Gibbs Tony - Joe Girards 13 essential rules of selling : how to be a top achiever and lead a great life

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To the select group who commit to realizing
their full potential in life

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Many of lifes failures are people who did not realize
how close they were to success when they gave up.

Thomas Edison, inventor and scientist

They werent really buying a shoeshine; they were being sold Joe Girard.

The purpose of this book is to establish the foundation you need to help realize your most important goals and expectations in life. Whether youre in sales or service, a different kind of profession, or just searching for a way to make your life more fulfilling and meaningful, My 13 Rules will get you on the winning track to health, happiness, and success.

Ive had the privilege of writing four very successful books that have sold millions of copies over the years. The book you have in your hands right now goes a step further. It not only captures the essence of what made me the worlds greatest salesperson but, more important, it describes how I overcame difficult obstacles as I powered my way through life. By following my 13 rules, I put a set of gold keys in my hands that not only unlocked the doors to a rewarding and satisfying life, but also gave me a richer experience. They changed who I was as a person and how I lived my life!

My success came making a living in the toughest retail selling game of them all: automobiles. While I certainly had my share of good fortune, there was no luck involved. Since Im not a superstitious person, I dont believe in luck. In fact, for me a number like 13 is fantastic! I sold 13,001 brand-new retail vehicles over a 15-year sales career (and threw in one more to remind everyone I was #1 in what I did). I became the worlds greatest salesperson (as attested in the Guinness Book of World Records , audited by the accounting firm Deloitte & Touche) by applying My 13 Rules. I sold more retail big-ticket items, one-at-a-time , than any other salesperson in any retail industry in history including houses, boats, motor homes, insurance, and automobiles. Its a record that has never been broken!

If youre browsing this book for the first time in a bookstore, look at some of the other books on the shelves that surround this one. Some of them will have flashy titles that promise you the world, with secret steps and formulas to untold wealth and rewards. Others will claim to be written by experts. Whenever you see books like these, begin by asking yourself these questions:

In other words, How credible are they? I call people who make those claims ATANAs because theyre All Talk and No Action. Before you tell somebody to do something, its a good idea to have first lived the part and walked the talk yourself. Dont get me wrong. I have nothing against psychologists. I do have a problem with smug-sounding theories that are hawked as solutions for serious decisions in life.

Many of the books you see on these shelves were written by educated people who studied or learned a few things from other people and then decided to take their message to the street by writing a book. Me? I did it in just the opposite way. I got my street smarts first on the front lines, and then I wrote a book. What approach makes the most sense to you? In the end, its all about credibility. Thats exactly what you get with Joe Girard: CREDIBILITY.

I put my foundation for success together when I first got started selling cars and trucks. I analyzed and organized everything I did. I was mainly looking for things I did or had done that might have an impact on the success or failure of a typical workday. I studied the various processes and approaches I used. I compared my methods with others in similar retail businesses. I wanted to know what other successful people were doing. Before long, I had a pile of different ideas. I was basically looking for a success pattern. And I finally found itthe first step up the steep climb to success!