- David Batstone
- Gail Blanke
- Jack Canfield
- Katherine Crowley/Kathi Elster
- Stewart Emery
- Lois Frankel
- Jeffrey Gitomer
- Jocelyn Greenky Herz
- Tory Johnson
- Linda Kaplan Thaler/Robin Koval
- Peggy Klaus
- Ruth Klein
- Kevin Liles
- Tamara Monosoff
- Nan Mooney
- Angie Morgan
- Tom Peters
- Daniel Pink
- Stephan Poulter
- Tom Rath
- Karen Salmansohn
- Jake Steinfeld
- Vince Thompson
- Brian Tracy
Review of 'The Little Red Book of Selling'
by Deborah Kotz, Special to AOL Coaches
Want to know how to make a sale? The question you should be asking is not "how do I sell?" but rather "why do people buy?" And the #1 reason is: They like their sales rep. With this little tidbit of information, Jeff Gitomer launches into his 'Little Red Book of Selling.' The book, small and thin enough to store in a briefcase pocket, is chock-full of useful tips listed in large bold type and often in red lettering. He lists the secrets of success and the degrees of failure. (Failing to prepare isn’t as bad as failing to keep a job.) And large red type screams at you to Kick your own ass!
Throughout the book, Gitomer has a take-no-prisoners approach. His motivational style is positive but demanding. He won’t allow you to make excuses for poor sales. The Red Whine and Red Selling Response cartoons in the margins take care of that. If the Red Whine says, "They are making me cold call." The Red Selling Response will be, "If you brand yourself, prospects will call you." The thrust of the book is the 12.5 Red Principles of Sales Greatness that serve to establish good sales skills such as: being prepared to win; personal branding; networking; using creativity; reducing the buyer’s risk and so on.
The chapters are designed to be interactive with websites you can link to and wry cartoons to add humor. Some chapters like the one on the sixth sense -- the sense of selling -- are must-reads. His chapter on developing your sense of humor (since funny salespeople sell more) is earnest but trickier. Humor tends to be one of those innate things that’s hard to learn. His suggestions to read joke books or practice funny faces and gestures in the mirror come off as silly. Still, most of his tips are helpful especially the sample phrases to use on customers and specific questions to ask in order to close the deal. After all, it’s all about the sales. As Gitomer writes, "This book is money. Your money. As you study these principles, your sales will begin to take off. As you master these principles, your sales will skyrocket." Not poetry, but perhaps good for the purse.
