Joe Girard is being inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame for his record-breaking career as a car salesman. Girard sold over 13,000 Chevrolets over his career, more than any other individual. He was the #1 Chevrolet salesman for 12 straight years. Girard started as a shoeshine boy in Detroit and overcame poverty and a difficult relationship with his father to become the world's top car salesman, known for his customer service and sales techniques. He is being recognized in the Hall of Fame for his role in moving the auto industry forward through vehicle sales.

1. C April 2, 21NEW CAR DEALER EXTRA
Cover Story
The
test
r Jesm n
rrarBy Joseph Cabadas
DETROIT - Only in the Motor City
could a shoeshine boy rise to become the
wcrfd's most renowned new car salesman.
Joe Girard, 72, has sold more new
cars - on a one-an-one basis - than any
other person in the world and to prove it
he is in the Guinness Book of World
Records.
He was also the No. I Chevrolet
salesman for 12 straight years.
And now Girard, a car salesman, will
fulfill one of his life's goals - induction
into the Automotive Hall of Fame in
October.
The hall of fame, based in Dearborn
next to the Henry Ford Museum, is dedi­
cated to honoring the people who have
shaped the auto industry.
Auto notables include Henry Ford I
and II and labor leader Walter Reuther, the
legendary UnitedAuto Workerspresident.
Girard had visited the hall of fame
years ago when it was located in Midland,
Mich., and was impressed until he learned
that the museum hadn't recognized any
car salesmen.
"I walked around and looked at who
was in there and said, 'You couldn't have
built it if it weren't for guys like me
(salesmen), because I'm selling it. Why
aren't I in there?" he asked.
In 1973Girard sold 1,425 new cars tci'
individual car buyers - back then many
new-car dealerships sold fewer than 200
cars a year.
On his best day, he sold 18cars. Dur­
ing his best month, he sold 174cars. And,
during his entire IS-year career, he sold
13.00I Chevrolets.
Sales Mystique
Yet. for years, Girard wondered why
no car salesmen had ever been inducted.
"We (car salesman) get looked down
on by people as crooks, liars and cheats.
We're not," Girard said. "If every sales­
man stopped selling cars for one month,
what would happen to the industry? It
would grind to a halt."
According to Linda Busse, hall of
fame spokeswoman. "anyone, anywhere
in the world can be nominated," and that
Girard's name was only proposed this
year.
Girard credited the work of Del
Reddy, 36. and Don Howard, 56, publi­
cists for legendary hockey player Gordy
Howe of the Detroit Red Wings, for his
nomination.
nolo by Kathleen Way
Joe Girard started as a shoeshine boy on the streets of Detroit and grew up te
become the world's greatest car salesman and best selling author.
About a seven months ago. Reddy
and Howard called Girard. They had read
his books, just visited the hall of fame and
offered their services to get Girard nomi­
nated.
Reddy and Howard put together a
portfolio on Girard's accomplishments
and presented it to the hall of fame's nom­
ination committee.
In February, Girard was inducted on
the first vote. which is quite an accom­
plishment, Busse said
"I'm in there now with Chevrolet,
Olds, the Fords and the top engineers," he
said. 'They finally let people in who
move the assembly lines. My brothers and
sisters. We move it!"
Girard was born on Nov. 1. 1928, on
the east side of Detroit. His legal name is
Joseph Samuel Girardi.
He dropped the "i" during his profes
sional life, he explained. to make hi:
name more memorable to customers
"Girard" is a common French family
name.
His father, a Sicilian immigrant, hac
heaped scorn on Girard as he grew up
telling him that he would never succeed.
But•-his mother believed in him anc
instilled in him the hope and desire to fine
a better life.
Poverty Row
Growing up in poverty during hi!
childhood, Girard said that he had to pUI
cardboard over the holes in the soles 01
his shoes because his parents couldn't
afford to buy new ones. ~

2. .pril 2. :rooI
Cover Story
Girard started shining shoes at age 9
to earn money and prove to his father that
he could succeed. He still has his original
shoe shine kit, which was saved by his
mother.
Shining shoes was one of many jobs,
including a Detroit Free Press delivery
route, a stint as a bell boy at Detroit's
famed Book-Cadillac Hotel, and pool
hustler.
High School Drop Out
He was educated at the school of
hard knocks after an incident in the 11th
grade forced him to drop out of school.
Girard said he had refused to respond
to the principal at Detroit's Eastern High
School when the principal called out,
"Hey you, come over here."
"I wasn't a 'hey you' and he knew
my name." Girard said.
The principal accused Girard's fam­
ily of having Mafia ties. Girard shoved
the principal and was expelled.
Although he later had the chance to
be reinstated, Girard chose to go to work.
"But, I tell people that I went to the
university - it was the university of the
street, where you Jearn about how people
think and act," he said.
He joined the U.S. Army in 1947, but
injured his back after falling off a speed­
ing vehicle and was honorably dis­
charged. Still, his father thought he was a
failure.
"'fri'l949, hemet well-known Detroit
building contractor Abraham Saperstein
who taught him the building business.
