If a window of opportunity appears,
don’t pull down the shade.
—Tom Peters, author, In Search of Excellence
I had my customers locked in my mink-lined handcuffs of LOVE.
Our first 10 rules focused on preparation and interaction. These next two chapters will zero in on the third section of My 13 Rules, “closing the deal,” as I like to call it. As I said earlier in the book, closing the deal doesn’t necessarily mean only completing a sale. It means achieving the desired outcome you’re looking for in something. It might be improving a relationship with a friend, a relative, or a customer. Or maybe it means completing a project you’ve put on the back burner for a few months. Anything you set your sights on as a goal that you do achieve, whether it’s personal or professional, means you’ve closed the deal.
Closing the Deal
In this chapter, I’m going to show you how to lock up every opportunity. By that, I mean getting yourself into the most favorable position to achieve any goal you set as an objective—personal or professional.
Now we all know how important and satisfying it is to achieve the goals we set out to accomplish in life. I spent an entire career in retail sales setting and breaking my own records. I achieved what I did because I never took anything for granted, even after I became number one in the world. I locked up my opportunities because my mindset remained unchanged from the very first sale I ever made. I remember it well. That customer sitting across from me that day was not a man in a brown suit. He was that “bag of groceries” I desperately needed to feed my family. I was hungry then. I was “hungry” during my 15 years of selling. And I remained “hungry” until I closed the last of my 13,001 sales. If there was one thing I WAS NOT, it was complacent—not a day in my life after that first sale.
I don’t care what field you’re in, there’s too much competition out there to risk missing an opportunity you may get only one shot at. You must be hungry. Starvation is the great teacher of appreciation. If you like steak but haven’t eaten a thing in a week, a piece of stale bread starts to look pretty good.
If you want to lock up every opportunity, you’ve gotta really want it. And if it’s personal goals we’re talking about achieving, even more so. What can be more rewarding than feeling the pride and gratification of knowing you raised your kids right: seeing them graduate from college or serve their country, being a special part of their wedding day, or being gifted with a grandchild? Now that’s really special—mission accomplished.
Sometimes achieving goals can be especially difficult. You may be called upon to do what may seem impossible to you—helping a friend or relative through troubled times. Maybe it’s a marriage on the rocks, drugs or alcohol abuse. In the chapter on Girard’s NO-NO’s, you’ll recall I mentioned a couple of guys in our sales department who both had serious drinking problems. One of them, Jim, managed to break his addiction and went on to do fairly well in the dealership. I remember mentioning it to him once (using the other guy as an example of what not to be). All I ever said to him was, “Pretend you’re looking in the mirror whenever you see Tom.” I think it hit home with him.
Like me, you may not be an experienced counselor or an expert on any of that, but you can make a difference. This is especially true if it’s someone you know personally.
That person you’re helping believes YOU hold their “trust” card in your hand. They’re counting on YOU to help them get back on track, so you’ve got to get it right for them. When you’re faced with a mountain like that to climb, closing the deal can be really rough. But it’s also a tremendous opportunity to see if you have what it takes to lock it up!
If you want to lock up every opportunity, here’s my advice: get your heart, your body, and your mind focused on the goal. Block everything else out. Think, breathe, and live all of the first ten of the 13 Rules I’ve talked about in this book. That’s critical. You’ve gotta be at the top of your game whenever someone sees you or needs you, so concentrate on these rules. Soak them up till they become second nature to you.
The Other Guy’s Shoes
The best way I know how to get yourself into a winning position with someone else is to understand their perspective better than they do. “How can that be?” you say. It simply means putting yourself in their shoes so that you fully understand what they’re seeing, thinking, and feeling (except that you can be more objective than they can—they’re too close to it). That’s how prizefighters do it. They study their opponents until they “become” them. Then when they step into the ring with them, they know what to expect before it happens. They’re prepared. No surprises. That’s exactly what you need to do in life’s encounters. That’s your best shot at controlling and steering the outcome of a situation in your favor that I know of.
