Before Donald Trump was president, Barbara Corcoran knew Trump very well. The two started their real estate careers in the 1970s .
"I've done a lot of work with Donald and I can tell you he is the best salesman I've ever met in my life," the "Shark Tank" star said Tuesday morning at Business Insider's IGNITION Conference in New York City .
Corcoran recounted a story of how she watched Trump successfully pitch and sell not only the Plaza Hotel in New York City, but a giant plot of land as well that wasn't originally part of the deal.
"Donald was near bankruptcy and really needed the money to bail out," Corcoran told the crowd. "I thought he was so off. He wasn't. They bought the land and built all those towers on the west river as we know it today and all those Trump towers along the river."
In 1995, the New York Times reported Trump sold the Plaza Hotel to a Saudi Arabian Prince and one of Singapore's leading entrepreneurs for $325 million . Corcoran said shebelieves it was that same tenacity and awareness as a salesman, which resulted in him being able to win over American people and ultimately win the 2016 presidential election.
"I'll tell you what his masterful mind does. He is a genius at picking out the vulnerability of someone's personality," said Corcoran of witnessing Trump in action over the years. "He can smell it, sense it, and trust it. So, for example, if you were to walk into a business meeting with Donald and you were saying whatever you're saying, I've seen it time and time again, he could see what your weakness is and, not physically reach out and put his finger on it, but he just could see what your weakness is and play into it."
"Not the nicest thing in the world, but it's a certain gift I've never seen in anyone else," added Corcoran. "That's exactly what he did in the election — he put his finger on what the weakness was, the vulnerability of people and he knows how to touch it just so. And people go along for the ride. He is a phenomenal salesman, I have to say. He can sell anything, and he did."
You can follow along with our IGNITION coverage here .
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