Where they started
Started selling cars in Detroit in 1963 after his construction business failed and he was deep in debt.
How they did it
- Sold 13,001 cars at one Chevrolet dealership in 15 years, retail and one at a time.
- Mailed every past customer a card every month, so they thought of him first.
- Believed every person knows about 250 others, so one happy or angry customer spreads far.
Use this on your next call
“The sale is not the end. Follow-up turns one buyer into a stream of referrals.”
Where they started
Sold cookware door to door in the 1940s and struggled for his first years.
How they did it
- A mentor told him he could be great if he believed in himself, and his results jumped.
- Became one of the top salespeople in a company of thousands.
- Turned what he learned into talks and the book See You at the Top (1975).
Use this on your next call
“Your attitude is part of the pitch. Help people get what they want and you will get what you want.”
Photo: BrokenSphere, CC BY-SA 3.0
MKA
Where they started
Spent 25 years in direct sales and quit after a man she had trained was promoted over her.
How they did it
- Started her own company in 1963 with $5,000 of savings.
- Built it around recognition: famous rewards like the pink Cadillac for top sellers.
- Grew it into a global company with a huge independent sales force.
Use this on your next call
“Make every person feel important, customers and teammates alike.”
Where they started
A farm boy who sold bacon, soap and lard across rural Nebraska for a meatpacking company.
How they did it
- Turned a weak sales territory into one of the company's best.
- Started teaching public speaking classes to adults in New York.
- Wrote How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936), still a bestseller.
Use this on your next call
“Be genuinely interested in the other person. Ask, listen, and use their name.”
Photo: Public domain
Where they started
Sold fax machines door to door for seven years and heard 'no' almost every day.
How they did it
- Founded Spanx in 2000 with $5,000 of her savings.
- Pitched store buyers herself and showed the product in person.
- Forbes named her the youngest self-made woman billionaire in 2012.
Use this on your next call
“Rejection is training. Every 'no' made her faster at the next 'yes'.”
Photo: Gillian Zoe Segal, CC BY-SA 4.0
Where they started
Spent decades as a traveling salesman of paper cups and then milkshake mixers.
How they did it
- In 1954, at 52, he visited a restaurant that had ordered eight of his mixers.
- Saw how fast and consistent the system was and sold the brothers on franchising it.
- Turned it into one of the largest restaurant chains in the world.
Use this on your next call
“Watch why customers buy. A big order is a clue to a bigger opportunity. And it's never too late.”
Photo: Public domain
Where they started
Began by selling skin creams her chemist uncle made, to friends and in beauty salons.
How they did it
- Founded the company with her husband in 1946.
- Put the product on people's skin: free samples and live demos.
- Popularised the 'gift with purchase' that stores still use.
Use this on your next call
“Let them try it. Experience sells better than description.”
Photo: Bill Sauro, NY World-Telegram, public domain
Where they started
Started Apple with Steve Wozniak in 1976 and sold the first computers to a local shop.
How they did it
- Pushed out of Apple in 1985, came back in 1997 when it was near collapse.
- Launched products on stage as stories: a problem, then a live demo of the fix.
- Introduced the iPhone in 2007 as three products in one.
Use this on your next call
“Sell the story, not the specs. Show the problem first, then the solution.”
Photo: Matthew Yohe, CC BY-SA 3.0
Where they started
Grew up in public housing in Brooklyn and started his career selling for Xerox.
How they did it
- Joined a small Seattle coffee seller in 1982.
- After a trip to Italy, pitched a café experience; when the owners said no, he started his own.
- Bought Starbucks in 1987 and grew it worldwide.
Use this on your next call
“People pay for how you make them feel. Sell the experience around the product.”
Photo: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0
Where they started
As a boy sold chewing gum, Coca-Cola and newspapers door to door.
How they did it
- Was terrified of public speaking, so he took a Dale Carnegie course.
- Said it was the best investment he ever made.
- Became famous for explaining complex ideas in plain words.
Use this on your next call
“Communication is a skill you can train. Fear goes away with practice.”
Photo: US International Trade Administration, public domain
