University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
Jeffrey Gitomer's Little Red Book of Sales Answers
Book

Jeffrey Gitomer's Little Red Book of Sales Answers

99.5 Real World Answers That Make Sense, Make Sales, and Make Money

Jeffrey Gitomer
FT Prentice Hall, 2006
Buy book or audiobook

Read or listen offline

Amazon Kindle
  • 0.5×
  • 0.75×
  • 1×
  • 1.25×
  • 1.5×
  • 1.75×
1×

Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

Sales expert Jeffrey Gitomer isn’t reinventing the sales wheel; he’s just showing you how it turns. Whether you’ve been in sales for five weeks or five years, you know what questions you want answered: "How do I make a cold call?" "When do I ask for the sale?" "How do I get referrals?" Gitomer answers these questions and more, succinctly and thoroughly, with a mix of common sense and hard-won experience. He doesn’t provide shortcuts or a magic sales formula. Rather, he advocates hard work and preparation. His no-nonsense, conversational text is easy to understand and usually right on target. Although the book is sprinkled liberally with self-promotion (after all, he is a salesman), getAbstract believes that it’s still a must-read for salespeople. Thumb through it often and keep it on your desk.

Summary

The Sales Biz

Being a sales professional is like running your own business, even when you work for someone else. How well you master the answers to the following common sales questions will determine how much your business will prosper - if you are willing to work hard, practice and learn how to tailor these answers to fit your selling situation and your personality. You have the power to succeed. Just take the following advice. The top "99.5 sales questions" include:

"What’s the best way to make a sale?"

There is no "one best way" to make a sale. But take these hints for a solid beginning. Be friendly. Discover something in common with your prospect. Ask intelligent questions and listen carefully to the answers. Strive to understand the prospect’s needs and concerns. Be relaxed, not pushy. Ask for a commitment only after you have made a proposal that is risk-free for the client.

"What is the meaning of sales?"

Don’t expect a magic formula. Making sales really boils down to how hard you are willing to work. Given that, the closest thing to having a magic formula is being well-prepared. Engage each customer in a way that helps him or her become...

About the Author

Jeffrey Gitomer wrote The Sales Bible and The Little Red Book of Selling. He makes more than 100 presentations every year to major corporate clients. He writes Sales Moves, a syndicated column, and publishes an e-zine called Sales Caffeine that has more than 100,000 subscribers.

Comment on this summary