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No behavior on earth is more human than selling. While animals sometimes trade
favors (like mutual grooming), the exchange of ideas, goods, and services for money is
utterly unique to the human species. With that in mind, I've identified a few individuals
who, in my view, embody the best sales techniques in the world.

1.„

 When it comes to selling, you gotta love Steve Jobs (1955-). Put the guy
on a stage and he can make virtually any Apple product seem like it's the most amazing
invention ever to appear on the face of the earth. Sure, some of that salesmanship is his
personality, and Jobs does seem to have a "reality distortion field" that makes people
believe the improbable. But the primary reason we believe Steve when he says a
product will be hot is that he's got a phenomenal track record of releasing products that
everyone wants.
Lesson: Selling is easier when the product makes people want to buy.

2. 

 There is simply no living person who can sell more product, more quickly,
than Ron Popeil (1935-). Ron once went live on a home shopping network and sold a
million dollar's worth of kitchen appliances -- in a single hour. Think about that. Making
a million dollars, in an hour, just by using your face, voice and hands. The secret?
Popeil shows a childlike excitement about everything he sells. He loves what he does
and what he's selling so much that it's positively infectious. He makes you WANT to
buy, just to feel the same way.
Lesson: Nothing sells faster than honest enthusiasm for your offering.

3.
 

  (1810-1891) thought of himself primarily as a
"showman." And what a show he put on...founding what later became the largest circus
in the world. Barnum could use his showmanship to promote virtually anything into
something that people wanted to see. For example, he took the torso and head of a
baby monkey, sewed it to the back half of a fish, and got people to pay big money to
view a "mummified mermaid." Similarly, he promoted the singer Jenny Lind into the
Katy Perry of her day, by creating a show that presaged the Broadway productions of
later decades.
Lesson: It's not enough to sell; you've got to entertain the customer.

4.
   (1706-1790) was many things: author, printer, political theorist,
politician, postmaster, scientist, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, diplomat, and
(yes!) salesman extraordinaire. Practically single-handedly, Franklin sold the idea of the
United States not just to his countrymen, but also to the rest of the world. It wasn't an
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easy sell, because there hadn't been a functioning republic in the world for nearly 2000
years, making the Constitution seem (to most educated people) to be just so much
crazy talk. However, Franklin's erudition and accomplishment turned him into such an
effective spokesman that the radical new government seemed not just reasonable, but a
foregone conclusion.
Lesson: An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.

5.
„  (1805-1844) convinced thousands (and after his death, millions) of
people that he discovered a set of golden tablets that could only be read using a pair of
magic spectacles. Then Smith convinced his followers to risk death and disgrace on the
basis of what he read therein, even after the golden tablets inconveniently disappeared.
Now that's salesmanship with a vengeance -- and even more so if the story is true. (Few
things are harder to sell than an inconvenient truth.) Smith's legendary charisma
eventually got him into trouble, but there's no question that he was one of the great
visionaries of all time.
Lesson: Don't sell the product; sell the vision.

6.
(1914-2011) sold the world on the advantages of being buff. For
years, he preached the gospel of a healthy diet and regular exercise, turning himself in
the process into a walking advertisement for his own ideas. In the process, he created
and sold televisions shows, a chain of health clubs, and a multitude of health-related
products. Today, you've got to burrow deep into the third world to find a place where
LaLanne's concept of health isn't a huge influence on how men and women want to look
and feel.Lesson:
Don't just sell something; be your own best customer.

7. Most people know of Thomas Edison (1847-1931) as the inventor of

the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and the electric light bulb. However, a
huge part of Edison's life effort involved selling his ideas and inventions to an unready
world. Edison constantly promoted, positioned and publicized, and in the process
convinced the world to embrace technology that, at the time, was almost miraculous.
His effectiveness as a salesman can be gauged by the fact that today Edison remains a
household name, while arch-rival Nicola Tesla (whose inventions were equally
important) remains relatively obscure.
Sales Lesson: Even if you're brilliant, you still need to sell.

8.   Like him or loath him, there's no question that Donald Trump (1946-)
knows how to sell. I'm not just talking about his real estate deals, or his media deals, or
his forays into other businesses. I'm talking about his dogged persistence in the face of
disaster. Back in the early 1990s, Trump was facing bankruptcy and his reputation as a
shrewd businessman was in the toilet. But the Donald kept plugging along, making
deals, selling what he had to sell, and managed not just to save his empire, but to raise
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himself to the point where today some people believe he could be the next President of
the United States.
Lesson: You've got to keep selling, even when times get difficult.

9.Y

 , the 3rd Earl of Cumberland (1558±1605), founded the English East
India Company, one of the first joint-stock corporations in the entire world. The
company imported and sold cotton, silk, indigo dye, saltpetre, tea, and opium, and
generated so much income that it eventually came to to rule large areas of India.
Clifford convinced Queen Elizabeth I to back his scheme primarily because he had
become famous as a jouster, making him the "Tiger Woods" of his day (complete with
the multiple mistresses.) The aging Queen, agog at his total studliness, could refuse
him nothing.
Lesson: Sometimes just looking good is enough to close the deal.

10.  
 (1911-2004) was the first politician who really understood that you
need to SELL your ideas. Previous politicians mostly about finding a parade and getting
out in front of it. Regardless of your view of his politics, Reagan explained what he
believed and where he wanted to go, and then convinced people to line up behind him.
Reagan's genial demeanor, crisp communication style, consistency of message, and
committment to deliver the goods are a true model of how to build a long term customer
relationship.
Lesson: Selling isn't peddling; it's leading the way.

11.
Y (1928-) sold 13,001 cars at a Chevrolet dealership between 1963 and
1978, a feat that eventually got him inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame. His big
innovation was having people get an appointment in order to have him sell to them, so
that he could have an assistant research, pre-screen and qualify each customer.
Previously, all car sales were done based upon catch-as-catch-can walk-ins. Joe took a
hit-or-miss business and turned it into an assembly line.
Lesson: Research your customers before you sell to them.