The Mao of the sales world

Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Little Red Book of Selling, published by Pearson. President of U.S.-based Buy Gitomer, he gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts Internet training programs on selling and customer service at www.trainone.com. He can be reached by phone at (+1) 704/333-1112 or by e-mail at salesman@gitomer.com

Commerce International: Your book is both serious and fun. Does it mean that for selling, a sense of humour is at least as important as business acumen?
Jeffrey Gitomer: “Sense of humor is attractive. Sense of humor is contagious. And sense of humor is a form of agreement. If both people are laughing, it’s one step closer to buying, and it’s an easy way to gain engagement and establish rapport. Besides my selling skills, attitude skills, and my speaking skills, I consider humor my next most important success element.”

Mission impossible… In three sentences, how does one become a perfect seller?
J.G.: “You cannot become a perfect seller, but you can become a perfect student of sales, positive attitude, and presentation skills. You can become a brilliant networker and a brilliant value provider. If you combine that with a product that you love — success will be yours.”

As a well-known business trainer, would you say that business training becomes fundamental for businessmen when the economical sphere faces crisis?
J.G.: “When economic times are volatile or diminished, by proportion training should increase. Sales are harder to make in tough economic times, therefore customer service and positive attitude training become imperative in order to keep relationships vibrant. In tougher times, sales do not stop, they merely diminish. And it is up to leaders of companies to provide training support and encouragement in order to maintain sales volume.“