If I was nothing else, I was a master at studying people, their behavior and their habits. I already told you how much research I did on the background of my customers. Sometimes I thought I knew them better than they knew themselves before we ever met. Remember what I said in Chapter 7, “Listen.” I told you to observe and listen with all your senses, not just your ears. Get to know what makes people tick. I got to the point where I could easily recognize the quality of watch they were wearing.
If you do it right, you’ll learn things about your prospects that will help you steer things in the right direction—toward their comfort level. This will enable you to build the foundation for a relationship that could last decades.
If it’s a customer we’re talking about, you’re looking to close more than a sale. You want to open the doors to servicing that customer for the rest of his or her life. That’s repeat business waiting to happen. Service ’em to death with LOVE!
The same holds true for a personal relationship. You want to be remembered, respected, and loved for something you did in someone’s life that made a difference. Whatever that may have been, you were there for them. You made an impact. You’re a winner in their book. They’ll never forget you. Sadly, many relationships never got to this level when they could have or should have. Just ask me. Every Father’s Day, I think of that great void in my own life. But thank God there’s a Mother’s Day.
The Name of the Game Is Trust
Lock up every opportunity with TRUST. I stressed the importance of trust in Chapter 10, “Tell the Truth.” In my opinion, if there’s one thing a person wants more than anything else from another, it’s trust. Yes, trust. If you have a relationship with a foundation based on trust, it can grow into respect and love. Without it, though, love and respect don’t stand a chance. Our divorce rate is proof positive as to why marriage doesn’t work without trust.
Learn to build those bridges of trust with your customers and special people in your life. Don’t be afraid to encourage them to open up to you (or you to them for that matter). Just ask:
“Why did you buy from me?”
“What was it that I did that made the difference?”
“What can I do to make your experience even more meaningful in the future?”
I would often ask questions like these when I made my customer follow-up calls three days after the purchase (Kiss #3 from Chapter 9, “Stay in Touch”). I made sure they knew I wasn’t calling just to get flattering comments. While most sales reps wouldn’t take the time to follow up with their customers after the sale quite the way I did, I had very precise reasons:
1. Making my customers feel better about their decision to buy from me was number one on my list!
2. I genuinely wanted to keep getting better and better at what I did.
Not only did they appreciate the thoughtfulness, but they were very open and responsive in telling me what they liked about the Joe Girard experience.
Keep building those bridges. Believe it or not, very few people want to do this. They’re afraid to get “too close” to someone. They like things an “arm’s length” away. That was fine with me. My approach was different. I didn’t mind getting close at all because my goal never changed. I wanted my prospects to “walk in and drive out.”
Don’t ever take your customers for granted. Lock up every opportunity you have with them to build lasting relationships. Begin with trust and continue with outstanding service. If it’s your family, never let go.
One of the things I used to do to build trust with my customers was something we called “spot deliveries.” Insurance companies do this sort of thing all the time when they give you a temporary insurance binder until the real paperwork comes along in a few days. The important thing is you’re insured immediately. In my business, if a customer wasn’t sure they wanted to purchase the vehicle we had been discussing, I simply told them to take it home right then and there—right now! As long as they signed an agreement to bring it back in the same brand new condition they got it in, I gave them the keys and told them to take it home for a day or two. The fact that I trusted them that much said a lot to them.
I remember one customer in particular who was “on the fence” about committing to purchase. As he started to get up to leave my office, he said, “Joe, I’ll give this some thought. But I need to go home and discuss it with the wife.” Before he got two steps toward my door, I said, “Bob, I know it’s a difficult decision. There’s a fair amount of money involved. Let me take the pressure off.” I handed him the keys to the car he just test drove as I said, “Here.” He looked at me somewhat amazed. I continued, “Take it home for a couple of days. Let Noreen (I knew her name from the profile sheet) take it for a drive. Enjoy it together so you’ll both be comfortable with your decision. Just bring it back the way you got it.” I told him I’d take good care of the car he drove up in and have it washed for him in case he decided not to purchase the vehicle. He was not expecting this kind of treatment at all. He thanked me and happily drove the car home.
What was I doing? I was actually giving him and his wife “instant ownership.” I was building trust and at the same time giving the customer an opportunity to reinforce his decision to buy and take ownership of the vehicle on his own. I wanted to put him at ease without any pressure. I knew that self-confidence generated decisiveness. Bob called the following afternoon and said they both loved the car and were looking forward to coming in to sign the papers to buy it (which they did).
The last thing I wanted was a case of “buyer’s remorse.” I was there to lock ’em up! I wanted my prospects to BELIEVE that, although the paperwork hadn’t yet been completed on the vehicle, he or she already “owned” it. They were already Joe Girard customers, and now they were morally obligated to go through with the purchase. It was a mind game I almost always won because prospects in that situation were usually only at odds with themselves about closing the deal—they already loved the car and, almost always, me too. I was there to help keep the ship on course, safely steering it into Girard’s “harbor” in case things got a little stormy.
HERE’S THE KEY LESSON: If you want someone to be persuaded that your advice or recommendation is best for them (whether it’s buying something from you or embracing an idea you have), make accepting the outcome their idea, not yours. Get them to believe that you didn’t sell them anything; what really happened is they bought something. It’s not as confusing as it may sound. What I did do better than anyone else is persuade people that they should consider making a decision to buy a product from me. But it was always their decision. And the record shows that several of them agreed and said “yes”—13,001 to be exact. And I complimented every one of them on their decision. Congratulate the people you do business with on their choice. Be sincere and mean it. They trust you. Don’t let them down.
I can honestly say that I had maybe one case in 15 years (if that) of someone actually returning a vehicle to me without agreeing to purchase it—one in 13,001 sales. Now there’s a top-of-the-line track record with unbelievable odds stacked in my favor.
I knew the dealer wasn’t too crazy about the idea of a customer driving off with one of his cars without a commitment to buy, but the fact was, IT WORKED.
Quite frankly, I was used to the idea that the dealership management wouldn’t go for some of my leading-edge thinking on how to take care of customers. Why did they go along with it? Simple—I brought more sales and profits into that dealership than all the other salespeople combined, and they knew it. They also knew that the customers who bought from Joe Girard were MY customers, not just people who purchased something from their dealership. I was the link to their success, and they never forgot that. My numbers spoke loudly to them—I held the trump card every time they objected.
It was that narrow-minded thinking that prevented many dealers and salespeople alike from really becoming successful. Once again, Girard was way ahead of the curve and looking down the road at a relationship-building opportunity, not just a one-time sale.
Even if you don’t have a big following at first, don’t be discouraged by not getting the support of the management in your company. Learn your business thoroughly. Demonstrate your techniques and approaches, and show the leadership in your company how your methods are helping grow their business and making them more profitable. When they see that positive vibes about the company are beginning to spread whenever you are handling their customers’ needs, you will most assuredly be recognized for this. By the way, if that doesn’t happen and you are essentially told to get in step with the old company ways, dust off your resumé immediately. You know what you are doing, and others will surely want you on their team. Be patient, though. I didn’t achieve what I did overnight.
I also went out of my way to build the trust of women, many of whom had difficulty getting credit, partly because of the low wages paid women back then. I felt for them and their situation. I know what it’s like not to have anything. I’ve stood in that pair of shoes before. It’s a miserable feeling. Still, most guys in our sales department wouldn’t touch a deal like that. They always thought dealing with single women customers and trying to get credit for them was a complete waste of time. Not me; I found a way to help them and myself at the same time.
I remember helping out a recently divorced young lady who needed help establishing credit. I contacted one of the banks I did a lot of business with and asked them to get me the names of some reputable firms who dealt in the business of buying diamonds and jewelry. I passed these names onto my prospect and showed her how to turn her diamond rings and other jewelry into credit to be able to afford the vehicle she wanted. I could see my encouragement all over her bright smile (which I reflected back to her). We were able to put a deal together in a few days with her credit so she could get her life rolling again (and in a new Chevrolet from Joe Girard).
If there was any way at all to get ladies credit, you could bet that I knew how to do it better than anyone else in the business. I had a reputation for that. They trusted me, and I made it happen. I was connected to banks, and banks were connected to me. Those women never forgot me. Many of them became repeat customers of mine till the day I retired. The only losers were all those jealous people in the sales department who ignored them.
