Best Year

Written By Jeffrey Gitomer
@GITOMER

KING OF SALES, The author of seventeen best-selling books including The Sales Bible, The Little Red Book of Selling, and The Little Gold Book of Yes! Attitude. His live coaching program, Sales Mastery, is available at gitomer.me.

Jeffrey,

How I’m going to have my Best Sales Year?

For me, it’s easy. After spending the last 42 years in Engineering positions: Designer, Engineering Manager, Product Development Engineer, Product Development Manager etc; I found myself out of a job.

My first thought was to do something different. That different thing for me was a position in Sales. I’m the new, first and only member of the Sales Department for an Engineering firm that I had previously done business with in the past. My new boss loaned me his copy of “Little Red Book of Selling”.

Now, I’m starting from zero. I’m excited and now I have the “red book” (I’ll buy my own copy when I’ve completed this one).

It’s not a question of will it be my best selling year, it’s a matter of how good will it be? This book is one of the few I’ve encountered that I can embrace. I believe it and know if I follow, understand and lead with the principles you define, I will be successful. Up until I picked up this book I questioned, “Can I sell?” Now I can say with confidence that I can.

Thank you,

Lee Reiterman

Jeffrey,

I have been in car sales for about 4 years. I have had some periods of great success, but last year, for a variety of reasons, was dismissed. Last month, I started with a new dealership and sold 9.5 cars which at this particular dealership is a record for me; however, I missed a huge bonus level by not reaching 10 units. It was the difference in my last check being $900 take home, and about $2100 take home (what it would have been if I had reached 10 units).

I have realized now that the difference between mediocre earnings and vastly better earnings can be just a small “tipping point”: Putting in that extra hour to send out thank-you notes, or making a few extra phone

calls instead of napping after a big lunch.

I have vowed to myself, God helping me, that I will never again sell fewer than 10 cars in a month, and will do whatever it takes to reach the objective, and to reach it EARLY, so that I don’t have to stress out

about goals during the last few days of the month.

Sincerely,

David Turkelson

Dear Jeffrey,

I’m succeeding at having my Best Year Ever simply by following your advice. I’m reading every

great book on your list, I’m listening to every audio tape during my commute and I’m following the first line in my personal sales mission statement… “I will kick my ass so hard and devote so much time and energy into increasing the quality and quantity of my services so that by January 1^st, 2007 I will have in my possession $50,000 dollars cash.” (The first part of this statement came from The Little Red Book of Selling, the latter from Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill. The execution of this statement is all I can

take credit for.

How’s it going do you ask?

In the month of January alone I outperformed my sales performance for the entire year of 2005 by more than 250%!!!!! I was the top salesperson among all branches of our business in the

Northern California
region, and was recognized on a statewide conference call. I must concede, to be fair, that I only started selling 7 months ago shortly after graduating college where I didn’t earn a dime. But my real start came from reading Gitomer 8 months ago — after being denied for ADP’s corporate sales team for sounding too much like some guy named Tony Robbins during the interview. I was told Jeffrey Gitomer was real and I should study him if I wanted to succeed — they were right!

So now, though my monster paychecks are coming from another company, I owe a debt of gratitude to the boys at ADP! For their denial/referral is undoubtedly part of the reason for my recent and continuing success!!! Last thing, I’m also attending all the seminars I can possibly attend! So Jeffrey I’ll see you in

San Francisco

on May 26th, 2006. I’ve already got my ticket – it’s the seminar that comes after my first time homebuyers workshop, and during the 2006 real estate wealth expo! I’ve got to run I’ve got work to do!

Jonathan Azevedo

Jeffrey,

I had my Best Year last year! This year began by loosing my top client due to their own internal mess. I’m now constantly building my client base always remembering, never to put all your eggs in 1 basket. My question to you is, “How do you always have your best year ever?”

Thanks so much,

Karen

Hi Jeffrey,

I want to tell you what I am doing in creation of My Best Year Ever. I have developed programs for kids and teachers in schools that will eliminate the stinking thinking that keeps them from succeeding at their highest level. This program was in school districts for three years and got cut overnight due to lack of funding. Because of schools being broke around here I had to think of another way to get the programs into the system. My programs works so now I want kids to have them. I am now going to the business community and offering a shorter version of the same program. I take 30% of what they purchase and put it towards a local schools program. The school gets the program and the business community gets it’s name highlighted as the donor’s of that school’s program. People’s eyes light up when I tell them how they are helping the local community, families and, schools. Win, win situation…all the way around!

I also use mind mapping every day to get my brain ticking at a Radiant level. It is awesome stuff. It makes brainstorming alot of fun, not to mention your brain will love you for it. Beats writing lists that’s for sure. I expand, my ideas expand, my enthusiasm expands. If I get any bigger this house will be living in me.

When I meet a glitch on the ‘Jubilance Highway’ I jot down the limiting thought and then spend a couple of minutes using The Sedona Method to blast the limitation out…then I walk on down brighter and lighter than before. If you are not familiar with it, check it out at
www.sedona.com. By far one of the best resources around for removing the speed bumps of life.

I wish you all the best. .

Until Then,

Ria

Hello Jeffery!

My name is Tom Chuna, and I am helping to build the company that will reduce our country’s dependency on foreign oil, dramatically lower emissions, and enable our customers to increse their profits at the same time.

What I’m doing to have my Best Year Ever is this: I am comitted and resolved to only calling on company owners and Presidents.. the decision makers, if you will.

Your Little Red Book of Selling and newsletter have taught me the importance of believing in my company, my product and myself. The way to manifest that is to take my story to the highest level possible.

Thanks for being an outstanding, no BS resource.

Tom Chuna

Jeffrey,

Everything you say is true!

I heard you speak to our company several years ago whe I was a top rep for them. I was never impressed with the “motivational speakers”, but you inspired me. You were “real” and inspired me by example. I acted on your advise to begin writing down my thoughts and ideals.

You may not remember, but I emailed you three years ago when I was promoted to sales manager for one of the poorest performing markets in a Fortune 500 company and asked your advice. Your response helped me turn this team into a consistent top 10 performing team. What I am most proud of is that I have developed a new leader each of the past three years. These leaders have followed your advise and also took poor performing teams and turned them into winners. What I respect most about you is that you lead by example and are a true student of sales. The best sales people sometimes have big egos and think they “know it all”. I was once guilty of this way of thinking. I now realize that the quickest way to reaching our full potential is to read, study, and duplicate those who have achieved more than we have.

Thanks!

David Otis

Hi Jeffrey,

My name is Paul Kelly, I am 59 years of age, I have read your column for years and many of your ideas have helped me along the way. As a senior sales person it takes a little bit more to motivate oneself, to re-invigorate my goals and to work toward attaining those goals.

There are a few more grey hairs on my head, but this is offset by the fact that I have more knowledge than I did the year before. In my mission statement this year I have dedicated myself to making sure that I am listening to my client’s, verses talking to them. I have tried to become more of a consultant and less of a sales person. I found that doing this has helped my clients achieve their goals, and in turn it has been financially beneficial to me.

Thanks for letting me put my two cents in!

Paul Kelly

Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, and The Little Red Book of Selling. President of Charlotte-based Buy Gitomer, he gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts Internet training programs on sales and customer service at www.trainone.com. He can be reached at 704/333-1112 or e-mail to salesman@gitomer.com