I recently set out to find the absolute best of the best when it comes to selling. My criteria was simple: first, I wanted real sales reps (not management types) who sell to real customers. And I wanted people who had something to teach the rest of us. I found five, which I’m going to feature, one a day, throughout this entire week.
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.
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