con la oferta que tengas
preparada, sino con una planeacin (antes), estrategias para descifrar el
lenguaje corporal y facial (durante), as como acciones para dar seguimiento
a cada caso (despus).

La palabra clave es preparacin. Para Girard, la vida es un juego y tienes

que saber qu es lo que ests jugando. Y no es nicamente planear lo que
vas a decir o qu ropa vas a usar, tambin tienes que saber quin es el
prospecto al que visitars (en la medida de lo posible).

Por ejemplo, si vas a reunirte con un potencial comprador para comer,

investiga sus gustos y el tipo de comida que prefiere, si es alrgico a algn
alimento o si tiene alguna restriccin (para obtener esta informacin, llama a
su secretaria o visita el perfil de la persona en sus redes sociales).

Despus, elige el restaurante, reserva una mesa con anticipacin, llega a

tiempo y asegrate que el encuentro se lleve a cabo de manera agradable.
As, lo que das a entender es que si para una cita de almuerzo tomas tantas
previsiones, para el trabajo sers igual o ms dedicado.
Joe Girard deca que le gustaba mirar los labios de las personas, pues
aprenda ms de ellos que de cualquier otra parte del cuerpo.

Por ejemplo, si durante tu discurso notas que tu prospecto entrecierra los

ojos, arruga la nariz, aprieta los labios o sube una ceja, es seal de hacer
un cambio, pues en realidad te est cuestionando o no le gusta lo que le
dices. Entonces, debes aplicar otra estrategia, presentar ms argumentos a
tu favor y darle estmulos diferentes. Abrir los ojos y la boca y asentar
corresponde a la emocin de sorpresa y tiende a ser positiva. Cuando esto
pase, es momento de cerrar la venta, asegura Roa.

Entender la manera de ser, de comportarse y lo que est sintiendo tu cliente

durante su encuentro te ayudar a saber lo que te quiere decir sin palabras.
Pero no todo es interpretar y reaccionar. Adems de explicar las bondades
de tu producto o servicio y resaltar cmo puede beneficiar al prospecto,
tambin debes ofrecer un servicio de primera.

Girard entenda esto a la perfeccin. Cuando venda un auto, le ofreca a

sus compradores arreglar cualquier desperfecto mecnico que sufriera la
unidad. Si suceda, se aseguraba de que en menos de 30 minutos hubiera
tres mecnicos atendiendo la falla, mientras que l absorba los gastos
generados. S, era un gasto que sala de su bolsillo, pero la recompensa era
mayor al ver que los clientes regresaban con l y que, por supuesto, lo
recomendaban.

Quiz no tengas la capacidad financiera o humana para hacer una promesa

de este tipo, pero recuerda que basta con interesarse en la persona,
escucharla e intentar satisfacer sus necesidades y expectativas. No olvides
que si cuidas a tus clientes, ellos cuidarn de ti.

El proceso de ventas no termina con la firma del contrato. Y es que una

venta no es exitosa slo porque se coloc una mercanca, sino porque el
cliente regresa una y otra vez para repetir la experiencia. Para asegurarte
que esto suceda, enfcate en la labor de postventa para saber desde
cmo le est funcionando el producto hasta si tiene algn referido que
pueda compartirte.

Considera que las acciones ms simples funcionan si se ejecutan bien.

Girard sola enviar por correo 13 tarjetas a cada uno de sus clientes y
prospectos (incluso, a quienes no le haban comprado), una por cada mes y
una ms para Navidad, sumando 16,000 sobres mensuales.

La primera tarjeta deca: me agradas y quiero desearte un feliz ao nuevo.

En febrero enviaba el mensaje: me agradas y quiero desearte un feliz da
de San Valentn. As, cada mes la correspondencia llegaba al buzn de sus
clientes para desearles felices fiestas. El sobre tambin contena una tarjeta
de presentacin y otra en la que los invitaba a referirlo entre sus amigos o
conocidos.

De esta forma, Girard se gan un espacio en el hogar y la mente de las

personas manteniendo abierto el canal de comunicacin. Por su parte, ellos
respondan: mensualmente unos 50 sobres regresaban con mensajes de
agradecimiento y referidos.

Hoy, las cosas han cambiado y gracias a la tecnologa puedes estar en

contacto permanente con tus clientes enviando mails, hablndoles va redes
sociales y hasta compartiendo videos por medio de diferentes plataformas.
El resultado: adems de escuchar su opinin, los hars sentir importantes
para ti y para tu negocio.

John Henry Patterson ide un proceso de venta muy organizado, centrado en

comprender las necesidades del cliente a la vez que en vender las soluciones
destinadas a satisfacerlas.

Dale Carnegie, ms conocido como el apstol de la influencia, tuvo unos

comienzos que en nada presagiaban su fama futura. De origen campesino,
era pobre, inseguro y tosco hasta que se convirti, gracias a su valor,
obstinacin y resistencia al fracaso en campen de debates y fundador del
popular curso de YMCA para hablar en pblico. En su famoso bestseller How
to Win Friends and Influence People.

Esta relacin individual, basada en la confianza y el respeto mutuos,

determina las preferencias de los clientes sobre uno u otro vendedor.

los clientes prefieren comprar de aquellos vendedores en los que confan;

son tiles para lograr la fidelidad de los compradores; el valor del vendedor
est optimizado y dan excelentes resultados en la venta de servicios o
productos de consumo masivo, donde hay pocas diferencias entre una u otra
marca.

Un mtodo de venta exitoso est centrado ms en las necesidades del cliente

que en el producto que pretenda venderse. Sus cuatros pasos eran los
siguientes: Identificar los problemas del cliente. Encontrar dnde est
perdiendo dinero, qu objetivos no consigue alcanzar y qu le impide
progresar. Desarrollar una propuesta de valor concreta. Identificar las reas
concretas donde se originan los problemas y cuantificarlos. Resumir las
prdidas y demostrar el potencial para una mayor rentabilidad en cifras
concretas. Cuanto mejor conozca el negocio de su cliente, ms convincente
ser la propuesta de valor de un vendedor. Demostrar cmo la solucin
responde al problema. Resumir los problemas del cliente y el potencial para
aumentar el beneficio. Luego demostrar cmo funciona la solucin no en
cuanto a su funcionamiento tcnico, sino en cuanto a su impacto sobre el
negocio en general. Invitar a comprar. Asumir que una persona inteligente
querr comprar. Si el cliente muestra algunas objeciones, contestarlas todas
y tratar de cerrar la venta de nuevo.

Lo verdaderamente revolucionario de este mtodo fue que, por primera vez

en la historia, un argumento de venta se desarrollaba desde la ptica del
consumidor y no desde el deseo de la compaa de realizar la venta.

Tambin, por primera vez, esta se entendi como un proceso, susceptible de

ser repetido, y no como un evento transaccional nico. Esta fue, por tanto, la
decisiva contribucin de Patterson a la venta moderna.

Definir la venta como un proceso, esto es, una secuencia de pasos especficos
que pueden definirse, supervisarse y medirse y, como consecuencia,
ensearse y mejorarse constantemente.

El ncleo de la filosofa de Carnegie se encontraba la sencilla idea de que la

influencia est ntimamente relacionada con la confianza. Para lograr influir
sobre los dems tenemos que ganarnos su confianza, y sta es bsicamente
relacin. En ese contexto, lo principal es caer bien al interlocutor para poder
convencerle.

Segn Carnegie, la conexin emocional es el primer paso para ganar su

confianza, mientras que el segundo sera mostrar inters en l o disminuir la
apariencia del inters propio. Los estudios de las relaciones entre vendedores
y compradores han confirmado que son precisamente estas ltimas variables
las que tienen ms probabilidades de crear una relacin fructfera entre las
dos partes.

La llamada a la amistad o el hecho de que caemos bien y de que nos caen

bien es la base de los programas de venta de puerta a puerta de marcas
como Tupperware, Avon, Mary Kay o Amway.

Segn Carnegie, debemos centrarnos ms en mejorar nuestra relacin con

otras personas que en venderles cualquier cosa. Se trata de obtener algo
ayudando a que los dems tambin consigan su parte o de establecer una
relacin de confianza, construida sobre una aceptacin sincera del punto de
vista del otro, sobre una comunicacin honesta y unos intereses comunes.

En ese sentido, cuando nos encontremos con un cliente no slo debemos

informarnos previamente sobre su negocio o actividad, sino, sobre todo,
escucharle con atencin. Nada establece una relacin y consolida la
confianza tan rpidamente como el saber escuchar.

Elmer Wheeler: la magia de las palabras.Por ejemplo, con su famosa frase

Dont sell the steak, sell the sizzle (No vendas el filete, sino el
chisporroteo), que se convirti en un refrn popular, Wheeler quera
expresar que los detalles de un producto no son suficientes: el cliente
prospectivo se convence a base de sus ventajas.

Wheeler afirmaba que supo del poder de las palabras al aprender a utilizarlas
correctamente muy temprano en su carrera profesional, como vendedor de
espacios publicitarios en peridicos como Los Angeles Herald, Rochester
Journal, Baltimore News-Posty otros.

Se ha demostrado que la mayora de las veces tanto los productos como la

publicidad parecen atractivos y que el fallo se encuentra en la interaccin
entre los clientes y los vendedores.
Al parecer, estos ltimos no hacen ningn esfuerzo para vender el producto a
los clientes que, una vez dentro de la tienda, quedan abandonados a su
suerte.

Wheeler se dedicara por completo a la formacin de vendedores. As, en

1937, publica Tested Sentences that Sell (Palabras que venden con
seguridad), su primer libro importante dedicado a la venta. En l present
sus cinco puntos Wheeler, ofreci a los lectores ejemplos de su
funcionamiento No vendas el filete, sino el chisporroteo. Los clientes
quieren saber qu beneficios les puede proporcionar un producto o servicio
y, hasta que no los vean, no estarn dispuestos a escuchar una presentacin.

Debemos identificar los chisporroteos en nuestros mensajes y primero

hablar de ellos para as llamar la atencin del cliente.

En la poca de Wheeler, los telegramas eran el modo ms habitual de enviar

mensajes urgentes. Eran muy caros y se pagaban por palabra, as que la
gente tena que comunicarse con el menor nmero posible de ellas. Segn
este principio, hay que captar la atencin inmediata y favorable del cliente
con las menos palabras posibles.

Las primeras diez palabras de un vendedor son ms importantes que las

siguientes mil, sola decir Wheeler. Dilo con flores. Con esta expresin
Wheeler quera hacer ver a los vendedores que deban mostrar enseguida los
beneficios del producto que estaban ofreciendo.

Cuidado con tus palabras. El ltimo punto de Wheeler supone que un

vendedor debe transmitir su mensaje de manera eficaz. No se trata slo de
utilizar las palabras correctas, sino de expresarse adecuadamente para
obtener resultados.

En la venta cara a cara, hablar con una voz montona o lastimosa puede
perjudicar el objetivo final. Por el contrario, expresar optimismo, entusiasmo
y energa a travs de la voz y de los gestos ayuda a despertar estos mismos
sentimientos entre el pblico.
El genio de Wheeler consista en reconocer que la manera en la que decimos
algo puede resultar decisiva a la hora de convencer a nuestro interlocutor.

Girard razonaba de esta manera: cada una de estas personas, con las que
puedo llegar a hacer negocio, representa a otras 250. Si presto un buen
servicio a alguna de ellas, existe una gran probabilidad de que ese cliente me
recomiende, antes o despus, a sus 250 conocidos. Y viceversa: un mal
servicio prestado puede crearme 250 enemigos. Si mantengo un buen
servicio, establezco buenas relaciones con mis clientes, les trato bien y les
proporciono lo que necesitan, mi trabajo se ver muy reforzado a largo plazo.

Girard descubri algo que le diferenciaba del resto de sus compaeros: su ley
del 250, que le hizo comprender que tena sentido preparar el terreno,
creando conciencia e inters entre sus clientes potenciales, mucho antes de
que necesitasen un nuevo coche. Se trataba de simple aritmtica: con tan
slo ver a 100 clientes potenciales al mes, se cerrara una venta con 50 de
ellos. Si este nmero se aumentaba hasta 200, las ventas se duplicaran
incluso aunque el vendedor no hiciera nada distinto.

No obstante, un comprador insatisfecho poda reducir drsticamente el ciclo

de ventas. Consciente de la importancia de mantener buenas relaciones con
los clientes, Girard se propuso cuidar sus contactos y mantenerlos activos.
Para ello, por ejemplo, todos los meses cada uno de los clientes de su lista
recibira una postal del vendedor. Para el Ao Nuevo tambin les llegara la
postal correspondiente. En cada una de ellas se lea la frase Me cae bien,
firmada por Girard y rubricada con el sello del concesionario, en el cual
figuraba su nombre y direccin. El objetivo de estos envos era que el cliente
abriera el sobre, leyera su nombre en la postal y sonriera.

Mes tras mes, ao tras ao, hasta que decidieran comprar un nuevo
automvil y pensaran en el nico vendedor que les enviaba postales: Joe
Girard. El trabajo era gigantesco: 9.000 clientes en su lista o unas 400-500
postales escritas a mano cada da, aprovechando los momentos en que no
haba visitantes en el concesionario.
Tras una dcada repitiendo esta prctica, casi dos tercios de sus ventas
totales correspondan a clientes que repetan su compra. La idea de
preparar el terreno con actividades creativas previas a la venta, que
generan clientes potenciales y llaman su atencin, posee un enorme
potencial para mejorar la eficacia de la fuerza de ventas actual.

El primer paso supone crear un perfil de los mejores clientes. El segundo paso
es el ms difcil: abordar al cliente potencial. Para conseguirlo, hay que
ganarse el derecho a dirigirse a l. A continuacin, hay que escribir unos
cuantos mensajes que podran ser de inters para los clientes. Estos
mensajes no deben hablar de productos o servicios, sino ser ms bien una
ancdota, una nueva idea, un descubrimiento, una noticia, una breve resea
de un libro o algo similar.

Por ltimo, habr que enviarlos a travs de los medios ms variados: un e-

mail, una carta, una llamada telefnica o un mensaje en el buzn de voz. Lo
importante es entender esta actividad como algo que debe realizarse cada
da, por ser una tarea que tiene consecuencias positivas para la creacin de
una base de clientes potencialmente interesados. Si descubren quines son
sus mejores clientes y qu es lo que les interesa, los vendedores estarn en
condiciones de crear mensajes que llamen su atencin, la de sus amigos y sus
conocidos, todos los cuales se mostrarn con toda seguridad altamente
receptivos.

Conclusin: mirar atrs para mirar hacia delante.

SECRETO DE VENTA NRO. 1: EL CLIENTE ES EL REY

Joe Girard jams olvid lo que un cliente hizo por l esa noche. Y, por eso, se desviva por
los clientes. Les trataba como a reyes. Les recordaba constantemente el aprecio que les
tena. Si un cliente llamaba porque su auto haba sufrido un percance, l inmediatamente
haca llegar mecnicos en su auxilio. Y, si los gastos eran de corte menor, l los cubra de
su bolsillo. Sola enviar tarjetas trece veces al ao a cada uno de sus clientes, hacindoles
saber lo importante que eran para l. Los clientes hacan fila, esperando a que los atendiera
Joe Girard, a veces esperaban semanas, porque saban de la atencin que reciban y adems
que no slo se llevaban un auto, sino se llevaban un Joe Girard, como el propio
protagonista de la historia, lo deca.
SECRETO DE VENTA NRO. 2: NO SE OLVIDE DE SUS COMPAEROS DE OTRAS REAS
DE LA EMPRESA

Sabe por qu los mecnicos corran rpidamente a auxiliar los autos de los clientes de Joe Girard?
Porque l tena una excelente relacin con los dems compaeros de trabajo. Les llevaba a comer una
vez al mes. Y, no slo eso, a ellos y sus familias les invitaba a un dia de esparcimiento, corriendo todos
los gastos por Joe Girard. Como vendedor, no olvide ese factor, la "relacin con otras reas de la
empresa".

SECRETO DE VENTA NRO. 3: LOS BIRDDOGS

Joe Girard fue de esos locos, adelantados a su tiempo. Una de las tcnicas que utilizaba para obtener
nuevos clientes, se llama la tcnica de los birddogs. Esta tcnica consista en obtener nuevos clientes a
partir de la referencia que otras personas hacan y, a cambio, los que referan, obtenan un dinero extra.
El proceso era algo similar al siguiente: Joe Girard entraba a las peluqueras y entregaba sus tarjetas a los
peluqueros, les deca que estampen su firma en la tarjeta y, por cada venta que realice Joe Girard, a un
cliente que haya venido con esa tarjeta firmada, el peluquero recibira una comisin. Qu gran idea!.
Todo un ejrcito de personas trabajando para que Joe Girard siga vendiendo ms y ms. Una mquina
automtica de generar y generar prospectos.

Algunas de sus recomendaciones son:

-Deje que el cliente prospecto sepa que usted quiere ser su amigo y no le d
la oportunidad de rechazar su oferta de amistad. Nunca haga preguntas que
puedan contestarse con un s o un no.

-Deje que los clientes prueben el producto hasta su satisfaccin. Girard dice
al probable comprador que tome cualquier auto y le sugiere: Tal vez debera
manejarlo hasta su casa y mostrrselo a su esposa. De acuerdo con Girard,
una vez que la esposa vea a su marido en un auto nuevo, se sentir
emocionada. Y l desea sentirse importante. As le ser muy difcil devolverlo
a la distribuidora.

-*Use los halagos*, pero asegrese de que sean sinceros. Cmo alguien
puede alejarse de alguien que se interesa por l?

-Nunca interrumpa o trate con altanera a un posible comprador.

-Haga que sus subordinados trabajen para usted. La venta importante

comienza despus de la venta, cuando se asegura que el cliente est
satisfecho.
-*D seguimiento despus de la venta*. Ir hasta con los directivos de GM
para ayudar a alguien engaado con un automvil que no sirva, afirma
Girard.

-*Pida un precio razonable*, sin considerar el nivel de conocimiento del

cliente al respecto. Tarde o temprano este se dar cuenta si el precio fue
justo, as que si quiere volver a hacer negocio y tener una buena reputacin,
trate a todos los clientes con honestidad.

-*Nunca presione a sus clientes* y no solo porque no es agradable hacerlo.

No uso tcnicas de presin porque no funcionan, comenta Girard.

Cmo es posible vender un promedio de seis autos diarios, cuando la

mayora vende cinco por mes? Joe Girard responde: Cuando usted me
compra un automvil, no slo obtiene un vehculo. Me obtiene a m, Joe
Girard. Yo me romper el lomo para atender a un cliente. Prefiero atender
bien a un cliente antes que vender otro automvil.

Organiza: Patrocina: Apoya: 5 Luego de algunos aos, haba siempre grandes

filas frente a mi oficina de clientes esperando ser atendidos. Gran cantidad
de gente quera verme. Por lo tanto, comenc a ver clientes slo por cita
previa. Y la razn por la cual un cliente estaba dispuesto a esperar una
semana para entrevistarse conmigo, era porque saba que si su automvil no
era bueno, yo se lo transformara en algo excelente. Los clientes estn hartos
de aguardar a que les arreglen su vehculo. Cuando venda automviles, mi
ayudante principal sola ir al departamento de reparaciones mientras el
automvil del cliente estaba en la calle, para conseguir que tres o cuatro
mecnicos aparecieran con sus cajas de herramientas y se hicieran cargo de
la reparacin en 25 minutos. En ocasiones ellos instalaban repuestos que
valan 15 o 20 dlares, en esa poca una gran cantidad de dinero, y el cliente
sola preguntar: Cunto le debo?. Y yo le responda, Nada. Yo lo amo. Lo
nico que le pido es que retorne.

Si una persona recibe un servicio de esa clase, volver por ms. Y eso es lo
que hace grande un negocio: estar de boca en boca. Y la razn de que los
mecnicos venan de inmediato a atender a los clientes era que los amaba, y
ellos lo saban.

Hice en cierta ocasin un arreglo con un excelente restaurante italiano. Una

vez cada tres semanas, un mircoles, llevaba a cenar a todos los mecnicos.
Yo coma con ellos y les informaba del afecto que les tena. Y una vez por
ao, invitaba a todos los mecnicos y a sus familias a comer un gigantesco
asado en mi casa.

Eso es algo en que deben pensar todos los ejecutivos. En cada compaa hay
personas que atienden las necesidades de los clientes. Y a esas personas hay
que agasajarlas.

Cmo empez a vender autos? Crec en una zona marginal de Detroit.

Comenc a vender automviles en 1963 a los 35 aos de edad. No tena
trabajo, careca de ahorros, y haba contrado fuertes deudas tras fracasar
con una empresa de construccin de viviendas. Y mi esposa me dijo que no
haba comida en la casa para alimentar a los nios. Le ped a un
concesionario de automviles local que me permitiera usar un telfono y un
escritorio. Y le promet que no le quitara el trabajo a ninguno de los
empleados. Me qued el dedo negro de tanto discar un telfono, tratando de
conseguir clientes. Y esa noche, cuando todos los vendedores ya se haban
ido a su casa, vi que un cliente ingresaba a la concesionaria. Lo que vi era una
bolsa llena de comestibles que avanzaba hacia m. Y literalmente me puse de
rodillas y rogu, e hice mi primera venta. El cliente me dijo que haba
comprado seguros, viviendas y automviles, pero nunca haba visto un
vendedor implorando como lo haba hecho yo.

Luego ped a mi jefe prestado 10 dlares, parte de mi comisin, y compr

comida para mi familia. Por lo tanto, tengo gran aprecio por toda persona
que me compraba un vehculo. Y siempre les deca: Gracias, y mi familia
tambin le agradece.

Girard cada maana cuando se levanta, se mira al espejo y se dice: Eres el

mejor tipo y el ms guapo de todo el mundo.. Incluso usa un alfiler de oro
en su solapa que lo proclama como el No. 1. Y saben por qu soy el
mejor?, dice en sus conferencias, y se contesta: Creo en m mismo. Si se
quiere vender algo, se tiene que vender uno mismo, se debe tener
autorrespeto; en otras palabras, se debe creer que eres el Nmero Uno.

Los clientes me agradan Cuando venda autos utilizaba dos asistentes de

tiempo completo. Los asistentes saludaban a los clientes prospecto y los
llevaba dar vueltas de demostracin. Una vez que los clientes estaban
predispuestos, Joe se lanzaba a la carga. Llevaba al cliente a una pequea
oficina en donde se sentaban a unos 75 centmetros uno del otro, nunca ms
cerca porque se debe mantener el flujo de electricidad, el contacto visual
cercano, cerrar todo lo que no sea yo y lo que tengo que decir.

Las personas siempre ven a los vendedores como mentirosos, tramposos,

dispuestos a robarles su dinero. Pero yo soy su amigo. Le doy a todos un
botn de solapa que dice: Me Agrada. Girard dice que hay que poner mucha
atencin al lenguaje corporal del prospecto. Si lo ve muy tenso, sugiere
hablar de futbol o de otra cosa que lo haga relajarse. Joe insiste en que no es
un farsante.

Las personas olfatean la falsedad. Nadie que no sea sincero ser un

vendedor exitoso. El 65 % de mis clientes ya me han comprado algn
automvil antes. Eso se debe a que los trato de la forma en que ellos quieren
que los traten. Los cuido porque si los trato bien, traern ms clientes. Nunca
dejo de trabajar. Soy el mejor, pero puedo ser ms.

