This is an overview of the book
The Sales Bible: The Ultimate Sales Resource by Jeffrey Gitomer
Gitomer's
bio: Jeffrey Gitomer is the founder of buygitomer.com, a sales
training company. Mr. Gitomer is also a Certified Speaking
Professional and in 2008 he was inducted into the National Speaker
Association's Speaker Hall of Fame.
Key
point: Selling is a science. Learn the science and convert it to
an art.
Selling
requires self-promotion and self-promotion requires some level of
audacity. Naming your book The Sales Bible is unparalleled audacity. I would venture a guess that he thinks any press is good press.
Gitomer is the consummate self-promoter. And so, you see his
name all over the place. For that reason I figured it might be a good idea to
give you an overview of this book. The format is just
like the Bible, containing different books within a book. For
example, starting with Genesis there's also The Book of Questions,
The Book of Power, The Book of Networking.
I always search for an overriding theme to the books I report on.
However, finding a theme is not always possible. It's safe to say
Gitomer is a soft-seller. Meaning he's big on things like rapport.
He goes so far as to say, “No rapport, no sale!” However, if you're paying attention, you may have
picked up on a contradiction already. Being such a big believer in
rapport, and the like, how does he remain straight-faced when he says that selling is a
science? I know of no science of rapport.
Let me give you a couple quotes to point out the problem. On page ten he says, “It
always grates me when someone says selling is an art. Baloney. Selling is a
science.” But then, on the very next page, he writes, “Learn the
science and convert it to an art.” So, selling was indeed an art all along?
I'm confused.
Side note: Actually, I'm not at all confused. While Gitomer clearly contradicts himself, he's making a distinction without a difference. This whole thing about an activity being an art or a science is just ridiculous. Art is a science!! Think about it. The scientific method is basically a method of trial and error. You will appear to be an artist once your scientific experiments pay off and you can seamlessly execute your craft. Of course, artists would never use the words scientific experiment. Rather an artist would just call it practice. So, art and science are just different sides of the same coin. Science maybe more number-based (quantified) than art but they're both based on trial and error. Sorry, I had to rant, now back to the overview.
I don't
point the contradiction out to pick on Mr. Gitomer. My
intention, as I've said, is to simply find a theme or a guiding
principle for action. When it's all said and done I want to provide
you with information that you can use. Information you can incorporate into
your career. With that said, the best summation I can identify of
Gitomer's work is his acronym A.H.A. Jeffrey says that AHA stands
for – Attitude Humor Action. He wants you to work on your
attitude, use humor and take action. As far as a short report goes
that doesn't translate so well. So, this is a report with lots
of little factoids on various topics.
When
performing your duties as a salesperson Gitomer implores you to
remember that a sale is always made. Either you sell the person on
your product or they sell you on the their excuses for not
buying. Gitomer says, “If you can make 'em laugh, you can make 'em
buy.” If you happen to be a funny person, great! If not, the
author would recommend that you make an effort to improve in the
humor department.
Prospecting
can be a very stressful activity. Humor is not only useful in that
it can build rapport with your prospects. It's also a healthy attitude
to have when dealing with all the rejection that inevitably comes
with business building. Gitomer tells the story of one salesman who
told Jeffrey that he had a big fear of being thrown out of a company
when making a cold call. Gitomer suggested to the salesman that his
strategy should be to only do cold calls in one-story buildings. Another
example, of Gitomer's zany humor, would be based on the idea that it takes five “No's”
to get a “Yes”. Gitomer suggests that, on a cold call, you can
inform the prospect of this fact and ask for their help because
you're only on number three.
Gitomer
believes that all salespeople should have 10-12 different closing
questions written down and memorized. That's 10-12 ways of asking
for the business. In particular, he talks about what he calls Power
Questions which he says he's borrowing from a gentleman named Ray
Leone. The Power Question has three levels as follows. First you
make a factual statement that can't be refuted. Next you make a
personal observation that reflects your experience and creates
credibility. And last, you ask an open-ended question that
incorporates the first two stages.