Two years later, Girard married June
Krantz and started a family.
Construction Business
Saperstein treated Girard like a son.
By 1955, Saperstein turned the business
over to him. But, the construction busi­
ness failed in 1962.
That Christmas, Girard found him­
self deeply in debt and the cupboards
were bare. He applied for a job at a
Detroit Chevrolet dealership.
At first, the sales manager refused to
give him a job, saying it would upset the
other salesmen.
Girard said he got down on his knees
and pleaded for the job promising not to
take any business that walked in the door.
Instead he would use the telephone to find
prospective buyers.
He was hired and later that night at
the dealership, after everyone else had
gone home, he sold his first car.
He sold 18 cars and trucks in two
months. Yet, he was fired because the
other salesman complained that he was
"overly aggressive."
"That dealership is no longer in busi­
ness, probably because they fired me,"
Girard said.
Still, he quickly found another job at
Merollis Chevrolet in Eastpointe, Mich.
It was at Merollis that Girard racked
up his impressive sales record.
He was admitted to the Guinness
Book of World Records after selling
1,425 vehicles in one year.
NEW CAR DEALER EXTRA 9C
The figure was confirmed by the
accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche.
"I didn't own the dealership, but I
was a dealership within th~ dealership,"
Girard said.
The key to his success was service to
every customer and to watch out for them
after the sale, he said.
Girard became popular through "the
best advertisement ever - word of
mouth"
from cus­
tomers who
recom­
mended
him to their
friends.
Girard
became so popular that he had to hire two
assistants who worked directly for him
scheduling customer appointments.
He mailed monthly cards to his cus­
tomers; told customers, "I like you;" sat
with their kids and offered them balloons
or pins; gave little perfume bottles to the
women; and he wasn't too proud to get
down on his knees and beg them to buy a
car.
Other salesmen poked fun of his
sales techniques, but they worked.
Safety First
He also refused to sell any vehicle
that he thought was unsafe, despite
threats of dismissal from the dealer.
One example was the Corvair after
consumer advocate Ralph Nader made it
the poster child of dangerous cars in the
book, Unsafe at Any Speed.
Girard was also renowned for wear­
ing polka dot shirts.
One day, a customer told him that he
"/ retired at age 49 to prove my father right.
I retired so I could be a bum - a rich one."
-Joe Girard
Greatest Car Salesman
really liked his shirt. So, Girard got up
from his chair, took the shirt off and
handed it to the customer.
This gesture led to a story in the
Detroit Free Press which said Girard
would "give you the shirt off his back to
sell a customer an automobile."
For 12 straight years, Chevrolet rec­
ognized Girard as being its No. I sales­
man.
In his
office
hung a
sign with
the num­
ber "49"
on it.
When he
was asked about it, Girard said it was just
a couple numbers that excited him.
But, on Christmas Eve in 1977, the
real meaning of the sign was revealed.
Girard held a press conference to
announce that he was 49 years old and
was retiring from full-time work.
"I retired at age 49 to prove my father
right. I retired so I could be a bum - a
rich one," he said.
"You have to know when its time to
play because you never know when the
Lord is going to whisper in your ear, 'It's
time to come home,''' he added.
The year before he retired his hands
shook constantly and he was overweight.
His doctor wamed him that his weight,
nerves and long hours were a prescription
for an early grave.
In December 1974, Girard and his
father finally began to mend their feelings
toward one another.
Girard received the approval he had
always sought from his father. But it came
almost too late.
Two days later his father died.
That was followed by another loss on
April 4, 1979, when his wife June died
suddenly of an aneurysm.
"She was far too young, 46, and just
like that, while we were laughing, she
was gone," Girard said.
He married the former Kitty Addis
seven years ago.
He has written four books still in
print today - How to Sell Anything to
Anybody; How to Sell Yourself; How to
Close Any Sale; and Mastering Your Way
to the Top.
Next Goal: Chevrolet
As a motivational speaker he still lee­
tures twice a month all over the world.
"Some people think I made a lot of
money IIIhen I was seiling cars, but I gave
more than 75 percent of it away," Girard
said.
He spent it on customer mailings,
assistants, wining and dining the dealer­
ship's mechanics and bankers who could
help his customers, and donating money
to charity.
"From time to time, people ask me if
I miss selling cars," he said. "Yes I do, but
that was the past."
Girard has achieved his goal of being
inducted into the hall of fame as a repre­
sentative of the men and women who sell
cars and trucks.
But now he has another goal: Help­
ing Chevrolet dealers sell more cars.
He says Chevrolet executives have
never asked the greatest car salesman in
the world and best-selling author how to
sell cars.
Maybe they should.•

3. i
oc NEW CAR DEALER EXTRA
.CoverStory
Joe Girard's
SELL or STARVE
Sales Secrets
By Joseph Cabadas
DETROIT - There's no top 10 list
of rules to make someone the best car
salesman, said legendary Chevrolet sales­
man Joe Girard from his home in Grosse
Pointe Shores. Mich.
"It's more like there are 20,000
rules." he said. "There are so many things,
like you have different ingredients for dif­
ferent cakes or soups. .
