Mr. Infomercial: The Early Years of Ron Popeil
Mr. Infomercial: The Early Years of Ron Popeil
That success is a long way from the life Popeil knew as a child. Born on May 3, 1935 in New York City, Popeil’s parents divorced when he was just three years old. In what would mark the beginning of a difficult childhood for the future salesman, Popeil and his 17-month older brother, Jerry, were sent off to a boarding school in upstate New York. They had little to no contact with their family, until four years later, when their grandparents came to pick them up and take them back to their house in Florida.
Popeil’s grandfather was a Polish immigrant with few redeeming qualities, who would frequently beat Popeil and his brother. As a result, Popeil’s time with his grand parents was filled with few happy memories. He calls it a case of being “out of the frying pan and into the fire.” When he was 10 years old, Popeil moved with his grandparents to Chicago, but took the first chance he could to move out on his own at the age of 16.
Popeil’s father, Samuel, was an inventor who sold his products through some of the major department stores throughout the U.S. Despite their rocky relationship, Popeil went to work for his father after moving out, performing live demonstrations of his products to in store customers. “I used to drum up business for my father’s company,” he says. “Because sales were significant the stores would jump on the bandwagon and order more products.”
Then one day, Popeil decided to take a walk along Maxwell Street in Chicago, one of the city’s major tourist attractions where salesmen from all walks of life were busy hawking their wares. “The first time I went there the proverbial light bulb went on in my head,” he recalls. “I saw all these people selling products, making sales, pocketing money, and my mind went racing. I can do what they’re doing, I thought, but I think I can do it better than they can.”
Popeil immediately went back to his father’s factory and bought a range of kitchen products from him at wholesale price. The next Sunday, he returned to Maxwell Street to try his luck. “I talked, I yelled, I hawked, and it worked!” he exclaims. “I was stuffing money into my pockets, more money than I had ever seen in my life.” After living for 16 years in a house without love, Popeil says he finally found a way to connect with others through sales.
It was the start of something big for the eager, young Popeil.
Mr Infomercial The Early Years of Ron Popeil
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You may not know him by name, but chances are if you have ever had a sleepless night and turned on the television, Ron Popeil has been there to keep you company. He is the king of the late night infomercial, and the man who made famous such catch phrases as “But wait, there’s more!” and “It slices! It dices!” But, Popeil is also more than that. Over the past forty years, Popeil has created for himself an empire. By inventing and selling over $2 billion worth of products, Popeil has turned his company, Ronco Teleproducts, into a global leader in direct response marketing.
That success is a long way from the life Popeil knew as a child. Born on May 3, 1935 in New York City, Popeil’s parents divorced when he was just three years old. In what would mark the beginning of a difficult childhood for the future salesman, Popeil and his 17-month older brother, Jerry, were sent off to a boarding school in upstate New York. They had little to no contact with their family, until four years later, when their grandparents came to pick them up and take them back to their house in Florida.
Popeil’s grandfather was a Polish immigrant with few redeeming qualities, who would frequently beat Popeil and his brother. As a result, Popeil’s time with his grand parents was filled with few happy memories. He calls it a case of being “out of the frying pan and into the fire.” When he was 10 years old, Popeil moved with his grandparents to Chicago, but took the first chance he could to move out on his own at the age of 16.
Popeil’s father, Samuel, was an inventor who sold his products through some of the major department stores throughout the U.S. Despite their rocky relationship, Popeil went to work for his father after moving out, performing live demonstrations of his products to in store customers. “I used to drum up business for my father’s company,” he says. “Because sales were significant the stores would jump on the bandwagon and order more products.”
Then one day, Popeil decided to take a walk along Maxwell Street in Chicago, one of the city’s major tourist attractions where salesmen from all walks of life were busy hawking their wares. “The first time I went there the proverbial light bulb went on in my head,” he recalls. “I saw all these people selling products, making sales, pocketing money, and my mind went racing. I can do what they’re doing, I thought, but I think I can do it better than they can.”
Popeil immediately went back to his father’s factory and bought a range of kitchen products from him at wholesale price. The next Sunday, he returned to Maxwell Street to try his luck. “I talked, I yelled, I hawked, and it worked!” he exclaims. “I was stuffing money into my pockets, more money than I had ever seen in my life.” After living for 16 years in a house without love, Popeil says he finally found a way to connect with others through sales.
It was the start of something big for the eager, young Popeil.
Mr Infomercial The Early Years of Ron Popeil
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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