Recomendaciones para los vendedores: 1. Deje que el cliente prospecto sepa

que usted quiere ser su amigo y no le d la oportunidad de rechazar su oferta
de amistad. Nunca haga preguntas que puedan contestarse con un s o un no.
2. Deje que los clientes prueben el producto hasta su satisfaccin. Girard dice
al probable comprador que tome cualquier auto y le sugiere: Tal vez debera
manejarlo hasta su casa y mostrrselo a su esposa. De acuerdo con Girard,
Una vez que la esposa vea a su marido en un auto nuevo, se sentir
emocionada. Y l desea sentirse importante. As le ser muy difcil devolverlo
a la distribuidora. 3. Use los halagos, pero asegrese de que sean sinceros.
Cmo alguien puede alejarse de alguien que se interesa por l? 4. Nunca
interrumpa o trate con altanera a un posible comprador. 5. Haga que sus
subordinados trabajen para usted. La venta importante comienza despus de
la venta, cuando se asegura que el cliente est satisfecho.

De seguimiento despus de la venta. Ir hasta con los directivos de GM para

ayudar a alguien engaado con un automvil que no sirva., afirma Girard. 7.
Pida un precio razonable, sin considerar el nivel de conocimiento del cliente
al respecto. Tarde o temprano este se dar cuenta si el precio fue justo, as
que si quiere volver a hacer negocio y tener una buena reputacin, trate a
todos los clientes con honestidad. 8. Nunca presione a sus clientes y no solo
porque no es agradable hacerlo. No uso tcnicas de presin, porque no
funcionan, comenta Girard.

Al explicar el secreto de su xito, Joe dijo: "Yo mando ms de trece mil

tarjetas al mes. Hay una cosa que yo hago y que muchos vendedores no
hacen: pensar que la venta empieza realmente despus de la venta, no
antes...el cliente no ha salido todava y ya mi hijo le ha escrito una nota de
agradecimiento". Generalmente Joe intercede personalmente, un ao
despus, con el gerente de servicio despus de la venta a favor de su cliente.

En el intervalo mantiene el contacto: No hay posibilidad de que los clientes

de Joe lo olviden despus de haberle comprado un coche. l no los deja!

Todos los meses les enva una carta. Esta les llega en un sobre sencillo,
siempre de tamaos o colores diferentes, "que no se parece en nada a esa
clase de correo que se tira an sin abrir", confiesa Joe. La abren y en la
primera pgina leen: "Usted me gusta". En el interior dice: "Feliz ao nuevo le
desea Joe Girard", o el evento que coincida con ese mes. A los clientes les
encantan estas tarjetas.

Orgullosamente Joe dice: "Si oyera usted los comentarios que me hacen".
Fuera de contexto, las 13.000 tarjetas de Joe parecen otro truco comercial.
Pero a semejanza de las mejores compaas, Joe se preocupa sinceramente
por sus clientes.
Dice l: "De las cocinas de los grandes restaurantes brotan amor y cuidado...y
cuando yo vendo un auto quiero que mi cliente, al salir, sienta lo mismo que
cuando sale de un gran restaurante". El sentido de atencin de Joe sigue
vigente despus de la venta: "Cuando un cliente regresa para que se le preste
un servicio despus de la venta, yo lucho porque reciba el mejor...hay que ser
como un mdico. Si su auto tiene alguna falla, uno sufre por l". Adems Joe
se ocupa de cada cliente, tratndolo como individuo. No habla de
estadsticas, pero recalca que ha vendido "uno a la vez, frente a frente".

Dice: "Ellos no me molestan ni me importunan. Son los que me dan para

vivir". La pregunta ahora es Qu est haciendo usted ahora por sus clientes?
Si la respuesta es NADA que espera para empezar a hacer algo por ellos!

Recuerde que si sigue haciendo lo mismo...sencillamente seguir obteniendo

los mismos resultados.

Cmo abrir la venta? No empiece la venta vendiendo!!

La preparacin es importante, antes de que llegue el cliente a la playa de

ventas, usted tiene varias tareas que realizar: revisar los vehculos, identificar
las caractersticas y peculiaridades, ver el estado en que se encuentran y
probarlos la primera vez, mantener limpios los vehculos y con la mejor
apariencia posible. Adems deber ver las condiciones de venta, las
condiciones de financiacin y otros detalles que hagan a la venta.

Aprenda todo lo que pueda sobre cada marca y modelo, le ayudar a la hora
de brindar informacin o responder preguntas de los clientes.

Cuide su apariencia personal: bese diariamente, cuide su cabello y sus

uas, mantenga su rostro bien afeitado, use ropa de la mejor calidad posible,
cuide su calzado.

Preprese emocionalmente: pngase en actitud positiva, sonra, practique el

tono de su voz. Piense que para su potencial cliente no es slo comprar un
auto u otro tipo de vehculo, va a ser la compra ms importante en su vida,
despus de la casa. Ayude a su cliente a elegir de la mejor manera posible y
esfurcese porque lleve lo que vino a buscar.

Al abrir la playa, el local deber estar limpio, las cosas ordenadas, los autos
impecables y usted listo para arrancar el mejor da de su vida. Cuando un
cliente llegue a la playa, rompa el hielo, hable de cosas que no tienen que ver
con la venta y luego intersese por lo que el cliente busca.

Una vez ms recuerde sonrer. Haga preguntas No haga preguntas cerradas

que permitan respuestas como s o no, haga preguntas abiertas tales
cmo qu clase de auto suele manejar? o por dnde suele usted
manejar o viajar? Una vez que el cliente le haya dado informacin
importante, personalice la presentacin del auto, hblele al cliente como si
fuera su auto. Entusiasme al cliente con el vehculo que le est mostrando,
haga que se suba y lo arranque. Permtale prender la radio y el
acondicionador, esto le permitir ir sintiendo el vehculo como suyo.

Cmo cerrar una buena venta Una vez que el cliente eligi un vehculo, haga
que pase a la oficina, se siente, tome agua o caf y converse con usted sobre
detalles como que quiere, cmo piensa pagar, si est conforme con lo que
prob luego prepare los papeles de venta y haga que el cliente firme un
compromiso de acuerdo. Tome los datos del cliente: nombre y telfono
(preferentemente su celular), deje pasar un da y llmelo, busque horas en
los que no moleste.

Pida el correo y envele ms informacin sobre el vehculo o sobre la marca.

Enve un correo cada 3 o 4 das, pero nunca el mismo. Alterne entre
informacin sobre el vehculo, sobre aspectos administrativos o sobre las
caractersticas del modelo en general. Puede hacer la siguiente llamada para
preguntas si recibi el correo. Si el cliente no est tomando una decisin,
vuelva a invitarlo a la playa, mustrele novedades y mustrele de nuevo su
vehculo

Salesmen are made, not born. If I did it, you can do it. I guarantee it says
Mr Joe Girard, .
Some salient points from Girards book are given below: - 1 Winning
Bloodless Victories When a salesman sells there is no loser. Both the buyer
and the seller win if its a good sale. If you think the sale ends when ,like
they say in the car business , you see the customers taillights,youre going to
lose more sales than you ever dreamed of. But if you understand how selling
can be a continuing process that never ends, then youre going to make it the
big time. We are talking about automobiles. People buy them about every
three or four years and even less often among the middle and working class
people who were most of my sales. If you are selling clothes or booze or
things that people buy a lot more often, getting them back again and again is
even more important. But it is harder to do with cars. So if I can show you the
ways I kept people coming back to buy cars from me, you know its going to
mean even more sales for you if you are selling these other kinds of product
and services where success depends even more on bringing them back again.

I guarantee you that my system will work for you, if you understand it and
follow it. I looked at selling situations and customers in different ways than I
once did. This means that I have changed my attitude about a lot of aspects
of my profession. Whatever you are selling, there is probably somebody
else out there one exactly like it. Not probably. It is a fact. It is very
competitive world. It is a very tough profession we have chosen, but if we
choose to deal with it as profession with rules and standards and principles, it
can be made to pay off in financial and emotional satisfaction.

The First thing you had better know if you dont know it already is that
this is not always a nice world. Competition is a tough game, but everybody
competes with everybody else for everything you and they want. Stick with
me and you will see what I do mean. You will see how you can change people
by selling them the right way, my way, and wind up with their money and
their friendship. In fact, if you dont get both their money and their
friendship, you are not going to be in business very long.

2 The Way to Winning Attitudes The only way to have the right attitudes is
to know what the wrong ones are and how you got them and why you keep
them. I am going to take you step by step through my discovery of the way to
change from a loser to winner. I'll show you how to build in attitudes of a
sure winner and how those attitudes led me to the development of my
system. And remember this: Those attitudes and that system have made me
the Worlds greatest salesman.

