perception: those who sell for a living are always, without exception, tirelessly
following the ... of Halifax is billed as the King of Networking, and Michigan's Joe
Girard has been named the ... promote others before oneself. “If I meet someone
...
Sale Away!
World’s Greatest Salesman and the King of Networking share insider secrets on how to sell just about anything By Pam Pardy Ghent
S
alesmen are often avoided like the plague, in part because of this perception: those who sell for a living are always, without exception, tirelessly following the ABCs (Always Be Closing) of sales. But is that really the case? Not according to two experts in the business. Matt Whitman of Halifax is billed as the King of Networking, and Michigan’s Joe Girard has been named the World‘s Greatest Salesman by the Guinness Book of World Records. They both say the secret to being good at sales is this: never actually be actively selling. Online extras: atlanticbusinessmagazine.com | 95
Author, motivational speaker and retired car salesman Joe Girard sold 13,001 new vehicles over a 15-year period, a feat which earned him the title of World’s Greatest Salesman in the Guinness Book of World Records. The secret to his as-yet unbroken record? “Once someone bought from me, I serviced them to death.”
Girard spent 15 years of his life in one of the most mocked professions of all time: he was a car salesman. But he wasn’t just any car salesman. While Whitman’s official title might be life insurance agent and financial advisor at Sun Life, he says he spends very little time actively pushing his company’s products. What does he do instead? “I meet people,” he says. “I’m just a relationship guy. I focus on connecting with, rather than convincing people to buy.” New to the area? Whitman would rather help a family find a church or connect with local charitable organizations than sell them an insurance product. He’s also an expert match maker and has ‘hooked up’ many couples. Why bother? “Helping people connect, romantically or otherwise, for no other purpose than to be helpful, winds up helping me in the end. Someone might not be in a position to buy insurance right at that very moment, but they will at some point. And I guarantee you they’ll think of me and how I helped them out without pressuring them to buy a thing,” he says. Girard spent 15 years of his life in one of the most mocked professions of all time: he was a car salesman. But he wasn’t just any car salesman. By the time he retired in 1977, Girard had sold 13,001 new vehicles — an average of six new cars a day — though to hear him tell it, he never really ‘sold’ anything at all. “People buy people, not things. Once someone bought from me, I serviced them to death. A sale is not the end of the party, it’s just the beginning. Too many in sales forget that,” he says. Girard’s secret was how he treated those who worked in the service department of the dealership where he worked. Once a month he took the entire staff out to lunch. He also bought them Christmas 96 | ATLANTIC BUSINESS MAGAZINE | March/April 2012
gifts. But more importantly, he told them often how appreciative he was of the hard work they did. Those small gestures paid Girard back a thousand fold. If something went wrong with a car he sold, the service department took exceptional care, not only of the car, but of the customer. “Word got around pretty quick. Once someone knew how well they’d be treated if they bought from me, I owned them. But more importantly in the sales world, I owned their family, their neighbours and the members of their church. Word of mouth is a powerful, powerful thing,” he says. Whitman agrees, saying sales isn’t about who you know, but about who you know that is out there saying good things about you. So, while selling isn’t all about getting someone to immediately sign on the dotted line, there are a few guidelines the experts follow. The first step, build a ’huge’ network. Whitman has close to 5,000 ‘friends‘ on Facebook. While he admits not all are clients of his, they all have the potential to be. “If the quantity is there, then the quality is in there as well,” he says, explaining how having 70 ‘good friends’ in amongst the 4,930 others means the sales possibilities are infinite. The second guideline is this: make sure everyone knows what you do. People can’t buy if they don’t know you sell, though Whitman stresses he always follows the ‘reverse networking model’ which is to promote others before oneself. “If I meet someone new, I find out who they are first. Only as the conversation is winding down do I tell them what I do for a living. And I leave it at that. I never try to pitch
or convince anyone of anything ever, especially when we first meet. I’m talking to them because I care and because I’m interested, not because I’m in sales,” he says. The third guideline? ’Touch’ people often. While Girard isn’t a fan of today’s modern networking tools, claiming they restrict the opportunities to be ‘face-toface, eye-to-eye,’ Whitman swears by them. “Liking a client’s holiday photo is a way of staying in front of them without actually trying to sell them anything. In essence, it’s a way to be social. In the sales business, using social media is like cloning yourself,” he says. Girard also believes in the ’maintain the relationship’ philosophy, though he thinks anything other than person-toperson is ‘bogus.’ “Out of sight is out of mind, but don’t use all that computer stuff to stay in touch. Get out there and talk to people. Any other interaction is junk in my book,” he says. Whitman chuckles. His 10-year-old daughter Morgan recently started her own networking business, Morgan Marketing, and he says she’d have something to say about that. “Social media is often a way to get that face-to-face. They can complement one another. My daughter has that concept down pat,” he says. Morgan Marketing initially uses social media, and the bulk mailing of business cards, as a way to connect those in the Halifax business community. Later, at an event organized by Morgan herself, these business people meet, ‘network’ and make connections face-to-face. “Sales isn’t about nine-to-five anymore, and it certainly isn’t about the person
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“I might go to eight meetings a day, and not one of them is about me making a sale. But, by the time the week is out, I’ve made sales.
(L-R): The Whitman family: Morgan, Kirk, Cathy and Matt. Both Matt Whitman, Halifax’s unofficial “king of networking,” and his 10-year-old daughter Morgan (who has her own networking business) believe social media is an effective way to reach out and “touch” prospective clients on a regular basis. Photo: louphotography.com
doing the selling. You have to think ahead. Maybe the person you’re meeting with isn’t the right target for your product, but they just might know someone who is. If you keep that door open, the sales potential is huge,” says Whitman. That’s why using a combination of both the traditional (business card exchanges and face-to-face interaction) and nontraditional methods (social media) is the best sales option. Thinking back to the ABCs of sales, surely the traditional ‘closing of the deal’ is still of some importance? Sales is, after all, about . . . well . . . selling, isn’t it? Our experts agree on one point; if you treat people with respect, and work on building and maintaining a relationship, the ‘close’ happens naturally and without effort. “I might go to eight meetings a day, and not one of them is about me making
a sale. But, by the time the week is out, I’ve made sales. I wouldn’t have a job if I didn’t. My day is about like-minded people talking about things of interest. If a sale happens out of that, which it usually does, then well and good,” says Whitman. “Selling cars is one hell of a racket,” says Girard, “but I stayed on top because I never forgot I was dealing with people, and people deserve to be treated with respect. The sale of a car just happened because I never lost sight of that fact.” In fact, as far as Girard is concerned, every sale he’s ever made is based on the one he made before, all the way back to the very first car he sold. While the World’s Best Salesman and the King of Networking claim they avoid the ABCs of sales, the truth is that they’re doing it all the time. It’s just that, for these experts, ABC is more likely to stand for Always Be Courteous. | ABM
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