Joe Girard Stanley H. Brown [Brown - How to Sell Anything to Anybody

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Introduction

Youve got this book in your hands because you think it can help you get more out of your workmore money and more personal satisfaction. This probably isnt the first book about selling that you have read. Chances are you have seen and read a lot of other books, books that promise to give you the secrets, the magic, the inspiration. You probably already know a lot about how to hype yourself by looking in the mirror every morning and repeating certain phrases to yourself. By now you know the mysteries of PMLA and HPD and some other magical-power expressions and attitude builders. You know a lot about what you should think and what you shouldnt think, positive and negative. And maybe you are a little confused by this time from all the contradictory advice the books have offered.

I dont want to take anything away from the promoters, the experts, and the other well-meaning people who grind out all those books. They have to make a living too.

But lets face it. What you want to know is how to sell real products and services now. And most of those authors never sold very much in their lives, except their books. They may be professional writers or professional sales training experts. Some of them may have spent a few weeks or months selling something until they figured out something at which they were better. And maybe one of them made a good living selling one multimillion-dollar real estate development every two years, which has nothing to do with the kind of selling you do and want to do better.

Thats the point. They just arent our kind of salesman, out there selling every day for a living. They dont do it because they have to. When you read their books, they sound fine. And they probably give you a little help, maybe even enough to earn back what they cost you. But when you think about those books, you realize pretty soon that these writerseven the best of themjust arent our kind of salesman.

But I am. I sold cars and trucks. New ones, at retail, no fleet deals, just new cars and trucks, one at a time, face to face, belly to belly, to the same kind of people you sell to, every day. Maybe you sell cars or suits or houses or appliances or furniture or something else, day in and day out, something that you have to sell a lot of to make out. And when you read these books by the experts, you probably have the same gut reaction I do: Theres something missing. What is missing, your intuition tells you, is first-hand, on-the-job involvement with our problems, our people, our world. Those guys just dont feel like theyve been out there in the trenches every day the way we have to be if were going to eat tomorrow.

Thats why my book is different. Thats why this book is going to work for you in ways that the others never did. Because I was out there every day the way you are. I did what you do. I felt what you feel. I wanted what you want. And I got it. Other people have been called the worlds greatest salesman. But they arent our kind of salesman. Among our kind of salesman, I am the worlds greatest. You dont have to take my word for that claim. If you want to check me out, take a look at the worlds foremost authority, the Guinness Book of Records. To prove I am not A.T.A.N.A. (all talk and no action) like the others that say they are #1 with their self-proclaimed records, my claim was audited by one of the top auditing firms, Deloitte & Touche (letter available upon request). Look up the worlds greatest salesman. Youll find that its me, Joe Girard. Or check stories about me in Newsweek, Forbes, Penthouse, and Womans Day, or in hundreds of other magazines and newspapers. Youve probably seen me on one or another national television show in recent years. And they always introduce me as the worlds greatest salesman as attested by the Guinness Book of Records.

How well did I do after I started selling in 1963? In my first year, I sold only 267 cars. Only! Even those days that would be more than just a living. In that first year, I was maybe the top guy in the dealership. In 1966, my fourth year, I sold 614 cars and trucks (retail). This is the year I became NUMBER ONE RETAIL CAR AND TRUCK SALESMAN IN THE WORLD. And every year since, I was the NUMBER ONE RETAIL CAR AND TRUCK SALESMAN, increasing my business better than 10 percent a year and some years as high as 20 percent, even when we had bad recessions, layoffs, and long strikes. In fact, the worse the economy got, the smarter I worked and the better I did. I have stayed on top even when the auto dealers in the Detroit area cut the workweek from six days to five.