It All Begins with Want What I had to do was teach myself to concentrate
on what I was trying to say and say it slowly and carefully. Learning to
overcome stuttering was one of the most important things that happened to
me when I started selling. Because it made me think about what I was trying
to say and what I should say and what people wanted to hear. That is
something that everybody who sells should do all time of course. I also
learned some of the fundamentals of communication, because I learned to
listen and to plan every word I said carefully. It all begins with want.
Nobody can be a great salesman without wanting. Wanting something very
much. And the more you want, the more you drive yourself to do what it
takes to sell. Knowing what you want will power your drive.

4 The Customer Is a Human Being Let us take a look at the way we perceive
customers, and at what they really are. First of all, they are people, human
beings with the same kinds of feelings and needs that we have, even though
we tend to think of them as a different breed. Where I sell most of the
people who come in to buy cars are working classes, and they work hard for
their money very hard. And most of them, whatever money they spent with
us is money they wont have to spend on something else they want and
need. The thing to remember is that when a customer comes in, he/she is a
little scared. That person is probably there to buy. There are a lot of shoppers
in the world. But mostly they are interested in what you are selling.
Interested enough to be converted into buyers, even when they are
shopping. But they are scared. They are scared of parting with $ 30 for a pair
of shoes, $100 for a suit, or $5000 for a car. That is money and it comes hard.
So they are scared. Scared of you too, because they all know or think they
know that the salesmen are out to get them. They all think they know that
they are not going to get what they want at the price they ought to be
paying. That scares them.

The Bloodless War 1. What we do every day of our working lives is a kind of
war. They think we are trying to put something over on them, and we think
they are there to waste our time. But if you leave it at that, you are in
trouble. They are human beings who work hard for their money and
genuinely interested in buying something from you. That has to be the first
basic assumption about everybody you meet. If you understand what is
going through that customers head, you can win that war and turn it into a
valuable experience for both you and your customer. You can do that by
overcoming your customers initial fear and scoring a victory, that is, making
a sale. He should feel that he has spent his time well, that he has spent his
money well. A good sale is one where the customer goes out with what he
came in for, at a good enough price so that he tells his friends, his relatives,
and his coworkers to buy. Those customers are the most important thing in
the world to us, to each of us. They arent interruptions or pain in the ass.
They are what we live on. And if we dont realize that, as a hard business fact,
then we dont know what we are doing. I am not talking some of them. I am
talking about all of them.

5 Girard's Law of 250. Let me explain to you what I call Girards Law of 250. A
short time after I got into business, I went to a funeral home to pay last
respect to the dead mother of a friend of mine. At Catholic funeral home,
they give out mass cards with name and picture of the departed. I have seen
them for years, but I never thought about them till that day. One question
came up into my head, so I asked the undertaker How do you know how
many of these to print?. He said Its a matter of experience. You look in the
book where people sign their names, and you count, and after a while you
see that the average number of people who comes is 250. A short time
later, a Protestant funeral director bought a car from me. After the close, I
asked him the average number of people who came to see a body and attend
the funeral. He said About 250. Then one day, my wife and I were at a
wedding, and I met the man who owns the catering place where the
reception took place. I asked him what the average numbers of guests at a
wedding were, and he told me, About 250 from the brides side and 250
from the grooms side. I guess you can figure out what Girard's Law of 250
is, but I will tell you anyway: Everyone knows 250 people in his or her life
important enough to invite to the wedding and to the funeral? Can you
afford to have just one person come to see you and leave sore and
unsatisfied? Not if just an average person influences 250 others in the course
of his or her life. Not if a lot of the people you deal with every day deal with a
lot other people every day. People talk a lot to other people about what they
buy and what they plan to buy. Others are always offering advice about
where to buy what and how much to pay. Thats a big part of the everyday
life of ordinary people. Can you afford to jeopardize just one of those
people? So when you turn away one, with anger or a smart-ass remark, you
are running risk of getting a bad name among at least 250 other people with
money in their pockets who might want to give some of it to you. This is a
business attitude that you had better develop and keep in your head every
working hour of every day, if you dont want to be wiped out by Girards Law
of 250. Every time you turn off just one prospect, you turn off 250 more.

6 Don't Join the Club. Remember: It is your business, no matter whom you
work for or what you sell. And the better you build it, the more the people
you sell become your customers. Every minute you spend looking for ways to
avoid working costs you money. But if you are part of that clubby group of
salesmen hanging around the front door, you are not using what you know,
because you cant make money hanging out with the boys. Among the
favorite topics of conversation of salesmen in my business are which
dealership is best, whats wrong with the place theyre working at, and how it
is better somewhere else where their friend works. But I have stayed in the
same place all these years because what counts most is how you work, not
where you work. The message Im trying across is this: Dont join the club.
And if you are in it, ease your way out, because it will encourage other bad
habits and wrong attitudes. Dont join the club. Instead use all your time to
make opportunities.
7 Fill the Seats on the Ferris Wheel. Make Sure Everybody Knows What You
sell That sounds like pretty elementary advice, and maybe youve heard it too
many times already. But I have run into a lot of salesmen who never tell
people other than close friends and relatives what they do for a living. If
your sales are to business or industry, you may think this is not important or
that it cant help you. I say it can. Remember the law of 250. People are
always talking about whom they know and what they do. I know of a
salesman who sold a $120,000 computer service because a friend told
another friend about him. I believe that every salesperson ought to be proud
of his or her profession. So make sure everybody knows youre a salesman
and they know what you sell.

8 Girards Toolbox. I had to name the tools that work best to build my
business, the list would probably not surprise you by this time. It would
obviously include the telephone, my files, the mail, my business cards and my
birddogs. Satisfied customers are the best bet for future sale. I use a diary to
remind me when to call back long-term prospects. Start Building Your File
Now. When you make your own card file, put down everything you notice
about a customer or a prospect. I mean everything: kids, hobbies, travels,
whatever you learn about the person, because they give you ways to talk to
the prospective customer about things in which he is interested. And that
means you can disarm him by leading him into subjects that take away his
mind off what you are trying to do, in which of course is to trade him your
product for his money. There is nothing more effective in selling anything
than getting the customer to believe, really believe that you like him and care
about him. If you happen to know the birthday of a customer, his wife, and
his kids, you will have them in your prospect file. You can imagine the impact
if you send them birthday cards. If you are selling anything more valuable
than groceries or necktie, the cost of doing that will be more than paid for by
the way it reminds them of you in the most favorable light. A Small but
Powerful Selling Tool Just every salesman has business cards. But I know a lot
of them who dont go through a box of 500 in a year. I go through that many
in a good week. I hand them out wherever I am. I leave them with the money
when I pay the cheque in restaurants. I have even been known to throw
cards out by the handful during big moments at sport events. You may think
that this is strange behavior, but I am certain that it got me some sales. I have
lot of interest in buying from me, because throwing cards is an unusual thing
to do, and people dont forget thing like that. The point is that wherever
there people, there are prospects, and if you let them know you are there
and what you do, you are building your business.

Try to Sell Everybody You Talk To .It is like passing out cards to everybody you
meet or do business with. Somebody needs a car, and your card can get
handed around a lot until it gets to somebody who is in the market at that
moment. And there is your sale. What do cards cost? Practically nothing. Say
$9 a thousand. But if you get only one sale for every thousand cards you pass
out, the cost doesnt mean a thing, because the odds are overwhelming on
your side.

Effective use of business cards which means carrying bunches of them all
the time and giving them out everywhere is one of the cheapest business
building tools you can have. O. K., but business is not love it means money.

Now suppose that every one of those 250 people who like you and have your
card also have an incentive to get other people buy from you an incentive
like money or free dinner or free service. That is basically what I mean when I
talk about birddogs. You can figure out a lot of ways of putting that
combination together yourself to build winners. But were going to talk about
the ways I have built my birddog system to the point where it produces
maybe 550 car sales for me every year at very small out-of-pocket cost.

If you have a telephone, a mailbox, a pen, a file of prospects, and business

cards, you have the most valuable tools in the world for doing business. I
guarantee you that the proper use of these simple tools can make you a star
selling professional. Fill your toolbox-and use it all the time.

9 Getting Them to Read the Mail If They Bought Before, They are your Best
Prospects Now The mail may be your most important means of contacting
your prospects and customers on regular basis. The top people on your list,
the ones who have bought from you before and are satisfied with the
relationship, will more than pay for the extra effort and money it takes to
attract their attention. Those people will come back to you if keep reminding
them that you exist, in a nice way. May be you have only 200 or 300 of those
prospects. Your time is limited and your money is limited. So you are making
an investment in mailing that provide you with personal leverage.

By making effective use of your time and money in planning and executing
attractive, personal mailings, you get the next best thing: You get something
of yourself into their homes, causing them to remember you, and, at the
right time, buy from you. That is the kind of high- quality, personal
investment leverage we should try for all the time in the selling profession.

Get your name in front of your prospects whenever you can and get it into
their homes.

10 Hunting with Birddogs Nobody in the business is so good at it that he cant

use help. Ill take all the help I can get, and Ill pay whatever it is worth to get
it. May be you dont use the term birddog, but whatever you call them,
they are people who send other people to me to buy cars.

And I pay them for those sale- $25 a piece- but not until they are sold. I have
a strict rule about paying birddogs. I pay them. I dont stall them. Keep Your
Promise Theyll Love you for It.

The point is that when you have told people you will pay them for a sale, you
have made them a promise. You have given them your word. If you stiff
them, you become a liar and a cheat.

Try that on 250 people and see what happens. Where do I find birddog? I find
them in the same ways that you will. I am going to tell you in detail how I get
them and keep them. Everybody Can Be Your Birddog.

The process started for me with the question: Whom do I know that would
like to get $25 for sending me a sale? I dont know any Rockefellers, but I
know some people who earn pretty big money, and I cannot think of anybody
I know who would be glad to pick up extra $25 for sending me a customer. I
once paid to a fee to a brain surgeon whose biggest money problem is storing
it. And I have several ministers who send me a lot of $25 business. When a
make a sale and the customer takes delivery of his car, the last thing I do as
he drives out is put a stack of my business cards along with the one that
explain my birddog arrangement in the glove compartment of the car.

A few days later, when he gets my thank you card, he also gets another
stack of cards. He is now a birddog. He is also on my mailing list, so at least
once a year he gets a mailing that includes my birddog recruiting kit as a
reminder that my offer is still good.

A satisfied customer is obviously an easy source of other business. If my deal

was good enough for him, it ought to be good enough for his friends and his
relatives, he has to figure. That goes to anybody. But when I find that my
customer is somebody who is a leader, somebody that other people listen to,
I make an extra effort to make him a good deal and to recruit him as a
birddog. Sometime people wont take money from me for sending me sales.
It bothers them for lots of reasons. In some cases, they really are grateful to
me for giving them a good deal on their own car, so they think I have done
enough for them and theyre glad to send other people to me.

A few of those people even return the $ 25 cheque when I send it to them. If
they do, I call them and apologize for whatever is bothering them. But that
does not happen too often, you can bet, because $25 is $25. There are some
problems with paying people cash. In some places, it is against law. But I do
know that in a lot of places you can give people gifts or free services where
you cant give them cash. What is necessary in developing a big and effective
system of birddogs is to make it worth their while. I have found that $25 or
its equivalent is the minimum amount that will work on most people. Less
than that, and there will only be a trickle of extra business. But I dont want
people to feel guilty about getting paid for doing me a favor. I want them to
feel rewarded and I want to feel obligated, but I dont want them to feel
guilty. Mostly they dont, though, it is not a big problem.

How to Pay If They Wont Take Cash When people tell me that they dont
want to be paid cash for sending me sales, I handle it in a different way. If
somebody is sent in a by a birddog, I make it a practice of phone the birddog
and thank him and tell him that I am putting his $25 cheque in the mail. If he
says he is not allowed to accept money because of some employer rule for
any other reason, I tell him that I would like to do something else nice for
him.

Then I contact a good restaurant in Detroit where I know the management, I

ask them to send my birddog a card entitling him and his wife to be my guest
for dinner. Or if he is not the sort who would like that, I may send him a note
telling him that he can bring his car into our place for a certain amount of
free service.

I offer these ideas to you as ways of getting around whatever legal or other
problems you may have in your area that would stop you from paying cash
for your birddog business. Mostly, though, I have found that if I send
somebody a check at his home address, there is no problem. Now I realize
that in some fields its not ethical to reward a birddog financially, but thats
no reason to use them. When you ask a customer for a referral youre
actually doing him a favor. Heres how. Most people like to help others; they
enjoy passing along a good tip about a great deal or a nice salesman. If you
treated them right theyll be happy to tell their friends about you.

If the friend also buys, it gives the original customer a good feeling that he
was able to help a friend. Also, almost everyone feels a need to toot his own
horn now and then. Bragging about what a good deal they got fills that need.
When a friend buys on their recommendation it reinforces their belief in their
own good judgment. Lets face it, you and I do the same thing for the people
we like our doctor, dentist, barber and painter. So why hesitate to ask
others to help you build your business? You both benefit.
Bird-dogging Your Birddogs Once you have made contact and have passed
the word about the fee you pay and left them with your cards, you still have
to keep in touch. When things are slow and I have some spare time, I am
likely to go through my birddog file just to see who has not been sending me
any business. Then I will call up and shoot the beeze and ask how come I
have not been sending them any $25 checks lately.

They may just have forgotten. If they were new birddogs, they may not got
into the habit of suggesting buying a new car from me. Some of my birddogs
steady stream of prospects, because they sense opportunities whenever they
arise. Others need to be prodded at the beginning of the relationship, and
even long afterward. It is a matter of how easy or how hard it is other people
to develop the habit of reacting at the right moment to earn that extra $25
from me. Everybody has to develop new habits.

It took me a while to develop the sense of who can produce extra business
for me. I keep finding people all the time, because I have learned to look for
people all the time, wherever I am. I go to my health club after business
hours, and I make sure that the locker room attendant and the masseur
know what I do and have some of my cards. I dont make big thing out of it,
and I get business from other members without birddogs. But you always
have to watch for opportunities, and sometimes there are certain kinds you
might not expect in advance.

A Freebie That Works for You A lot of time you will be approached by police
and sheriffs and firemen to by tickets for their social functions. Even the
mailmen have them in some places. I am sure you have the sense not to turn
down people like that for a lot of reasons, especially if you are in business.

But I have found that they make first-rate birddogs. So when I get the chance,
Ill buy their tickets and offer them a stack of my cards and tell them about
my $25 policy. The same works for fraternal organizations. When their
people come around selling ads in their program books of their affairs, I
always by an ad. But I dont go for those reads: COMPLIMENTS OF A FRIEND.
Mine always say something like that read: BEST WISHES FROM JOE GIRARD,
MEROLLIS CHEVROLET. I send a stack of cards to the person who solicited the
ad. And if I have the time, I go to their functions, because they are good
places to meet people and let them know what I do for a living. I know that a
lot of other people, including dentists and insurance salesmen, do the same
thing. But that only proves that it is a good way to build your business.

Anybody talks to other people every day in his work can be birddog. And
keep in mind especially those people who traditionally dont make much
money. I have heard other salesmen complain sometimes about birddogs
when they first start to use them. One fellow said to me, I started giving out
cards a month ago, and I have not got a single sale from any of them. My
answer is always the same: Just be patient. You have planted the seeds. Just
keep on planting. There will be plenty to harvest.

Last year, as I said, I sold about 550 cars through birddogs. A lot of salesmen
would have been happy to have that as their total sales for the year. And I
dont know how many customers I sold through word of mouth that started
with cards I passed out to birddogs. The chain is endless if you keep it going.
And the cost is almost nothing, because it is all extra business. Paying $25 can
make you hundreds, but you really have to pay it to get that payoff.

