Sell or Be Sold Review: Learn How to Make Sales with Grant Cardone

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1. Who is Grant Cardone?

Grant Cardone is a salesperson, real estate mogul, and thought leader.


He was named Forbes Magazine’s #1 marketer to watch in 2017.


He is also a New York Times best-selling author, thanks to his book Sell or Be Sold.


At the end of 2020, Cardone’s net worth was $300 million.


Does $300 million sound good to you? Keep reading to learn the secrets that made Cardone a millionaire.

2. How Sell or Be Sold will change your life

Sell or Be Sold is full of invaluable lessons that will change both your business ― and your life.


The book starts by teaching its reader that everything in life is about sales, and that being good at sales is being good at life.


If being able to sell (ideas, products, services, anything) is a requirement for success then you need to be able to sell.


So there you have it, this sales book goes beyond your business life, right into your personal life.

3. Best lessons from Sell or Be Sold

Now, let’s have a look at the best lessons from Sell or Be Sold and discuss how to make these lessons actionable in your everyday life.

3.1. Understand that selling is a way of life

Every single person makes sales every single day.


Something as simple as selling your friends on where to go for dinner ― if it includes influencing or persuading, it’s a sale!


Even this article is going to sell you on selling!


If you’re still not convinced, the book suggests you make a list of the different roles you play in life (parent, employee, friend, etc.) and then make a list of how selling is involved in each of these roles.


Becoming aware of how much selling you do in your everyday life will help you shift your focus towards becoming a great salesperson.


And, once you’re focused on becoming a great salesperson, your life will get better and better.

Make things happen

3.2. Commitment = Results = Greatness

To become great, you first need to commit to getting great results.


To do this, Cardone suggests you write down all your failures. When a customer complains, write it down!


Rather than brushing it off as a problem with the customer or a problem with the price, commit to learning from your failures.


It’s your sale; take responsibility.


Eventually, you will begin to see patterns of similar complaints and you will notice which of your responses worked and which of them didn’t.


Now you can finetune the responses that do work.


Through a commitment to learning from your failures, you will start seeing results and you will be on your way to becoming a great salesperson!

3.3. Be sold on your product

How can you sell a product that you, yourself, don’t absolutely believe in?


The most important sale is selling yourself.


You need to believe in what you are selling so much that you become unreasonable ― only then will the product really start to sell.


The customer needs to see your conviction for the product to be utterly convinced that this product is the only option for them.


To sell yourself on your product, you must learn every great thing about it and become a fanatic.


Try to see the product as more than just a way for you to make money.


Rather see it as an amazing product that your customer needsin their life.


If you’re sold, they’ll be sold.

3.4. Agreeing leads to agreements

The customer is not always right ― but you do have to agree with them.


The rule of agreement is, according to Cardone, the most violated sales rule.


Telling them they’re right will put an end to the conversation. Telling them they’re wrong will shut them out.


You have to agree and make the customer feel heard at first. Acknowledge their opinion.


The customer will find you agreeable and easy to work with.

Agreeing leads to agreements

Then, you can maneuver and offer alternatives from a more trusted position.


To do this, listen to the customer’s concern, agree with them, then start with your “but…” and close the sale.


Your “but…” should offer a justification for their complaint.


For example, yes I agree that the product is expensive, but it will last a lifetime.

3.5. Take massive action

Take massive action

There are typically three types of responses, when faced with a problem:

  • The wrong action
  • The right action
  • No action

However, Grant Cardone offers a fourth option: massive action.


To take massive action is to overestimate, rather than underestimate, how much effort and work is needed to solve a problem or reach a goal.


Overestimating will lead to massive action being taken that goes beyond what is actually necessary.


Your results will be accelerated and you can move on to your next problem or goal.


Success in sales requires more action, so if you need one client, don’t phone ten, phone 100.


Put in massive effort to get massive results.

3.6. Attitude is senior to product

Attitude is senior to product

No one wants to speak to a salesperson with a bad attitude.


Always make your customers feel valued.


They will remember the way you made them feel more than they will remember the product.


Having a great attitude will help you build a network of clients who love dealing with you and will always come back to buy from you.


People give back the attitude that they get. If you are positive, your customer will respond with positivity.


So remember, show your customer your best, most positive side. Make sure they feel good when they deal with you.


If they feel good, you will make sales!

3.7. Build trust with your customer

Sell a product online

For success in every sale, always enter with the belief that the customer does not trust you.


This way you will work harder to earn their trust.


