The force of Grant Cardone defines leadership to its core, in its
highest, greatest form. His energy is massive, his charm,
legendary, and his motivation of positive, successful thinking,
matched by few I have ever known. Starting from modest
beginnings, Grant Cardone is now the founder and owner of three
multi-million dollar companies, a successful software company, a
sales training and consulting business, and a real estate
company. As if all that were not enough, he is now a successful
author with a book on track to be a N.Y. Times Best Seller, an
international speaker, lecturing around the world to industry
leaders, managers, C.E.O.s and entrepreneurs, on sales, money,
finance, business strategies and business expansion.
After graduating from college with an accounting degree, Grant
Cardone held several sales jobs, including in the auto industry,
where he saw opportunity and rewrote the way auto dealers would
sell cars with his Information Assisted Selling programs. These
programs have since been customized for businesses to expand
outside of the auto industry. He then went on with an innovative
Epencil™ software-negotiating program he created to make
their businesses more successful, by reducing the time in the
negotiation process, and improving customer satisfaction.
As a real estate investor, Mr. Cardone started with one home and
parlayed it into apartments, shopping centers and development
opportunities with over $200 million dollars bought and sold. His
own home in which he currently resides in Los Angeles, along with
his wife, the beautiful and talented actress Elena Lyons, is a 17
million dollar mansion in the Hollywood Hills, once owned by
Lionel Ritchie. He is the author of numerous books, including the
legendary 'Sell to Survive,' which stresses the importance of
selling for any career. ‘Sell To Survive’ has become
a survival manual for business executives, sales representatives,
entrepreneurs, and small business owners. It is the definitive
book on how to survive in any economy. His most recent book, to
be released on June 1st, 2010, is on track to hit the N.Y. Times
Best Sellers List.
With his solution oriented, no nonsense formulas, he has led
thousands of individuals to succeed where before they had failed.
With his proven business acumen, approachable persona, and
growing list of financial achievements, Mr. Cardone has
established himself as one of the leading opinion makers on
finance and economic issues in the world. He is featured
regularly on network news channels and sites reaching millions.
His humor, wit, charm, and power of success, truly make him a
leader of our time, to help bring the world out of its self-
inflicted despair, to a place of hope, vision, and victory. Grant
Cardone will be a guest with the legendary Joan Rivers on June
9th, 2010.
We are pleased to give you here, part 5 of our exclusive
interview with the man that other financial experts are calling
‘The entrepreneur for the 21st Century,’ Mr. Grant
Cardone, as he speaks directly to our readers in the
entertainment industry. To see the first parts of our interview,
visit here:
Part
One
Part
Two
Part
Three
Part
Four
By Bruce Edwin
Bruce Edwin: (…) Grant, what would be
your advice for actors and models and musicians to increase their
market and revenue?
Grant Cardone: Artists must embrace the sales and
marketing sides of their business. It’s impossible for me
to get away from the idea that somebody has to learn how to sell
themselves, look at Julia Roberts, what was the one she did,
Pretty Woman, right?...
Bruce Edwin: Right, a great one, a huge
film.
Grant Cardone: Right, was she the number one
pick for that movie?
Bruce Edwin: No, I don’t think so, they
didn’t initially want her…
Grant Cardone: No, I don’t think so. What
was her first one? Mystic Pizza, her first film, she covered her
hair with shoe polish, to make it darker, and showed up, crashed
an audition, that she was already late for, and made herself
known, stood out, even broke the social protocol and sold
herself, that’s not acting, that is full blown hard
selling! Had it not worked, they would have said she was
obnoxious and an idiot, but it did work and now they call her a
star!
This is a big problem for lots of artists, the unwillingness to
sell themselves, promote and market. In any contracting and
highly competitive industry you are required sell your products,
in this case yourself! Take Van Gogh- a great artist who created
over 400 original masterpieces in his lifetime, yet, he never
collected more than four hundred bucks in sales! In total, he
only ever sold one painting, he?sold it a nephew, or to a friend
of a family member. Here was a brilliant artist that will be
remembered and known forever, but refused to embrace how to sell
and market himself while alive.
You know the thing is, artists think, you know, well,
“Artists have to suffer.” That’s completely
ridiculous. That’s so ridiculous! It’s like what are
you thinking man, you have to suffer?! “Oh, well,
I’ll really be known when I’m dead.” Well,
maybe, maybe not! You know, so the reality is, why be known when
you’re dead when you can be known right now? This is not a
task the artist should turn over to the manager or PR firm but
take responsibility for themselves.
– Grant Cardone
The Hollywood Sentinel: That’s great yeah,
that’s so true.
Grant Cardone: I mean, look at Robert De Niro, it
doesn’t look like he’s suffering to me. So did he get
a break? Yeah, I’m sure he did, but I’m sure
there’s plenty to that story that you don’t know,
which is that ‘he showed up.’ He showed up and
pitched himself when nobody knew him. He sold himself and
probably had to do so over and over. The thing about Hollywood
is, when you push through and make it, you get this sticky thing
going, where people want you over and over again as long as you
stay in demand through continued appearances. I talk about this
in my new book, ‘If You're Not First, You're Last.’
It’s about how to be first in people's minds.
I don't know anyone that has made it that didn't have to do some
things they didn't like, even things they hate, man. Do things
you hate to do and that you know others don't like to do and you
get an immediate advantage. People hate the word selling. You can
see it on their face! They’ll say, “Oh, I hate that
idea, I’m not a salesperson,” well you know what? You
need to be! Because the people that did and are making it in this
country, from Obama to Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Richard Branson,
even Jesus Christ, all sold themselves or their ideas. If you
can’t sell yourself and make yourself known, make your
ideas known, make your product known, then ain't nobody going to
know how brilliant you are and you won't make your dreams a
reality.
You know, there are six billion people on this planet that have a
dream of some kind, everybody has a dream, it’s not how
good your dream is or even the quality of your trade, it’s
how good of a job the artist can do at being first in the minds
of those that make the choices. Thus the Kardashians, Paris, and
how about Ryan Seacrest- master examples. If you want to get the
career you dream of and become known, learn more than just the
arts, learn to sell.
Bruce Edwin: That makes perfect sense, thank
you.
Don't miss the final part of our exclusive interview, in part 6
with Grant Cardone, in our next issue, as Grant discusses with us
another tip to actors getting work, and how what you believe
about life after death affects your survival and success.
To see Grant's wisdom and magic on video, be sure to visit
www.grantcardone.com
If you do not yet have the book that will transform your business
life or entertainment career, 'Sell to Survive,' get it now, also
get “If you’re not First Your Last – Sales
Strategies to Dominate Your Market and Beat Your
Competition,” and “The Closers Survival Guide –
Close or Lose.”
To book Mr. Cardone for a speaking engagement or television
appearance, contact management at www.starpowermanagementllc.com
or call 310-226-7176.
This article is &c?py; 2009, 2010, The Hollywood Sentinel / Bruce
Edwin, All world rights reserved.