In 2015, Amazon surpassed Walmart as the largest retailer in the United States. By all means and qualifications, this makes Jeff Bezos the number one salesperson on earth. According to Wikipedia, Jeff Bezos’ net worth is now over $66 billion, which means he earns not only the sales numbers but the commission checks to match. AsForbes recently reported, Jeff Bezos became the third richest person in the world in August of this year, bumping Warren Buffet to fourth place.
Anyone who can out sell Walmart and outearn Warren Buffet is a badass.
Jeff Bezos is the definition of the modern, top-producing salesperson. He’s not your typical “traveling salesman.” No. Bezos is a computer science major, who graduated from an Ivy League college (Princeton) and who just happened to figure out how to leverage the Internet to sell to the masses. These days, you can pretty much buy anything you want from Amazon. In some instances, you can get it in less than an hour.
Mr. Bezos has also resolved how to get product into the hands of his clients as quickly as possible. This says a lot about the way he thinks and why he’s so successful.
Jeff Bezos came up with the idea for Amazon while driving from NY to Seattle. He then started the company in his garage and grew it to a ridiculous level of success. He’s had to make several sells to different markets to earn the title he holds today. First, he had to sell people into using his store and trusting Amazon with their credit card info. Second, he had to sell retailers on marketing their stuff on his site. Third, he had to sell investors into taking a stake in his company, and the list goes on.
Amazon has changed the way products are bought and sold. I’ve walked into a retail store plenty of times and touched the product I wanted, then have gotten into my car and on my phone to place the order with Amazon. The sneakiest part about Jeff Bezos’ creation is his site is 100 percent designed to ABC sell at all times, yet it gives the client the illusion they are making a buying decision.
If you look at the layout of any page in Amazon, you’ll see offers. From conversion targeting, suggested upsells, retargeting, mirroring and one-click-upsells, to any other type of offer you can think of, every element of digital marketing is plastered on every single page on the site. Jeff and his team of tech geniuses have studied the human buying psyche to such an extent that it makes us common sales folk jealous AF.
Amazon didn’t take off as the leader in sales overnight, however. Bezos founded Amazon in 1994, but it was just last year that he achieved his spot at the top. Each time Amazon made a sale, they took a portion of the money and used it toward software and education, which taught them how to sell more. Mr Bezos invested in learning as much as he could about sales until he’d outsold everyone practically. In less than a quarter-century, Bezos invented a niche and crushed the 800-pound reigning gorilla.
This should serve as proof that sales methodology is changing. The days of us knocking doors, cold calling, dropping by and surprising people are going away. Sure, cold calls and door knocking work, but with guys like Bezos out there, whose sites can metaphorically knock more doors in two seconds than a team of 1,000,000 salespeople can knock in a week this “new” process isn’t going anywhere.
I’ve been saying it for years now and the evidence supports it. The way goods are sold is changing. The richest people in sales are not fast-taking, smooth-shaven, suit-wearing salespeople. They are guys and gals who get the Internet and have learned how to leverage technology to close more sales. Amazon has brought the future of sales into the present tense.
I’d recommend reading the latest book about Jeff Bezos and Amazon called The Everything Store. Surprisingly, you can get it on Amazon. Imagine that…
