According to Dale Carnegie in his book, “How to Win Friends & Influence People”, a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.

I came across a couple of examples where companies used that principle to generate buzz for its promotion by appealing to consumers by their name.

Travelodge UK

Travelodge UK, a hotel chain, ran a Christmas promotion offering free accommodation to couples called ‘Mary’ and ‘Joseph’.

Married couples who were registered on a special email address could with proof of identity claim a free night’s stay at a Travelodge hotel over the Christmas period.

Boost Juice Bars

Boost Juice Bars, an international chain of retail outlets that specialise in selling healthy fruit juice, ran a “What’s Ya Name Game” promotion in Australia, whereby first names were randomly selected each day and people with the same first name could claim a free drink.

The names were announced each day at Boost Juice stores, on their website and in the media.

People with the same first name, even variations of the name, could claim on that day a free smoothie or juice (of any size – Kids, Medium or Original) or a free wheatgrass shot.

To redeem the free drink, the person had to produce a driver’s license, passport or other formal photographic ID.

Drinks could be redeemed only once per store, but could be redeemed at multiple locations on the same day.

I recall my wife receiving SMS’s from friends to inform her that she could claim a free Boost Juice drink.

By giving away free drinks only to people with the randomly selected name for the day makes people feel special. If Boost Juice gave free drinks to everyone, not only would the promotion not have the same appeal, but they probably couldn’t cope with the massive flood of customers.

Have you come across any promotions that appealed to people by their name?

Full story at the Guardian »

Joe Girard is recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s greatest salesperson for 12 consecutive years, selling 13,001 vehicles at a Chevrolet dealership between 1963 and 1978. And he still holds the world record today.

He was 1 of 42 salesman on the showroom floor. While everyone sold on average 5 cars a month, Joe sold 6 or more a DAY!

Joe’s achievements include:

• Sold more retail “big ticket” items “one-at-a-time” (no fleet or wholesale, never in management) than any other sales person in any retail industry including houses, boats, motor homes, insurance, automobiles, etc.
• Sold an average of 6 new retail vehicles a day (no used cars or trucks).
• Sold 18 new retail vehicles in one day.
• Sold 174 new retail vehicles in one month.
• Sold 1,425 new retail vehicles in one year.
• Sold 13,001 new retail vehicles in a fifteen year career.
• Inducted into The Automotive Hall of Fame (only salesperson, ever).

So how did Joe become the #1 retail salesperson in the world?

Here are some of Joe’s ‘secrets’:

1. Joe used to send out 16,000 envelopes a month, each containing two business cards. The envelope also contained two cards of Joe Girard. In February the card would wish them a happy Valentines Day. In March, happy Saint Patrick’s Day; In April, happy Easter; In May, happy Mothers Day, and so on.
2. He made a deal with a nice Italian restaurant and treated everyone in the service department. The mechanics loved him and took good care of Joe’s customers.
3. Joe always sold himself: “I have never sold a car in my life. I sold Joe Girard.”
4. He would send customers a coupon and say, “I will pay you $50 if you refer me.”
5. “Where ever you go… I go.” – Joe used to put his business cards into the glove box of the vehicles he sold, so that customers could always hand out his cards when they asked where and who they bought the car from.
6. Three days after a sale, Joe would always call customers and ask them how the car was working out for them. He always reminded them that if they bought a lemon, that he would turn it into a peach. He would also ask for referrals and remind them that he would pay people $50 for each referral.

Could your business use some of the techniques Joe used?

Full story at Mindvalley Labs »