Gitomer
gives one of his power questions as an example. It goes like this,
“You know, Mr. Jones, sales staffs rarely meet the sales goals and
quotas for them by their boss or manager. My experience has shown me
that when there is a lack of training there is often poor staff
attitude and an absence of goal-setting and goal-achievement skills.
Interestingly the staff tends to blame their inability to sell on
other things and other people rather than take the responsibility
themselves. How are you ensuring that your sales reps meet their
goals and maintain a positive attitude?”
Jeffrey
also writes about creating what he calls Power Statements. He says a
Power Statement is, “A statement that makes your product or service
outstanding, understandable, credible (incredible), and buyable. A
(nontraditional) statement that describes what you do and how you do
it in terms of the customers and their perceived use or need for what
you're selling.” An example he gives is that of Bruce Julian who
works at Miltons Clothing Cupboard in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Bruce says, “When our customers have an important meeting or speech
to make, they go to their closet and select clothing they bought at
Miltons.”
Gitomer
trains on the importance of Power Questions and Power Statements and
how they can be used to create your 30-second commercial. According
to Jeffrey, here's the objective of the 30-second commercial:
- State who you are.
- State who your company is.
- Creativity tell what you do.
- Ask one or a series of Power Questions.
- Make a Power Statement that shows how you can help others.
- End with why the prospect should act now.
As
far as presenting and asking for the close Gitomer encourages, “Ask
for the sale as soon as you hear the first buying signal.” When
there is resistance (objections) you will want to have skills and
techniques for handling these obstacles. Here's Gitomer's Cliff's
Notes version of overcoming objections:
- Listen to the objection and decide if it's true.
- Qualify it as the only one.
- Confirm it again, in a different way.
- Qualify the objection to set up the close.
- Answer the objection so that it completely resolves the issue, and confirm the resolve.
- Ask a closing question, or communicate to the prospect in an assumptive (I have the sale in hand) manner.
- Confirm the answer and the sale in writing.
One example, in the book, is how to deal with the “I want to think about
it” objection. Here's how it would go if you have asked for Mr.
Jones' business and he tells you he wants to think about it:
You:
Great! Thinking it over means you're interested. Correct, Mr.
Jones?
Jones:
Yes, I am.
You:
You're aren't just saying, “I want to think about it,” it get rid
of me. Are you? (said in a humorous vein)
Jones:
Oh, no, no, no. (laughter)
You: (seriously)
You know, Mr. Jones, this is an important decision. A copier is not
just a duplicating device.
Every time you send a copy out to a customer, it reflects your
company's image. I'm sure
you agree with me. Is there anyone else in your company you will be
thinking it over with?
(Meaning: Is he deciding alone, or are others involved?)
Jones:
No, just me.
You: I
know you are an expert at building; your reputation speaks for
itself, but I'm an expert in copiers.
In my experience in the copier industry over the past 6 years, I've
found that most people
who think things over develop important questions that they may not
have answers for...since
the image of your business is on every copy you make. Why don't we
think it over together
so that as you develop questions about the copier, I'll be right here
to answer them? Fair
enough? Now, what was the main thing you wanted to think about? [At
this point you will begin
to get the real objection(s).]
If Mr. Jones had said he was going to think to over with others, you
must think it over with all parties in the same room, or you're dead.
Gitomer
winds things down with various advice. He says, “Be willing to put
forth the effort it takes to get past the seventh no
and get the sale...or consider taking a job with a salary.”
He says this level of persistence is required. He also says you need to being
acquiring 20 new contacts per week and that, as a professional
salesperson, you need to be networking at least five hours a week.
“You
must work your numbers consistently to get them to pay,” Jeffrey
writes. And, “Your chances for success increase in proportion to
the number of sales calls you make.”
As a disclaimer, I don't want you to think that because I have written this overview I am endorsing the book. I actually disagree with a number of things that Gitomer teaches. Nonetheless he is very visible. And I figure if you can pick up even one little things from this report, it will have been worth it.
