What Used Car Salesmen Teach Us About Influence

Hi there 👋

This week

Me and my colleagues were talking about how much we hate buying a new car.

Honestly, DETEST it

We even created a list of things we would rather do:

• Swim with sharks while wearing tuna swimming shorts

• Take part in experiments that electrocute you

• Help our parents use a computer

The list was a lot longer 😂

Let’s be honest they have not done themselves any favours

• years of manipulation.

• Selling inferior products.

• The slimy disingenuous smiles.

But yet, in 2024 they sold over 1.95 million cars.

So they must do something right?

People must trust them enough to make one of the biggest purchases of their life.

How do they do it?

Be so hated, yet sell so many?

I mean that is a skill in itself 😂

The point I am making is can we take the positive techniques that car salespeople use.

Leave out the negative elements, and be more influential.

Joe Girard, widely regarded as one of the greatest salespeople in history,

became famous for selling over 13,000 cars during his career

This achievement even got him into the Guinness Book of World Records.

His success can be attributed to several key strategies and traits:

1. Relationship-Building

2. Creating trust and ‘Likeability’

3. Injected humour and positivity into his process

4. Deep understanding of someone’s needs and desires

One famous technique he used was to send personalized birthday cards to each of his customers,

This made them feel wanted and cared for,

That’s one hell of a psychological trick!

Hear it from the man himself:

Here are some tips to influence someone:

1. Relationship, FIRST - Start prioritizing your relationships with people, you want to build a solid foundation of rapport before you try to ask for any favors. People can see right through it, spend time following up on text or send them invites.

2. Get Under Their Skin - Really understand the person you want to influence. Learn how they communicate, what they like, remember anecdotes they told you, and know about their family or interests.

3. Use Emotion - Present your idea in a way that taps into the individual’s desires or emotions. Storytelling is a great way to do this, however, it takes time and practice.

The key is you want a genuine relationship in the first place,

Think of a relationship is a savings account,

You need to deposit money in first before you can make a withdrawal

I have enjoyed writing this weeks newsletter,

If you go the end then a HUGE thank you!

The responses have been so positive,

if you have any challanges that you need help with reply to this email and Ill get back to you with some advice!

In the meantime speak to you next week,

Kind regards

Sebastian from Art of Charisma