When Dave Greco comes to episode 307 of the Shark Tank, he’s confident that he can swim with the big fish. A baseball star in high school, Greco went on to become a financial adviser. His sales experience led him to create a system that he believes can teach “anyone to sell.” He’s developed the system and managed to wrangle deals with several high-profile companies. He wants to take the system into a mobile app, making it more accessible to customers. Greco boasts that he can sell “anything to anyone,” but can he sell his idea to the Sharks?
Salespreneur Shark Tank Recap
Greco comes into the Shark Tank looking for a $90,000 investment, in exchange for 40% of his company. His pitch is confident and aggressive. He claims he’s been in the top 2% of every sales firm he’s belonged to, and “won every sales award there is to win.”
He introduces his two-part system. The first part is “Missile”, which teaches the user how to get to the right person within the company, the decision maker who actually makes the buying decisions. The second half of the system is “Road Map,” an industry-specific guide to making the sales pitch in order to intrigue the customer.
Kevin O’Leary wants to talk brass tacks. “How many sales have you made? How many organizations?” Greco explains that he’s sold $40,000 worth of his systems, and has partnered with 5 organizations, 3 of which are Fortune 500. His current business model uses himself or an associate to go out to the company and teach the system. The sales come from the printed materials that support the program.
Who’s In?
Robert Herjavec isn’t impressed with the sales. With three Fortune 500 accounts, Herjavec believes the numbers should be higher. Greco explains that he’s only been in business 3 months. He also brings a big-name account to the table – Met Life insurance. Robert Herjavec wants to know why he’s not focusing on selling more to Met Life, a company that has a 100,000 plus sales force. Greco claims to have taken a small start-up company from $30 million in sales to $60 million. Robert Herjavec wants to know “How could you have done that?”
“Partner with me, Robert, and find out,” responds Greco, earning laughs from the Sharks.
Daymond John challenges Greco to “sell” him a pen. Greco does his best, but John “hates” the pitch. He’s out.
Robert Herjavec believes that Greco should stick to the seminar model. He tells Greco “There’s a huge hunger in America for people who can sell… You can sell you, but I’m just not buying going from you to a mobile app. I’m out.”
Kevin O’Leary doesn’t believe a mobile app can improve sales training. He’s out.
Mark Cuban offers Greco a deal, but wants an immediate response. Greco makes a crucial misstep, and wants to hear from Barbara Corcoran. She thinks he’s “going too fast.” She’s out, and Cuban retracts his deal.
Greco leaves the Tank without a Shark deal.
Salespreneur Shark Tank Update
Mark Cuban told Greco that he taught all of America the worst mistake a salesperson can make, by not closing the deal when he had the chance. Greco’s confidence turned out to be his downfall in the Tank. He later landed an interview with Daymond John, a rare chance at even more exposure from his Shark Tank run. Greco doesn’t seem to have taken full advantage of his opportunities. His social media feeds are nearly silent, and his website, although impressive, has broken links. It seems that the “world’s best salesman” may not be doing so well after all.
Dave’s LinkedIn profile says he closed the business in August, 2012 – about six months after airing. Since then, he’s hopped around as a salesman a bit before he tried resurrecting Salespreneur in 2015. Since May, 2017, he is a Senior Sales Leader at Stellantis.
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