Keep ’Em Coming Back
Do your homework before you get with a customer or person you’re trying to help or influence. Don’t do what so many people in retail sales do. They assume they just have to “meet and greet” and look happy to get the business. They do nothing to prepare for a potential customer or sale. They don’t know anything about the customer and, worse yet, they don’t know their products or services the way a customer has the right to expect they should. In other words, they know “nothin’ about nothin’.” They’re so ill-prepared, it’s no wonder nobody ever comes back to them for a second look.
I’ve had this experience countless times when shopping myself as I’m sure you have too. I recall one particular incident when a salesman in a cellular phone shop (that I had bought from before) couldn’t tell me if I would be able get good coverage in the area I lived in. The store was only three miles from my house. I live in a well-populated suburb, not out in the sticks where reception might be an issue. When I asked about which phones he had that would give the best reception and had the best features, again he seemed lost. He couldn’t tell me the differences between the phones I was looking at. I looked at him and said, “Don’t you have a manual or something you can check?” He said he did but would have to locate it. He excused himself and then began a desperate search for the manuals, practically emptying any drawer in his path. If it wasn’t so pathetic, in a way, it was actually quite amusing to watch. I finally called a halt to the “search” and told him not to bother and that I’d be back. Needless to say, I never returned and purchased my phone elsewhere. Part of the problem here is obviously poor training, but mostly it’s lack of common sense.
If you expect to have repeat customers or people wanting to continue a relationship with you (personal or professional), then you had better be considerate of them and show an interest in how they see things. Forget about your point of view. Concentrate on theirs. If you don’t, you’ll fail miserably.
Although I was very successful at what I did, I don’t want you to get the idea that everyone I ever sold anything to was a piece of cake. That kind of luck didn’t exist in the business I was in. You had to work at it. You had to understand, respect, and anticipate the kinds of concerns customers would have about what you were selling.
For example, I can remember that quality was always a big issue. Even though, for the most part, the products were pretty good quality and reliable, there were occasional problems. Sometimes it was cosmetic, like the pinstriping on the side of the body would begin to peel off. Other times it might be more of a mechanical issue, like the power windows wouldn’t align properly or the radio seemed to have electrical connection problems.
Whatever it was, you had to be prepared to deal with and overcome the legitimate concerns customers would have about the product and service they were getting. If you were prepared and looked at things from their point of view, you were able to anticipate how they would react to anything you told them. Because of that, I was almost always able to control the outcome before it happened. That’s how I kept them coming back for more. They trusted me, and they knew I would deliver because I always did.
If it was a service issue, I saw it as the first opportunity to get them back on my Ferris wheel for the next sale. I know this may sound odd to some of you, but I actually relished the opportunity to make things right with a customer. While most of the salespeople would look for a rock or another person to hide behind when a disappointed customer approached them, I saw it as the first step toward securing the next sale. I loved it!
One customer came into the service department angry about a rattling sound that just wouldn’t go away in the new car he’d bought from me. He vowed never to buy a vehicle there again. I thought I’d never see him again after that visit.
I calmly told him he had my word I would get it taken care of and asked him to join me for a cup of coffee while the service department took care of his problem. He calmed down some and agreed.
I looked him sincerely in the eye and said, “Carl, if the second dealership I went to work for didn’t hire me, I might have looked into another line of work. I would never have gotten a second chance to prove I was not only a competent salesperson but the very best in the world at what I do.”
I walked him down to my office to finish our coffees as we sat both facing my desk with my empty chair in front of us. (I wanted to be on the same side with him—a more relaxed arrangement.) I gestured to the wall of framed sales award plaques in front of us that I had received over the years, and there were dozens. I told him, “Carl, you might say this is my ‘wall of second chances.’ That’s what a second chance can get you if someone will just give it to you.”
He had seen that wall of plaques before when he bought his car from me. However, he never thought of them in quite that way. Carl was duly impressed. More importantly, he understood my point. I was basically asking him to do the same thing for me. I was careful not to get defensive or blame the factory for what was wrong with his car. He learned I had the guts to “take the hit” even though it was a factory issue. He learned something about ME at that moment. I wanted to make it right for him.