If the customer doesn’t trust you, they won’t believe your sales pitch.


Without trust, you won’t make the sale.


A good tip here is to show and not tell.


Demonstrate why your customer should buy what you are selling, don’t just tell them.


If you are working on a deal, put it on paper.


The customer will trust paper a lot more than spoken words.


It is also important to convince them that you’re an expert, and that they should trust that your opinion is reliable.

3.8. Price is not as important as you think it is

If a customer loves a product or if it solves a problem for them, price does not matter.


It’s your job, as the salesperson, to convince your buyer that they either love or need your product.


If you are struggling to make a sale, sell harder!


Blaming your difficulties on money could lead you to lowering your price and lowering your price lets the customer think your product is worthless.


As a salesperson, this is the last thing you want!


If the customer says they have a problem with the price, it’s your job to show them why the product is worth its price.

3.9. Communication leads to sales

Communication leads to sales

Sales is a people business.


In order to make a sale, you need to communicate effectively with your customer ― and not just about the product.


People care most about themselves, their time, and their money, not your product.


So put them first!


You need to listen to the customer and understand exactly what they need.


You must ask valid questions to make sure that you understand how to make them happy.


Not only will this lead to a great business relationship for future sales, but it will also help you customize your sales pitch to show how your product suits the customer’s needs.

4. The Perfect Sales Process

The most important five steps of the sales process are:

  • Greet the customer
  • Determine the customers wants and needs
  • Select a product for them and show its value
  • Make a proposal
  • Close or lose the sale

The first two steps are not about selling, they are about asking and listening, so you know what and how to sell.


When you present the product, focus on the aspects that solve your customer’s problems.


Always make a proposal so you can get closer to an agreement.


The close is much more complicated than it sounds. Cardone says one close is made up of lots of smaller closes. You must commit to finding innovative ways to secure the close.


It is also extremely important to follow up after these five steps have been completed.


If you closed the sale, check that the customer is happy and keep them in your network for future sales.


If you lost the sale, follow up and keep listening and asking questions. You’ll either make that sale eventually, or you’ll learn from their objections.

5. Grant Cardone’s 10 commandments of sales

For success in sales Grant Cardone swears by these:

  • Be Proud and Be Positive

Salespeople make the world go round.


Be proud to be a salesman and ooze positivity! This will attract customers.

  • See the Sale

You have to see the sale, don’t leave it up to the customer.

  • Be Sold on Your Offer

You can’t sell something you aren’t sold on.


Ideally, you should own everything you sell because how can you sell something you wouldn’t buy yourself?

  • Know Your Value Proposition

You need to find out what your customer values so you can sell to them in a way that makes sense to them.

  • Assume the sale

Behave as though the sale is guaranteed and a decision will be made.


Speak about things that happen after payment such as shipping or installation.

  • Always Agree with Your Client

Again, this is so important! Agree with your client so you can influence them from a favorable position.

  • Double Dollar Demonstration

Make sure your demonstration makes the product appear to be worth double your asking price.


If you’re selling something for $1000, show them why it’s worth $2000.

  • Be Time Efficient

Don’t waste the client’s time. They will never buy from you if they feel as though they are wasting time talking to you.


Be time-efficient and let them know how much of their time you’re going to take at the start of your presentation.

  • Assume the Close

Don’t ask questions, just move forward. You’ve already asked the questions when you met the client.


Now you know what they need, don’t give them a chance to back out. Start walking them through the buying process, and make it look easy.

  • Always Go for the Close

You need to close the transaction. Know how to respond to every objection and make sure you get the close.


You must be persistent and learn from past failures to ensure success.

6. Grant Cardone’s traits of a great salesperson

According to Cardone, a great salesperson:

  • Is willing to be told no.
  • Asks for the order regardless.
  • Listens selectively.
  • Stays sold on his or her own story.
  • Asks questions.
  • Gets answers to questions.
  • Knows that price is not the issue.
  • Is willing to pressure and persist.
  • Believes in selling as a good thing.
  • Trains and prepares constantly.

7. Conclusion

Time to think about success

Grant Cardone’s Sell or Be Sold is a detailed guide to success in both business and life ― and now you’ve got the best bits.


If everything in life is really about sales, your life is about to become great!


This article has highlighted the most important tips from the book and shown you how you can incorporate these into your daily life.


Remember, take massive action, agree with customers and commit to being the best salesperson out there!


And never forget that your attitude is key.


With these tips, you’ll be unstoppable!


Go get selling!

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