The 2008 Gods of Sales!
Six months ago, I instituted a search for the top sales professionals in the world. I wanted to find the absolute best of the best when it comes to selling. My criteria was simple.
- I wanted real sales reps, rather than management types.
- I wanted people who had something valuable to teach the rest of us.
I think you'll be amazed at these folk. One sells big-ticket items that cost up to $200 million a pop. (Warning: it's not real estate!) Another "sales god" gets regular folks to pony up $200,000 for a product which, if it doesn't work, might easily kill them.
So here they are, in all their successful glory.
Click here to view the 2008 Gods of Sales »SALES GOD #5
NAME: Bruce Brakenhoff, 49
JOB TITLE: President & General Manager, Perini Navi USA
CLAIM TO FAME: His one-man operation is the world's most successful broker of high-end sailing ships, with the largest completed deal involving a 185-foot yacht that sold for more than $50 million.
HIS BIG CHALLENGE: Because they're more costly than the most extensive mansions, yachts are the ultimate "big ticket" item. The prospect base is tiny, and consists of some of the most inaccessible people in the world. Brakenhoff is currently brokering the Maltese Falcon, one of the three largest sailing yachts in the world. It is expected to bring a price in excess of $180 million dollars-an expense beyond the reach of any except the uber-wealthy.
HIS SUCCESS SECRET: Brakenhoff is all about the personal touch and catering to the unique needs of the individual. "I could line up five billionaires in a row and they'd all be completely different," he says. "You need to identify their individual concerns, learn what makes them excited about the purchase, and find out how to help them achieve a dream." That personal touch extends beyond the financial transaction, because the buying hottest prospects are people who already own a yacht. "I've got a long relationship with Perkins [the current owner of Maltese Falcon] and this is his third Perini yacht," Brakenhoff says. "I brokered his last boat for him and am managing the charter operation for the Falcon while it's being sold."
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SALES GOD #4
N
AME: Jeff Roberti, 46
JOB TITLE: Network Marketer, NSA
CLAIM TO FAME: Arguably the most successful network marketer of all time, having earned in excess of $60 million in commissions and bonuses, and selling $3 billion worldwide through his network of distributors. (Note: the world of MLM is difficult to measure and false claims abound. However, Roberti has been a fixture on the MLM scene for well over a decade and his claims appear to be valid.)
HIS BIG CHALLENGE: Network marketing bypasses retail sales channels, allowing consumers to sell products directly to other consumers. Because the networks involve multiple commissions paid to a pyramid of "distributors" (i.e. consumer/sellers), products sold this way are vulnerable to low-priced imitators sold in stores. Roberti must therefore keep his "distributors" focused on the primary market differentiator-that it's being sold by friends and family to friends and family.
HIS SUCCESS SECRET: Roberti treats selling as a crusade to help the world. He selects products that have documented health benefits, and then tries to help people help other people though the use of that product. "The focus is on servicing your fellow human," he explains. "When you're in this business you're not selling a product, you're sharing the gift of health." He similarly positions the building of his distributorships as a way to help people achieve financial independence and personal development. This helps him convince people who otherwise would not contemplate a sales career to attempt to sell his products. "It's not what you say when you're talking to customers, it's how you feel about what you say," he explains. "If you believe in your product and yourself, you can't help but become more successful."
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SALES GOD #3
NAME: Lashanda Tart
JOB TITLE: Recruiter, United States Navy
CLAIM TO FAME: Won "Diversity Recruiter of the Year" award by recruiting 38 men and women (the average is 12), all of whom scored above the 50 percentile on the Navy's entrance exam.
THE BIG CHALLENGE: Recruiting means selling the idea of a new career, in this case a career that will literally change the candidate's life. To be successful, Ms. Tart must find top quality candidates willing to serve in the military, during an unpopular war. Furthermore, she must prospect for those candidates within communities that have persistent problems with crime, unwed pregnancy and poor educational opportunities.
THE SUCCESS SECRET: Lashanda makes "buying into" a career in the Navy seem like a personal achievement. She does this by setting up barriers that the prospects must cross before moving to the next level of the process. When she first meets with a prospect, she gives a practice test, based upon the Navy's recruiting test, to find out if that prospect has the basic ability to join the Navy. If they pass, she interviews them to find out what they hope to get out of the experience. "If they don't have the right attitude, then I know that they're not Navy material," she says. If they pass muster, she spends time developing them as candidates. "I take them to see the local Navy boot camp, I go home with them to speak with their parents, and I make sure that they're committed, before they make the decision." Treating a Navy career as a privilege has a side benefit -- her candidates become her primary sources of new prospects. "They tell their friends about the experience, which attracts the type of person who is right for this job," she explains.
SALES GOD #2
NAME: Erica vanderLinde Feidner, 45
JOB TITLE: Owner, PianoMatchmaker.com
CLAIM TO FAME: Was the top sales representative for Steinway & Sons worldwide for eight consecutive years, selling over $41 million dollars in pianos, costing anywhere from $2,000 to $152,000.
THE BIG CHALLENGE: For first-time purchasers, buying a piano involves years of commitment to learn to play it-a major sales roadblock. For experienced players, a piano is a highly personal item that will be their constant companion for hours a day, every day. The two types of buyers could not be more different, making it difficult to create a sales message that works for both.
THE SUCCESS SECRET: Feidner adapts her sales approach to match the stage at which the prospect approaches the sale. For novices, she uses her skill as a piano teacher to provide enough basic instruction so that, within an hour, the prospect is playing a song on the piano. "I've recently translated my teaching technique into a computer game which will be launched later this year," she says. For experienced players, She focuses on matching the personality of the buyer to the "personality" of the piano. "There are many factors that define a piano's personality: how old it is, how it's been cared for, what it's made out of, and especially how it sounds," she explains. To make certain the right match takes place, she works with her prospects as they out test different pianos, often located in various parts of the world, to see how they "feel" to the prospect. "If you cannot tell the difference and thus know which piano is right for you, I haven't yet succeeded," she says.
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SALES GOD #1
NAME: Dave Clark, 25
JOB TITLE: Astronaut Relations, Virgin Galactic
CLAIM TO FAME: Clark has sold approximately $25 million in deposits for tourist flights on the recently announced SpaceShipTwo orbital craft.
THE BIG CHALLENGE: While there's been plenty of buzz about the Virgin Galactic spacecraft, it doesn't yet exist and (obviously) hasn't been tested. Clark must thus sell a big-ticket item ($20,000 down, $200,000 final price) without having any proof that there will ever be an actual flight. While the price of a VG flight is less than the $20 million it would cost to book a space flight through the Russian space agency, VG is a pricey purchase for even a wealthy adventure tourist.
THE SUCCESS SECRET: Clark treats his customers as members of an elite club by creating events where they can mingle and share their enthusiasm. "Some of them are billionaires for whom the cost is negligible and some are people who have mortgaged their house for the down payment," he explains. "But when you join a club where the admission fee is $20k, you expect to be treated like a V.I.P." To deepen the feeling of community, Clark frequently interacts with his customer base. He provides them all with his private cell phone number and often stays with customers when he travels. As a result, the customer base actively helps him recruit additional qualified prospects, and helps him to convince those prospects to join the club. "It's like having a bunch of friends who share the same passion," Clark explains.