《Born to Sell + 销售天才译文》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《Born to Sell + 销售天才译文（20页珍藏版）》请在金锄头文库上搜索。
1、1Unit TwoBorn to SellBy Maria Bartiromo 销售天才销售天才 袜子致富袜子致富Kathy Irelands metamorphosis from supermodel to supermogul started with a pair of socks. It was1993, and the beauty best known for showing off string bikinis in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues had just been asked to flaunt foot warmers.
2、 Pregnant with her first child, Ireland contemplated her future and concluded that if it was going to involve socks, she would rather sell them than show them off. Kathy Ireland 由一名超级名模到商业巨子的转变始于一双袜子.那时在 1993 年，这个以 在体育画报泳装版（Sports Illustrated）展示比基尼出名的性感宝贝被要求展示浴 足器。怀着第一个孩子的 Ireland 仔细考虑了自己的未来，并决定如果要展
3、示的还有袜子， 那她会去卖袜子而不是穿袜子给别人看。 “Modeling was a wonderful experience, but I wanted to build something that wasnt fleeting,” says Ireland, now 43. “I knew my days there were numbered, and I wanted to move on to something else. Socks would be a great place to start.” Ireland 现在 43 岁，她说：“做模特是一段精彩的经历，但是我想创造一
4、些不会转瞬即逝 的东西 。我当时知道生命有限，我想做些别的事情。买袜子是个很棒的开始。” They were. Kathy Ireland Worldwide, now a $1.4 billion lifestyle design company, recently sold its 100 millionth pair of socks. 那确实是个很棒的开始。 Kathy Ireland Worldwide 现在已成为一家资产 14 亿的生活方 式设计公司，刚卖出了它的第一亿双袜子。 But achieving this level of success took determinati
5、on and hard work, and Ireland has never been afraid to face a challenge. When she was 1, she applied for a paper route in her hometown of Santa Barbara, California. “My dad showed me the newspaper ad, which said, Are you the boy for the job? I wrote to the editor, I am not the boy for the job, but I
6、 am the girl for the job.” 但是这样的成功意味着决心和苦干，而 Ireland 从来就不是一个畏惧挑战的人。11 岁时， 在家乡加州 Santa Barbara，她申请当邮递员：“我爸爸给我看了报纸上的广告，广告上写 到你是能做这工作的男孩么？我给报纸编辑写了封信说我不是能做这工作的男孩， 但我是能做这工作的女孩。” She started delivering papers on New Years Day, when they were bulging with post-holiday ad circulars and sales supplements. “I
7、 was a scrawny kid. As I approached this one customer, he started yelling, This is a boys job! What are you doing here?” 新年第一天，她开始分发报纸，报纸上充斥着节后广告和销售信息。Ireland 说：我不是 一个很讨人喜欢的小孩。记得当我向一个顾客介绍报纸上的东西时，他对我喊道:这活是男 孩干的，你一个女孩来干什么？ Although discouraged, Ireland soon bounced back. “I needed to prove him wrong.”
8、 And she did: “For three years in a row, I was nominated carrier of the year.” That drive stood her in good stead through her turn as supermodel and, later, as she was launching her business. 虽然很受打击，但 Ireland 很快就缓过来。我要证明他是错的。她做到了，她说：在一条2街上干了三年后，我被提名为年终最佳邮递员。从她成为超级名模到建立公司，这段经历 一直鼓舞着她。 Ireland and the
9、 team that managed her modeling career had long held the idea of leveraging her looks into something more lasting. “I felt that if women embraced our socks, we would be onto something, and it would be a good foundation for our brand,” Ireland says. “At first, people said, You cant build a brand base
10、d on socks. But just because it has never been done doesnt mean that it cant be done.” 做模特时，Ireland 和她的团队长期致力于使她的形象能持久些。Ireland 说：我觉得如果 女士们穿上我们的袜子，我们就找到保持持久的办法了。起初，别人都说不可能通过袜子 建立品牌，但没有做过并不意味着做不成功。 To turn the idea into reality took money and that was something Ireland was short of. She had tried ear
11、lier business ventures, but they had failed, making her a credit risk. Furthermore, she had to convince bankers that she was more than just a pretty face. 真正的建立袜子品牌需要资金，而 Ireland 没钱。起初，她尝试使用风险投资，但是它们 都失败了，这给她带来了不好的信誉。后来，她试图让银行家们相信她不光有一张漂亮的 面孔， “The modeling made people aware of me, but it made it mo
12、re challenging for them to take my ideas seriously.” 她说：“做模特让我出名，这反到让人们不把我的想法当回事。” Eventually, a member of her team provided a personal loan of $50,000. The experience taught Ireland a valuable lesson: “Im always encouraging women, Build your relationship with bankers.” 最终，她团队中的一个人自己掏钱借给她五万。这段经历让 Ir
13、eland 学到了一个宝贵的教 训：“我一直鼓舞同伴要和银行家搞好关系。 With the seed money, Ireland found a manufacturing partner, conducted family-based focus groups and researched and personally tested the product with her friends and family. Her husband, an emergency room physician, wore the socks to see how well they would stand
14、 up during his long hours on duty. He and Ireland donned them during backpacking trips to evaluate the products blister propensity. The verdict: “These are great socks.”用这第一笔钱，Irenland 和一家制作商合作，以家庭为单位成立研究小组，并和朋友和 家人亲自检验产品。她当急诊大夫的丈夫就穿着她做的袜子上班，来看在当他长时间工作 时对袜子感觉如何。她和她丈夫会子背着登山包穿着她做的袜子去远足，来检验多长时间 会磨出血泡。他
15、们的结论是：这些袜子太棒了！Ireland loaded up her bag with samples and hit the road. To save money, she booked red-eye flights and slept on planes and in airports. “I banged on a lot of doors and had a lot of doors slammed in my face,” says Ireland. “In a sense, modeling was a really good education for a business
16、 career because in the world of modeling, you are constantly facing rejection, and that continues in business.”Ireland 背着装满样品的包上了路。为了省钱，她坐夜班飞机，睡在飞机上和机场里。她 说：”我拜访过很多人家，常常碰一鼻子灰。可以说，做模特的经历对我从商倒是一次很 好的教育，在模特业里，你会一直被拒绝，在商业里也是。 The first year, the company made $80,000 in retail sales, primarily to sporting goods stores. “We were ecstatic,” Ireland says, “but we were still in the red. Its expensive to start your own business, and you never
