How to sell anything to anybody - Joe Girard

Presented by Iswarya Murali17 July, 2009

Introduction Girard’s law and his tools Selling on the phone Prospects’ list Importance of mail

Agenda

Importance of referrals Strategies for handling the customer When to be honest and when not to. Just before the sale closes… and after that.

Contd..

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

About the author

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.

How it all started

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.

Girard’s law of 250

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.

The toolbox

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.

Selling on the phone

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.

A prospects list

Make every mail personalized Send “how-to” tips, interesting n.ews

clippings. Send out cards on occasions - Christmas

cards, birthdays, get-well cards...

Get them to read their mail

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’.

Hunting with ‘birddogs’

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.

Contd..

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.

Selling Strategies

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!

Contd…

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.

Honesty is the best policy

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.

Contd..

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.

Handling the customer

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.

Contd..

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.

The final few minutes

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.

After the close

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.

Summing Up..

THANK YOU!!