The car was properly repaired and never squeaked again. How do I know? I called him every week for the next six weeks as I said I would to find out how it was doing (cementing our relationship for the next purchase in the process). He really appreciated the follow-up calls, but most of all he appreciated the unusual commitment I demonstrated to him. His brother-in-law bought a new pickup truck from me four months later on his recommendation (for which he picked up a nice $50 bird dog fee). That’s how you keep ’em coming back for more.
I wanted to keep ’em coming as long as I could keep standing. And in the shape I’m still in today, I could pick up where I left off in a heartbeat if I wanted to. How’s that for staying the course?
To me, keeping a customer was like clutching the string attached to a beautiful balloon. If I let go, it would just fly away and eventually burst—opportunity lost. There was no way to get it back. Let me tell you, it would take one helluva tornado or hurricane before Girard would ever let go of a customer. That’s how I played the game of retention. My customers were like family to me. I was in it to win and to make winners out of my customers. I kept ’em coming back for more and more. I really didn’t have to “lock them up” at all. They placed their hands in my handcuffs willingly because they were the “softest, mink-lined, LOVE cuffs” you ever saw. And I made sure they enjoyed the experience over and over, again and again. Nobody in history ever turned more retail customers into gold the way Joe Girard did—not even King Midas! Midas was a myth; Girard is for real! How about that for a “golden touch”?
Diamonds Are Forever
Many of us are fascinated by the dazzle and mystique of diamonds. Remember the James Bond movie Diamonds Are Forever? Those gems had such a grip on people in that film, it seemed as though they were obsessed. They would kill or die for diamonds before surrendering even a fraction of a single carat of those spellbinding precious stones. It’s no wonder that many people put diamonds right up there with gold and good health as possessions they’d like to have most. How about you?
I want you to close your eyes for a moment and imagine the feel of a large cut diamond resting in the palm of your hand. Now slowly open your eyes and look down at the dazzling brilliance of the gem you hold. Now gently close your hand as you protect that precious jewel from ever escaping your grasp. You must believe in your heart that no one is permitted to take that away from you. It is your treasure to keep forever.
That, my friend, is not a diamond you have in your hand. I want you to think of it as a relationship, a special bond you have with someone. It could be a friend, a relative, or a customer. It doesn’t matter. It is as priceless as the most brilliant of gems. If you treat special relationships with the thoughtful and caring consideration they deserve, like diamonds, they are forever—but not for everyone. If you take your eye off the ball and loosen your grip on the treasures in your life, they will surely be lost to someone else. Never forget to reinforce those special relationships.
If it’s customers or business colleagues we’re talking about, they represent more than just the means to buy a precious stone. They are the source of what you need to provide everything else in your life—a home for your family, education for your kids, and a source of income to maintain your good health well into your golden years. So why treat them as though they don’t matter? LOCK THEM UP! You need them!
Customers always want to be reassured that you really do care about them. Nurture those relationships and do it often. Constant reinforcement is the key. Let them know how important they are and that you are thinking about them. Take nothing for granted. Send them a personalized card or make a two-minute phone call. You heard it right. In two minutes, I can tell a person everything I need to say. How do I know?
1. It’s all written down on an index card! Short, sweet, and to the point.
2. Experience—I make dozens of these kinds of calls practically every day.
3. I am motivated to constantly surround my customers with deep water. No one is permitted to get near Girard’s customers.
Don’t wait to be asked if YOU’RE “still alive.” If they have to initiate the contact, you might as well be dead as far as that customer is concerned. Expressing sincerity at that point is like chasing the truth—your trust is on the line and you’ve lost.
I know that some business and personal relationships don’t always go the way we want them to in spite of our best efforts. But don’t blow it by letting the opportunity slip away because you failed to do the basics of keeping in touch. You’ll stay up night after night tormenting yourself once you’ve lost something that was special to you because you just failed to pay attention. There’s plenty of time to think about something you let get away once it’s gone. Don’t put yourself in that position. Never, never let someone pick your pocket while you’re not looking. These are your treasures to keep forever.