11 Knowing What Youre Doing and Why You Dont Have to Close Better to
Sell More Remember that we have been talking about planting and
harvesting. We have been talking about the odds and probabilities of
business. Now there is no way you can doubt that if you do everything in the
face-to-face selling situation exactly the way you have always done it before,
you will sell a lot more if you do it a lot more. We are now talking about
nothing about quantity.

I am deadly serious. If you get twice as many people to come to you every
day, you will sell twice as many people you used to. If your normal pace to
sell 50 percent of your customers, and you have two a day, you get one sale
per day. That is basic arithmetic. You dont have to have high school diploma
to figure that out. But now lets go to some bigger numbers. If you get four
customers a day and do the same thing as before, you still sell only half of
them. But now you will be getting two sales a day. You have just double your
output. You think I am trying to be funny, but I am not.

I am deadly serious, as I said before. Well, let me tell you something: You can
keep it up. For sure, you can get more people to come in to see you. And
even if they only buy as often and as much as before, you will be on a
permanent hot streak compared to your usual volume. How to boost your
kill rate" is another story, and well get to some part of it.

Work Smart- Not Hard I am not joking. What I am saying is that the way to
get the job done is to decide what it is every day. I mean you must I dont
say should- take some time every morning and decide what you are going to
do that day. Then you must do it. Dont get me wrong. I am not sitting here
and preaching about glories of hard work. I dont believe in hard work. I
believe in smart work. I believe in effective work work that works.

Lose One Day But Not 250 But I want to say one thing about my work
schedule. If I get up in the morning and feel depressed for some reason and I
cant shake it, I may decide not to go to work at all. And I dont recommend
not working as a way to build business. But sometimes you know you just
arent going to be worth anything on the job.

If you go in on that day, you may wind up making a bad mistake or getting
into fight with somebody that cost you 250 people. If you really are
convinced that you wont do anybody any good by going to work for a
morning or an afternoon or a whole day, then dont do it. Because you dont
want to carry dissatisfaction of any kind into your place of business.

They can be like a contagious disease. If those feelings keep up more than a
day, you have got problems that I cant help you solve. But if they happen
just once in a while, then plan your day to do something else.

One sure way to get over the dissatisfaction of a bad day is to review that day
and try to understand why what happened to you happened. I do that at the
end of every working day. I replay the day, examining every sale I made and
every one I lost. Thats right. I dont sell everybody I see. Which is why I
spend so much of my money and energy making sure that I will see a lot of
people.

I play the percentage I recommend that you play. Maybe I sell only half the
people I see in a day. But that usually means that I see at least ten people
and sell at lest five of them.

I have been averaging better than five cars per day every day in recent years,
not because I have high kill rate but because I have a high prospect rate. But I
go over every contact I made during the day. What did I say to that fellow
that finally made him buy? Why did the other guy really not buy? Was he just
shopping for sport? Or is that too easy way to explain away some mistake I
made?

When I first began to do this customer-to customer analysis of my day, if I

couldnt think of a mistake I made, I would sometime call up my customer I
lost. I would tell him who I was and why I was calling. People usually want to
help you. Id say I was trying to learn the business and learn from my mistake.
Incidentally, my reply to each day is not just my idea.

Some of the greatest and most successful people in history developed this
habit and attribute much of their success to it. I know that for the time it
takes me I have been rewarded handsomely. Want some good advice? Try it.

People sometimes think that they know more about themselves and their
feelings and reactions than they actually do. And there is nothing more
important to learn about yourself than the difference between the way you
see something and the way the guy on the other side of the deal see it.

Because you never want to be on the other side. Your success in winning the
war comes with narrowing and finally eliminating the gap between you and
the customer. You want both of you on the same side, and what this means
that you have to do maneuvering to get you both on the same side, whatever
tools and methods you use to do it.
Knowing What You Lost Helps You Win I always want to know why I lost
every sale I lost. And I hardly ever accept I was just looking as the answer,
because if somebody takes my time and his to come all the way over to our
place just to look, he is already pertly sold.

And I want to know why I did not get him totally sold. I think that this is a rule
that is good maybe 95 percent of the time in automobile selling. And
probably good most of the time in every kind of selling. If some comes in and
just looking, he is enough interest to be sold most of the time. So if you let
him just look every time, you are probably not getting nearly your share of
sales.

And if you try and fail, dont charge it off in your mind to just looking.
Analyze your performance in the confrontation and try to see where you
failed to convert him. Because chances are you did fail.

Just keep in mind that somebody who is just looking may really be saying
that he is scared of you or your ability to grit him to part with his money
even if it is for something he really wants to buy. One thing that I have found
- it is something nobody likes to admit is that maybe somebody else sell a
person if you cant.

A lot of business requires that a salesman turn over a customer to somebody

else in the place before they let him walk.

13. Honesty Is the Best Policy. When I say that honesty is the best policy, I
mean exactly that: Its a policy and the best one you can follow most of the
time. But a policy, as I mean it, is not a law or a rule. It is something you use
in your work when it is in your best interest.

Telling the truth usually is in your best interest, of course, especially if it is

about something that a customer can check up on later. You never get caught
by telling the truth or making a prospect feel good when you stretch it.
13. Facing the Customer I make a lot of money, and I have for years. And I
like good clothes, and wear them whenever I can. But one place I do not
wear my best clothes is to work. Dont get me wrong. I dress neat and clean.

Nothing cheap. I believe a salesman should look as much as possible like the
people to whom he sells. And in my area they are mostly working people.
They work in the factories and offices around here, and they work hard for
their money, and they are not in the top brackets. So if they walk in and met
by a guy with clothes that look expensive, they get even more scared than
they were before.

Look Like Youre Their Kind of Guy. When they see me for the first time, they
relax a little. Because I wear a sport shirt and slacks. I never wear clothes that
will antagonize my customers and make them feel uneasy.

You may think I am too much of this point, but let me assure you that I am
not. People complain to me about other salesmen. So its important. I put up
sales award certificates and plaques, so people will know that they are
dealing with a top salesman.

After all, they think, if this fellow sells so many cars, he must be giving good
deals. At least thats what I want to think, and its true.

Get Them Obliged to You If he brings his kid in, I have got balloons and
lollipops for him, and I have got buttons for everybody in the family that say
nothing but I like you. Anything I put in his hands and his familys hands
makes him feel a little obligated to me, not too much but just enough.

Get them with you from the start and theyll stay with you.

14 selling the Smell. People like to try things out, to touch them, to play with
them. We are curious. No matter what you sell, look for ways in which you
can demonstrate your product. The important thing is that the prospect
participates in the demonstration.

If you can appeal to their senses, then you are also appealing to their
emotions. Id say that more things are bought through emotions than
through logic. Getting Him Hooked When I talk about hooking the customer
and making feel obligated, I dont to mean to say I am doing anything bad to
the person.

There is never a point in a selling situation, even after he signs the order,
when he cant say no and back out. So he is in equal terms with me. But I feel
that I have a perfect right to assume that if somebody comes to my place of
business to see me, he is there because he is interested in buying a car from
me.

It is my duty to him, as well as to myself, to help him to clear up his doubts

and fear and buy a car. When I talk about smell, I really mean it. But it stands
for a lot of things besides the smell itself. To me, the smell of a new car
stands for the excitement of the experience. For most people, me included,
buying something new, even as ordinary as buying a new shirt, is exciting.

I want to take it home and put it or show it off. It is all part of what I call the
smell.

That feeling, you could almost say, sells the car by itself. Almost, but not
really. Because a lot of salesmen dont understand it, so they dont use it.

You have to use it to get the work for you. You dont just let it happen. You
dont just let anything happen if you are real PRO. You make it all happen.

You make sure the customer has the opportunity to smell and feel the
excitement, the thrill of it all. Whatever you sell, there is an equivalent of the
smell of a new car. Think of yourself as a customer. Think of what excites you
about a product, or used to when you first brought the product. Then use
that experience to sell the excitement, the thrill of owning your new product.

