Joe Girard

Joseph Samuel Gerard, better known as Joe Girard, was born November 1, 1928, in Detroit, Michigan, and is an American salesman. He is recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's greatest salesman for twelve consecutive years, selling 13,001 cars at a Chevrolet dealership between 1963 and 1978. Additionally, Girard holds the title of World's Number One Retail Salesperson, a testament to his sales prowess.

Girard worked from childhood on. A high school dropout, he started working as a shoeshine boy, then as a newsboy for the Detroit Free Press at the age of nine, followed by stints as a dishwasher, delivery boy, stove assembler, and home building contractor. In 1963, the then thirty-five-year-old walked into a Detroit car dealership and begged a skeptical manager for a job as a salesman. He sold a car on his first day and, by the second month, was so good that some of the other salesmen complained and got him fired. His next job was at Merollis Chevrolet in Eastpointe, Michigan, where he worked until his retirement in 1977. There, he set consecutive sales records over a fifteen-year period.

Girard's influence extends beyond auto sales; he is a revered international lecturer and best-selling author, with influential works such as "Joe Girard's 13 Essential Rules of Selling: How to Be a Top Achiever and Lead a Great Life". His lectures cover topics such as Business Visionaries, Leadership, Marketing, Inspiration, Motivation, Empowerment, Attitude, and Sales. He challenges audiences to "step up to life and plan for what you get and deserve" and to "become the person you have always strived to be".

One of America's most sought-after speakers, Girard has presented before companies such as General Motors, Hewlett-Packard, and Kmart. His awards include The Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement, and he has been nominated for the Horatio Alger Award by the late Dr. Norman Vincent Peale and the late Lowell Thomas. In 2001, he was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame. Girard now resides in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan.