Jeffrey Gitomer (born February 11, 1946, in West Palm Beach, Florida) is an American salesperson, author, and speaker who writes and lectures on sales, customer loyalty, and personal development.

Jeffrey Gitomer
Born (1946-02-11) February 11, 1946 (age 78)
Occupation(s)author, Motivational speaker, business trainer

Education edit

Gitomer attended Temple University, but left after his first year to attend the Goethe Institute in Berlin, Germany, where he studied languages. In a Time Magazine feature article, Gitomer quips about his college education: "I went on the six-year you-don't-quite-graduate program, which I completed successfully."[1] The Charlotte Observer describes him as "...a college drop-out who has built a sales training empire."[2]

Author/Writer edit

Gitomer has written fifteen books, including New York Times best sellers, The Sales Bible[3] and The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude.[4] His most successful title, The Little Red Book of Selling, has sold more than five million copies worldwide and has been translated into 14 languages. It was also chosen by business publishing experts Jack Covert and Todd Sattersten to be listed in their book of The 100 Best Business Books of All Time.[5] All Gitomer's titles have reached #1 on Amazon.com, and collectively his books have appeared on major best-seller lists nationwide more than 750 times. On September 16, 2006, four of Gitomer's titles appeared simultaneously on The Wall Street Journal best seller lists, the only business author to achieve this in the Journal's history.[6] Of The Sales Bible, Covert comments: "Every once in a while, one book defines a category."[7] Gitomer has also co-authored three other titles with writers Ron Zemke, Greg Dinkin, and Nikita Koloff.

Author David Dorsey writing in The Wall Street Journal comments: "What's especially solid about Mr. Gitomer's books is their grounding in ethics. Success, for him, comes from the heart. He reminds us that top sales reps don't peddle; they solve problems and make customers laugh while offering them something they genuinely need. If you want to be the best salesperson, first you must be the best person."[8]

He also publishes Sales Caffeine, a weekly, multi-media e-zine (online magazine), which is distributed internationally to 250,000 subscribers.[9]

Speaker edit

Gitomer is a frequent speaker at public and corporate seminars and is ranked in the top 1% of non-celebrity speakers by the National Speakers Association.[10] On August 4, 2008, at the National Speakers Association Convention in New York, he was inducted into the Speaker Hall of Fame.[11]

Praise edit

In a testimonial, Todd Horton, President of D.R. Horton writes: "As the nation's largest homebuilder, we have seen our sales grow, our customer loyalty enhanced, and our people's commitment re-doubled as a result of Jeffrey's unique style, wit, and great ideas combined with real-world sales answers." Atlanta Business Chronicle Publisher, Ed Baker, comments: "Jeffrey is a weekly staple for our readers. He's a dose of sales energy (and reality) that they can't find anywhere else. He truly helps people – in a very common sense way."[12]

US Airways Controversy and Resolution edit

Gitomer gained notoriety in November 2003 for being the first passenger ever to be banned from US Airways.[13] The airline cited chronic, unreasonable complaints, numerous confrontations with employees, and verbal abuse that allegedly brought employees to tears.[14] In an interview, Gitomer defended himself as a demanding, but not abusive, customer and explained that he had only made an employee cry once, several years prior. In October 2004, Gitomer was permanently banned as a customer and passenger.[15]

After American Airlines merger and name change, Gitomer is the only passenger ever banned on US Airways.[citation needed]

Honors and awards edit

  • 2009 Audie Award for The Little Red Book of Selling. Awards recognizing distinction in audiobooks. Best Business/Educational title of the year.[16]
  • 2008 ASTD Award for Excellence in Workplace Learning and Performance, Solution Sales Elite, Hewlett Packard & TrainOne, partners.[17]
  • 2008 IPPY Axiom Book Award Gold Medal Winner in Sales for Customer Loyalty Concepts.[18]
  • 2008 National Speakers Association's CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame. One of 146 living members.[19]
  • 2005 IPPY Top 10 Outstanding Book Award "Business Breakthrough Book of the Year" for The Little Red Book of Selling.[20]
  • 1997 Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) Award by the National Speakers Association.[21]

Bibliography edit

Print edit

  • Gitomer, Jeffrey (November 12, 2019). Get Sh*t Done: The Ultimate Guide to Productivity, Procrastination, and Profitability. Wiley. ISBN 978-1119647201
  • Gitomer, Jeffrey (December 7, 2015). The Very Little but Very Powerful Book on Closing: Ask the Right Questions, Transfer the Value, Create the Urgency, and Win the Sale. Wiley. ISBN 978-1118986523
  • Gitomer, Jeffrey (September 2, 2013). Jeffrey Gitomer's 21.5 Unbreakable Laws of Selling: Proven Actions You Must Take to Make Easier, Faster, Bigger Sales....Now and Forever. Bard Press. ISBN 978-1885167798
  • Gitomer, Jeffrey (April 19, 2011). Little Book of Leadership: The 12.5 Strengths of responsible, reliable, remarkable leaders that create results, rewards, and resilience. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 978-0-470-94457-8.
  • Gitomer, Jeffrey (March 19, 2011). Social BOOM!: How to Master Business Social Media to Brand Yourself, Sell Yourself, Sell Your Product, Dominate Your Industry Market, Save Your Butt, ... and Grind Your Competition into the Dirt. FT Press. ISBN 978-0132686051
  • Gitomer, Jeffrey (January 6, 2009). Little Teal Book of Trust: How to Earn it, Grow it, and Keep it to Become a Trusted Advisor. FT Press/Pearson Education. ISBN 978-0-13-715410-4.
  • Gitomer, Jeffrey (October 21, 2008). Customer Loyalty Concepts: The First Interactive Thought Book. Charlotte, North Carolina: Lito Press. ISBN 978-0-9719468-0-4.
  • Gitomer, Jeffrey (May 6, 2008). The Sales Bible New Edition: The Ultimate Sales Resource. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-137940-6.
  • Gitomer, Jeffrey (October 27, 2007). Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching: 32.5 Strategies to Ring Your Own (Cash) Register in Business and Personal Success. FT Press/Pearson Education. ISBN 978-0-13-236274-0.
  • Gitomer, Jeffrey (August 12, 2007). Jeffrey Gitomer's Little Books Collector Edition (5 titles plus CD). FT Press/Pearson Education. ISBN 978-0-13-236468-3.
  • Gitomer, Jeffrey (April 14, 2007). Little Green Book of Getting Your Way: How to Speak, Write, Present, Persuade, Influence, and Sell Your Point of View to Others. FT Press/Pearson Education. ISBN 978-0-13-157607-0.
  • Gitomer, Jeffrey (December 5, 2006). Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude: How to Find, Build, and Keep a YES! Attitude for a Lifetime of Success. Financial Times-Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-198647-3.
  • Gitomer, Jeffrey (September 26, 2006). Little Black Book of Connections: 6.5 Assets for Networking Your Way to Rich Relationships. Austin, Texas: Bard Press. ISBN 1-885167-66-0.
  • Gitomer, Jeffrey (March 10, 2006). Little Red Book of Sales Answers: 99.5 Real-world Answers that Make Sense, Make Sales, and Make Money. Financial Times-Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-173536-5.
  • Gitomer, Jeffrey (September 25, 2004). Little Red Book of Selling: 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness. Austin, Texas: Bard Press. ISBN 1-885167-60-1.
  • Gitomer, Jeffrey with Koloff, Nikita (May 22, 2004). Wrestling with Success: Developing a Championship Mentality. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-48732-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Gitomer, Jeffrey (April 16, 2004). The Patterson Principles of Selling. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-66262-3.
  • Gitomer, Jeffrey (September 4, 2003). The Sales Bible Revised Edition: The Ultimate Sales Resource (perfectbound). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-45629-2.
  • Gitomer, Jeffrey with Dinkin, Greg (March 7, 2002). The Poker MBA: Winning in Business No Matter What Cards You're Dealt. Crown Business/Random House. ISBN 0-609-60986-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Gitomer, Jeffrey with Zemke, Ron (May 1, 1999). Knock Your Socks Off Selling. Houston, Texas: AMACOM/American Management Association. ISBN 978-0-8144-7030-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Gitomer, Jeffrey (May 5, 1998). Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless. Austin, Texas: Bard Press. ISBN 1-885167-30-X.
  • Gitomer, Jeffrey (October 18, 1994). The Sales Bible: The Ultimate Sales Resource. New York: William Morrow & Company. ISBN 0-688-13364-9.

Audio books edit

  • Gitomer, Jeffrey. The Little Red Book of Sales Answers: 99.5 Real Life Answers that Make Sense, Make Sales, and Make Money. Unabridged. (Pub date: March 10, 2009) New York: Simon & Schuster
  • Gitomer, Jeffrey. The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude: How to Find, Build and Keep a YES! Attitude for a Lifetime of Success. Unabridged. (January 6, 2009) New York: Simon & Schuster
  • Gitomer, Jeffrey. The Little Red Book of Selling: 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness. Unabridged. (September 9, 2008) New York: Simon & Schuster
  • Gitomer, Jeffrey. The Sales Bible New Edition: The Ultimate Sales Resource. Unabridged. (May 6, 2008) New York: Simon & Schuster ISBN 978-0-7435-7266-8

V-Books (video) edit

  • Gitomer, Jeffrey. The Little Red Book of Sales Answers: 99.5 Real Life Answers that Make Sense, Make Sales, and Make Money. Unabridged. (Pub date: March 10, 2009) New York: Simon & Schuster
  • Gitomer, Jeffrey. The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude: How to Find, Build and Keep a YES! Attitude for a Lifetime of Success. Unabridged. (January 6, 2009) New York: Simon & Schuster
  • Gitomer, Jeffrey. The Little Red Book of Selling: 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness. Unabridged. (September 9, 2008) New York: Simon & Schuster ISBN 978-0-7435-7376-4
  • Gitomer, Jeffrey. The Sales Bible New Edition: The Ultimate Sales Resource. Unabridged. (May 6, 2008) New York: Simon & Schuster

References edit

  1. ^ Sachs, Andrea. "Barnum Would Be Proud", Time Magazine, February 8, 2007 online, February 19, 2007 in print.
  2. ^ St. Onge, Peter. "Aaron letter is history in his hands"[permanent dead link], The Charlotte Observer, July 6, 2008.
  3. ^ "Hardcover Business Best Sellers", The New York Times, June 1, 2008.
  4. ^ "Hardcover Business Best Sellers", The New York Times, February 4, 2007.
  5. ^ Covert, Jack. [1] Archived September 4, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, 800-CEO-READ, Jeffrey Gitomer's Little Red Book of Selling: one of The 100 Best Business Books of All Time, November 2008.
  6. ^ "Best Selling Books" Archived June 3, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, The Wall Street Journal, September 16, 2006.
  7. ^ Covert, Jack. [2], 800-CEO-READ, The Sales Bible, May 6, 2008.
  8. ^ Dorsey, David. "How to Make Them Want to Buy", The Wall Street Journal, May 3, 2006.
  9. ^ "Sales Caffeine Free eZine" Archived August 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Issue 327, February 12, 2008.
  10. ^ National Speakers Association. RSVP: 2007 NSA Membership Survey Special Report. Tempe, Arizona February 2007.
  11. ^ National Speakers Association, "NSA Speaker Hall of Fame Press Release" Archived February 23, 2009, at the Wayback Machine August 19, 2008.
  12. ^ AOL Coaches. Jeffrey Gitomer, Business & Career Coach Archived May 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ Huettel, Steve. "US Airways clips wings of frequent critic", St. Petersburg Times, November 17, 2003.
  14. ^ Chiames, Chris. "Gitomer's US Airways complaints go too far", Washington Business Journal, November 7, 2003.
  15. ^ Gitomer, Jeffrey. "Showdown with Airline Teaches Sales Expert a Lesson."Des Moines Business Record – BusinessRecord.com, October 24, 2004. Archived February 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ Audio Publishers Association. "The Audies 2009", May 29, 2009.
  17. ^ American Society for Training & Development. "2008 ASTD Award Winners Archived June 5, 2009, at the Wayback Machine", May 15, 2009.
  18. ^ Independent Publisher. "IP FEATURE 2nd Annual Axiom Business Book Awards", February 20, 2009.
  19. ^ National Speakers Association. "CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame" Archived August 31, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, August 4, 2008.
  20. ^ Independent Publisher. "Independent Publisher Book Awards 2005 Archived July 5, 2007, at the Wayback Machine", March 5, 2005.
  21. ^ National Speakers Association. "Certified Speaking Professional (CSP)" Archived May 23, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.

External links edit