"There are many ingredients to make
a good salesman."
Still, Girard did share some of his
most successful sales techniques. They
are:
ooa
• Provide customers with service ­
especially after the sale.
Girard's favorite sayings is, "I sell
the customers and the mechanics return
them."
If a customer has a problem with his
car, the salesman must make sure the car
gets fixed.
Girard made certain the mechanics in
the service department treated his cus­
tomers right. For example, once a month,
he took them out to eat.
"I told them to eat all that they
wanted - if you want two prime ribs,
order them. Take one home," Girard said.
"They would kill for me."
000
• It's more important to sell yourself
than the product.
The first thing Girard said when
someone came into his office was: "I like
you."
He had buttons with the phrase "I like
you" printed on them and would hand
them out. If a customer had children, he
would hand the buttons out, or give out
balloons or suckers.
"I'd sit on the 11001' with the kids. I'd
give little bottles of perfume to the
women," he said. "We wouldn't get into
the sale for maybe 10 minutes. That's
because I was selling the greatest product
in the world, Joe Girard."
000
• Word of Mouth.
"This is one of the greatest (market­
ing) tools that we have, the customers'
word of mouth."
000
• Selling is a game, like checkers or
chess, with the mind. You have to think
strategically and plan things out.
"You get one chance to sell to a con­
sumer. If you blow it, you will die," he
said,
000
• Calculate every move, like the cap­
tain of a ship,
"I am very, very organized, I don't
leave the house unless I know where I'm
going, why I'm going, how long I'm
going to be there and what I'm going to
Photo hy Kathh..sen Wa
Top Chevrolet Salesman Joe Girard said to sell yourself and give customers gre:
service after they buy the car.
do. Even now, when I'm not working,"
Girard said.
Others, who aren't successful, can't
tell you what their plans are.
"Well, how are you going to get any­
where?"
000
• Begin writing up the paperwork
early while you're talking to a car buyer.
"A mistake rhat a lot of salespeople
make is that they're just listening at first
and then they pull out the papers and the
customer will say, 'What are you doing?
I'm not going to buy that.' Write while
you're talking so you can show them," he
said.
000
• Don't hang round the "dope rings"
at work - these are the people who hang
around the office coffee club and talk
about everything except the customer.
"I had a rule when I worked. I don't
want to eat with them," Girard explained.
April 2, 2
"In my book, How to Sell Yourself, I wrc
that I ate with the people who could he
me - the mechanics who fix the cars ai
the bankers, the guys who OK the deals
ooa
• If need be, while at work, shorn
your name if it will make it more mem
rable to customers.
"It's what they do in Hollywood," I
said.
In Girard's case, his legal name
Joseph Girardi. He dropped the "i" c
because it is a common French and Italii
name and he wanted customers to mo
easily remember him.
000
o Have a PMA - positive mental an
tude.
"When I'm there to work, I wor
When I eat, I eat. When I sleep, I slee
And when I play, I play," he said.•
I?our Books Top
Best Seller List
By Joseph Cabadas
DETROIT - After Joe Girard, the world's greatest
new-car salesman, retired in 1977, he wrote a book.
Well, not just one, but four books on good salesman­
ship,
o His first book, How to Sell Anything to Anybody,
was first printed in 1977 and can still be found on the
shelves of book stores around the country. This is impor­
'tant, Girard noted, because books will last on the shelves
for 90 days if they don't sell.
This book tells how he was successful in the car
retail business, including: developing customer profiles
to guarantee future sales; the art of "bird-dogging," to
reward customers for referring new customers; and how
to tum a prospect into a buyer.
o His second book, How to Sell Yourself, is Girard's
personal favorite, but it is only sold at locations when he
goes on the lecture circuit or through inquires on his Web
site (wwwjoegirard.corn).
"Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, the author of 'The
Power of Positive Thinking' wrote the for-
how to recognize the right times for subtle high pressui
tactics.
o Girard's last book, Mastering Your Way to the TOJ
took 3 years to write,
ward to this book, and he never
,
-
~
l'
stories of 16 top business people, including Girard
own anecdotes, who were
shared the secrets of their success.
lion
go back
game. This book tells you how yo
play it.".
Mastering Your Way to the Top is a book that tells tt
wrote a forward to just any book,"
Girard said. all born poor, and the
He pointed out the
last paragraph ~ This book deals wit
of Peale's intro- the lives of 24 people, wh
duction which , ", -. have a net worth of $50 mi
to $10 biIlion eacl
~~~: ~;~ ~~:dI t~iSit_~~ like the late new-er
know, for he helped . :~. dealer Victor Potemkii
and Pizzme," i Domino's
o How to Close ~' founder Tom Mor
aghan,
~::ZrS~::pta~~s ~:p ~..~{:t'~.., "They shared wit
through the selling ) me how they get Ol
process. ~-¢ of bed and how the
It gives tips on how to to bed - how the
overcome objections and plan their day," Girard said. "Life is
how to close even the most difficult sale, how to make
a prospect feel "obligated" to buy your product, and