In life, treasures come in many forms. If someone asked me what the most precious thing in the world is to me, I would say, “A loyal person who would be faithful to me forever.” You know who those people are in your life. In my world, I had a grandmother, a mother, and a wife who spent a good part of their lives reinforcing and selling—reinforcing and selling ME—on the idea that I was worth something until I decided that I could be someone. They were all like precious gems to me: my wife, June, whose life was tragically cut short at age 46, and now my wife, Kitty, a diamond whose brilliance glitters as brightly as ever in my life. These are the reinforcements in my life that helped to make me what I became and what I am. Believe me when I tell you this: I have received more than I could ever give back in return. I have truly been blessed.
Losing a Sure Thing
We’ve seen it happen before. Something looks like a sure thing—it just can’t lose, no way no how, it’s in the bag, a slam-dunk. And then suddenly it’s gone—it’s lost. The worst nightmare realized in full living truth. What was supposed to be an almost forgone conclusion ends in shocking disbelief. How can that be?
How could a magnificent “unsinkable” ship like the Titanic actually sink? As unbelievable as it may seem, it did. We all know the story and the reasons. Let me give you my take on this: arrogance and incompetence, not to mention stupidity. When you put those three bunglers together, you’ve probably got the worst combination you could come up with to get anything done effectively. But it happened. Human beings did it, and people died.
Just when something seemed like a lock—a sure thing—disaster struck. It often does to those who are “asleep at the wheel.” What quickly follows then is the embarrassment and humiliation of failure and, in some cases, a legacy of shame and guilt. Sometimes even time does not forgive or forget; a century later, the saga of the Titanic is eternally sentenced to retell its sobering story over and over.
Although the Titanic was the most magnificent engineering and design feat of its time, the grandeur of this ocean liner is ironically but a footnote in its history. It will always be remembered for what was lost, not what was achieved. There were no winners. You’ll never read anything praising the great iceberg that took down the Titanic!
There are some who would say that it was just bad luck that this happened. Only a complete fool would think that. But they’re out there. First of all, I don’t believe in luck, as you know. As I said earlier, “Luck is for losers.” I believe in controlling the outcome by paying attention and never taking your eye off the ball.
Pay Attention Now!
HERE’S THE LESSON: You can never assume anything about how locked up your opportunities are in life, whether it’s personal or professional. You have to work at a marriage with the same intensity as you do trying to land that big account. Only death is certain. Everything else is up for grabs and goes to those who use their heads and learn to anticipate, to “look around the corner” with a plan to deal with the unexpected. Very few people actually do this. If you learn to look ahead and anticipate things, you will have discovered what the real edge in winning looks like.
When you reach that point, there will be no doubt in your mind that you have arrived. Your confidence will soar. Losing a sure thing will not happen to you because you know nothing is certain, and you will take the necessary precautions to insure it doesn’t. When you close your hand on that brilliant diamond, it will never be allowed to escape—not now, not ever. Period. Congratulations. You’ve just separated yourself from the pack.
Silence Is Golden
Another common mistake people in sales make is overselling a customer who has already decided he or she wants to do business with you. I’ve actually watched other salespeople sell themselves out of a sold deal by talking too much and at the wrong time. There’s a reason SILENCE IS GOLDEN. Once you’ve given your remarks or explained what you have to offer to an individual, it’s now time to let them respond. STOP TALKING.
Sometimes, it takes a fair amount of discipline to not break the silence between you and another person, especially when it feels a little awkward. Seconds of silence seem like minutes. Even though it’s tempting to break the ice, you must learn to remain silent. It’s their turn to speak. If you’re meeting with the individual in person, then just make polite eye contact and await their response.
You’ll never get their feedback or response to what you are asking for if you continue to talk. Furthermore, that could jeopardize your relationship if they feel you’re taking too much control of things. Before you know it, you’ve let go of the string attached to a beautiful balloon that could have been yours. Your locked-up opportunity has escaped and all because you weren’t paying attention. Never forget: the person you’re with must always feel like they’re in charge, even if they’re not.