15 Espionage and Intelligence In every other of war, each side spies on the
other and has intelligence agents whose job it is to find out what its side is
going up against. In selling, we usually call this qualifying the customer. But
qualify is a word that has lot of different meanings. One of them is like
eligible And let me tell you that, as far as I am concerned, everybody is
qualified to buy a car from me. That is why I like to think of this part of selling
job as an espionage and intelligence. I want to know what the customer
wants to do what he ought to do and what he can afford to do. What I look
and listen for are things that will open him up, get him talking, so that he will
tell me about himself, his needs, and his ability to pay. But I dont always let
him make those decisions. Very often, may be majority of the cases, I decide.

Because the customer often doesnt really know what he can handle and
what he should buy. Most people dont understand enough about life
insurance to know what they need, so they let their salesman decide. When
it comes to clothes, people know they want something different, something
fashionable, or at least something that wont make them look conspicuous
because it is out of style.

So the salesperson works it out with them. Its a kind of negotiation, based
on whats in style, whats available, and what looks good on them.

No clothing salesman in his right mind will sell a person something that will
make him look awful. But people can disagree on how someone looks in
something. So there is a wide margin for making those kinds of decision by
both customer and salesman. So you are playing a game with the customer,
trying to find out whats best for him no matter what he says. Because whats
best for him is best for you, if want him to speak well of you and come back
someday for another one. And dont forget that, at this point, you are dealing
with a scared man.

Everybody hates silence, and most people want to jump out of silence. Let
your customer do that. Let him talk because he cant stand the silence. Let
him offer you the clues to his hesitation and reluctance. You can learn a lot
more by watching and listening than you can by talking.

Let the customer reveal himself, while you watch and listen, and hell lay
himself open for the close.

16 Locking Them UP A lot of salesmen lose sales because they move too hard
too soon. They start pushing a pen in the guys face before they know
anything about him and what he wants. So they chase him away no matter
how bad he really wants to buy. And a lot of salesmen start to close without
having a clear sense of their own want. However good you are at persuading
a customer to buy more, be sure he knows what he has agreed to before it is
too late. Otherwise you had made a bad sale.

And not only have you hurt yourself by hurting your customer. You have also
hurt me, because one bad reputation hurt us all. So dont foul up our nest
with cheap tricks. Remember that nobody not even me sells everybody.

You dont have to twist anybodys arm or tell lies to make a good living in this
selling business. All you have to do is use your head and plant enough seeds
and fills in enough seats. If you do it right, you will be able to make a fine
income and live with your conscience.

I have proved that it can be done. Closing: If he comes that far, he wants to
buy. Never forget that and youll win a lot.

17 Winning after the Close The first thing I do after I make a sale is to prepare
a file card on the buyer with everything I know about him and what he
bought. At the same time, a special thank-you letter goes out to the
customer. I guess its pretty obvious thing to do- to thank the customer for
buying from me. But you would be surprised how many salesmen dont do it.

This means that my thank-you is noticed in that house, because it is so rare.

My thank-you tells the customer how happy I was to sell him the car that he
wanted. It also reminds him that I will pay $25 for anybody he sends in to me
who buys a new car. This is a very good time to remind about being a
birddog.

You just told him when he got the car, and now you are reminding him he is
showing off the car and talking about it to neighbors and at the plant. I have
a rule that I send out the thank-you on the very same day as the sale, so I
never forget.
A lot of salesmen want to turn their back on customers soon as they have
made the delivery. If something is wrong with the car and the person brings it
in, some salesmen even hide from the customer.

They consider customer complaints and problems as annoyances that will

finally go away. But that is the worst attitude you can have. I look at it this
way: service problems and other customer complaints are a normal part of all
business, regardless of what you sell. If you handle them properly, they can
help you sell a lot more in the future.

The value of taking the customers side is obvious. I become a friend, and you
tell a lot of people about me if I stand behind you. That is the best way to
make customers into believers, believers in you and in your interest in their
satisfaction.

My Way Is Better. I sell more than five cars every day, and Im the worlds
greatest salesman as far as the Guinness Book of World Records is
concerned. And I know I have to spend a lot of time and money to do it. It
cost me lot of my commissions to do the kind of business I do. But it is worth
it, because I sell more, feel better about my work, and and with what I
spend to get business still get to keep more after taxes than any other retail
automobile salesman in this country.

There is nothing about that in the Guinness book, but Ill bet it is true. So if
you are listening to me, keep on listening, because this is all about
satisfaction and money. And nobody can tell me that all the efforts it takes to
sell nearly 1,400 cars and make around $200,000 year is not worth it, if you
are a real PRO in your business. Keep selling after the close the money gets
even bigger.

All the Help You Can Get Remember that nobody sells all alone. To sell your
customers, you use help whether you think of it that way or not. You use the
telephone, you use the mail service, you make use of other people in your
organization such as secretaries, filing clerks, mechanics, tailors, and others.
You have other people to do what they can do better than you can.
A surgeon doesnt clean his own instruments. He hires lower-priced people
for that so that he can concentrate on where the big money is the surgery.
And that is what we are, surgeons, and we too should concentrate all our
time on the surgery. Let somebody else prepare the patient, do the test, get
the history, so that we can do the cutting through of the customers fears and
get to the inside, where we can find and cut away the sales resistance. Get all
the help you can it builds gross and net.

19 Spending and Getting. You have to buy business if you want to eliminate
the risk and be assured of a steady and growing income. Deciding what are
the best ways to spend money to get the most money back. With us it is a
matter of spending time as well as money. You have to be able to look at the
situation in your business and find out what are your best opportunities.

The more money you spend wisely, the more people you can put to work,
talking you up, helping you sell, buying. I have said a lot about making
judgement and spending money. But there are also important ways to invest
in time. And one of the most important is thinking smart.

Whatever your business is about, however it works, it can be improved.

There is no perfect way to do business. You can always find some way to do
things better if you spend enough time thinking about it. But you have to
think in ways that will help you get new ideas. You have to look at the most
tried-and-true methods as if you could rearrange them and make them work
better for you.

Dont Be Afraid to Do It Differently - Its Usually Better You could say the
same thing about my direct mail program, about my gifts, and about the
whole way I do the business. I am not trying to say that I invented everything
I do. I borrowed a lot of my ideas from other people and other business.

Good ideas are always worth the time it takes to think of them. And they are
always worth the money they may cost to put into operation. You should
always be looking at new things to try and new ways to test the value of what
you are already doing.
That way you will be constantly looking to improve the most important
product that you sell which is you.

Looking around for ideas, research and development is something that is

always worth the investment of your time and money. But when I say time
and money, I should also mention a third ingredient patience.

But patience alone, just standing by the door, will not tilt the odds in your
way. You have to make your own odds by spending time and money to
develop your methods to bring in the customers and the money. Time and
money well invested will build your business tremendously.

Always look for new and better ways to do it.

The process of successful selling means endless use of your mental resources.
There is no final chapter. The process just keeps on starting over and over.
Think about the fear you have sometimes felt when you went to buy
something. Then you can begin to understand whats going on in your
customers head when you meet him.

Think of how people look for a friend when they are scared, and then be that
friend. Make yourself a friend that your customer can trust and believe in.
That guarantee still holds. If I did it, you can do it. I guarantee it.

1.The Way to Winning Attitude (Page No1) Train the sales persons for
developing attitude of sure winners and to develop own system of selling by
understanding customer needs and requirements. 2. Girards Toolbox ( Page
No 4 ) - Appeal to customers to VISIT AGAIN WITH FRIENDS" in bills - Senior
staff and sales staff to give the visiting cards to prospective customers which
entitle them discount - To maintain a list of regular customers and be in
touch with them - To get feed back from the customers for their present and
future requirements 3 Try to Sell Everybody You Talk To (Page No 5) Motivate
our staff and workers to talk about our product while travelling, Meeting
people public places, friends etc; Page No. 4 - Make Sure Every body Knows
What You Sell 4 - A Small but Powerful Selling Tool Business Card 5 If They
Bought Before, They are your Best Prospect Now Have Mailing List 7 - A
Freebie That Works for You 8 - Work Smart Not Hard 9 - Honesty Is The
Best Policy 10 - Get Them Obliged To You 10 - Selling The Smell Encourage
To Themselves on The Mirror 10 - Get Him Hooked Train the Staff to Deal
with Customer 13 - Dont Be Afraid to Do It Differently Its Usually Better