I’d bet that more sales and relationships are lost because of things that were said rather than because of things that were omitted. I once sat down with one of our salesmen after work as he told me a story about how he had lost what he called a “done deal.” He said the customer was just getting ready to sign the purchase agreement when, in his excitement to show off the service department, he told the customer to first take a moment and come with him so he could show him the operation. All he did was brag about it and the great products that Chevrolet was producing. In his haste to make a good impression, he found himself talking more and more about everything and forgot about the upcoming factory recall that was taking place all over the country. When they arrived at the service department, there it was in full swing—a line of recalled vehicles in to fix some faulty electrical switches. It was minor, to be sure. However, the customer saw it very differently. He pictured the car he was about to buy as showing up in a long line for repairs. His hesitation quickly turned into a decline to buy. The lesson is clear: Never take the pen out of the customer’s hand when a purchase agreement is being signed! You could say he talked himself out of a deal. It was a costly lesson, but he learned.
You’ll never “put your foot in your mouth” because of something you didn’t say. Quite often the wrong things are often said after the desired outcome has already been reached with someone. Once a person achieves what he or she set out to do, and the goal is in their grasp, they tend to let their guard down. They stop paying attention to small things. In their mind, the deal is signed, sealed, and delivered. The reality is, it isn’t. It can still be lost. That’s the time to really knuckle down and prevent stupid mistakes from happening. That’s not the time to slack off. The less you say, the better chance you have of closing the deal and locking up the opportunity.
And this concept applies to everything we’re talking about here: sales, service, and especially relationship-building. You’ve heard the expression “lock and load” when referring to guns? I’m introducing “listen and lock.” If you pay attention to the person you’re with and spend most of the time listening to their concerns and understanding their perspective, you’ll be in a stronger position to lock ’em up. Another way of saying “Silence is golden” is “If you want their gold, then shut up.”
Getting Positioned for Success
At the beginning of this chapter, I stated that the idea behind locking up every opportunity was “getting yourself into the most favorable position to achieve any goal you set as an objective.” Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee it will always be accomplished. We all have our bad moments and bad days. Even the very best major league baseball players have their share of strikeouts. You can’t judge an athlete by a single game. Instead, you have to look at your total performance over an extended period of time to get a better picture of how you’re doing, not at a single bad day. You’ll have them. It’s part of life.
In a very practical sense, the real goal of this chapter is to prevent you from shooting yourself in the foot before the “hunt” even starts. That’s where most of the mistakes occur when dealing with other people—at the outset, not at the end. If you want to improve your batting average of locking up opportunities, you must prevent stupid blunders from happening at all costs. The first 10 of My 13 Rules are explicitly designed to get you into the best shape possible so you don’t make those kinds of mistakes. The competition is stiff enough without adding your own stupidity to the list.
Get yourself in the right position to succeed by first making sure that all the basics are covered. Keep rereading the previous 10 rules until they stick like glue to you. When you “become” those first 10 rules, you’ll be ready to lock ’em up for good.
When I retired from the business of retail selling, I was 49 years old. That’s right, there’s no typo here. I was 49 when I launched into a whole new career as a motivational speaker, sharing my experience and know-how with audiences from blue chip corporations and organizations all over the world (which I do to this very day). You see, I never really “retired.” Joe Girard retiring would be a little bit like not seeing the sun rise. Overcast days are not permitted in my life. I know all too well what days without sunshine look like.
I remember the first time I appeared before a sellout crowd. At the end of my presentation, I left the stage to a standing ovation from a very enthusiastic audience. When I got off the stage, I said to myself, “Joey, you’ve come a long way, baby.” I had the audience locked in my “mink-lined handcuffs of LOVE” just like the customers I had locked up all those years. I could feel a smile coming on as I heard the echo of my father’s voice ringing in my ear: “You’re a bum, Joey. You’ll never amount to anything. You’re no good. You’ll always be a bum.” I could still hear the audience applauding as I looked up at the ceiling behind the curtain and whispered, “You’re right, Pa. I am a bum. I don’t even have a steady job anymore, Pa. I am a bum.” I turned and smiled as I looked back at the audience from the stage wing. “BUT I’M A RICH BUM.” Case closed.