The Sales Bible - Jeffrey Gitomer

28 THE SALES BIBLE Jeffrey Gitomer
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Table of Contents
Practical sales information you can read daily
and use immediately.
Read it from cover to cover.
Open it anywhere and learn
what you need for the moment.
Use it the minute you read it.
The Rules. The Secrets. The Fun.
Preparing to WOW! the Prospect
Please Allow Me to Introduce Myself
Making a Great Presentation
Objections, Closing, and Follow-up.
Getting to YES!
Part 6 Woes and Foes
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10 Prophets and Profits
Part 11 Up Your Income!
Part 12 Can I Get an Amen!
All Hail the King … Customer
Spreading the Gospel
Networking … Success by Association(s)

Jeffrey Gitomer THE SALES BIBLE 29
Expanded Table of Contents
Part 1
The Rules. the Secrets. the Fun.
1.1 Genesis 35
What’s so new about a 15-year-old book
“It’ll never happen.”
So, what’s in it for you
8.5 ways to use this book.
The old way of selling doesn’t work anymore – sort of.
Post-It Note your way to achievement.
1.2 The Book of Rules 49
39.5 Rules of Sales Success.
Sales Success Formula … AHA!
1.3 The Book of Secrets 57
Why do salespeople fail
Are you born to sell No, you learn to earn!
What’s wrong with this sale It’s you, Bubba!
The bridge between positive and negative.
How the customer wants to be treated, honestly.
How a salesperson wants to be treated, honestly.
The elusive hot button. How do you find it
1.4 The Book of BIG Secrets 77
More sales are made with friendship than salesmanship.
Your best prospects are your present customers.
Make a sale on Monday.
Your personal mission statement.
1.5 The Book of Humor–The Biggest Secret 89
A funny thing happened to me on the way to a sale!

30 THE SALES BIBLE Jeffrey Gitomer
Part 2
Preparing to WOW! the Prospect
2.1 The Book of WOW 93
The WOW! factor. Use it to land a big sale.
Are you using the WOW! factor
Remember me I’m a salesman. Just like all the others.
2.2 The Book of Questions 103
To sell or not to sell, that is the (power) question.
Can you close a sale in five questions
2.3 The Book of Power 111
You are now under my power (statement).
Part 3
Please Allow Me to Introduce Myself
3.1 The Book of Introductions 115
The 30-second personal commercial – how to write it.
The 30-second personal commercial – how to deliver it.
Got a referral Here’s the perfect approach.
3.2 The Book of Cold Calling 125
“No Soliciting,” the funniest sign in sales.
Get to the decision maker on a cold call.
Opening is as important as closing.
The cold call is fun. If you think it is.
Elements of a cold call that can make it hot.

Jeffrey Gitomer THE SALES BIBLE 31
Part 4
Making a Great Presentation
4.1 The Book of Presentations 137
Want to make the sale easier Establish prospect rapport first.
12.5 ways to make the prospect confident enough to buy.
Where and when to establish buyer confidence.
Sales words and phrases to avoid at all costs. Honestly.
Physically involving the prospect = more sales.
Slide show stupidity. That’s not you is it Or is it
Part 5 Objections, Closing,
and Follow-up. Getting to YES!
5.1 The Book of Objections 153
Will the real objection please stand up!
Real-world objections. Real-world solutions.
Objection Prevention.
The sale starts when the customer objects.
“I want to think about it.”
“We spent our entire budget, honest.”
“I want to check with two more suppliers.”
“I want to buy, but the price is too high.”
“I’m satisfied with my present source.”
“I have to talk this over with my...”
“Call me back in six months.”
5.2 The Book of Closing 177
What are the 19.5 early warning signals that the prospect is ready to buy
When you answer a prospect’s question, avoid two words — Yes and No.
How to ask a closing question.
The Puppy Dog Close.
Let the dog chase you.
Eat dessert first!
The most powerful close in the world is not a close.

32 THE SALES BIBLE Jeffrey Gitomer
5.3 The Book of Persistence 191
Sales tools are a vital part of the follow-up process.
You’ve been selling since you were a kid!
Oh, no! Not voicemail!
“Leave a message and I’ll be glad to return your call.” Not!
Can’t get an appointment
Part 6
Woes and Foes
6.1 The Book of Lamentations 203
When bad sales happen to good people.
18.5 characteristics of sales career failures.
6.2 The Book of COMPETITION 209
Dancing with the competition Watch your step.
Part 7
All Hail the King … Customer
7.1 The Book of Customer Service 213
The secret of great customer service.
Outstanding customer service is a powerful sales tool.
Customer complaints breed sales. If you handle them correctly.
Part 8
Spreading the Gospel
8.1 The Book of Communications 221
A weekly sales meeting is a place to create new sales.
The sales letter work, if you get it write.
Want to close more sales Listen more closely!
Learn to listen in two words. Shut up!
There are 100 billion buyer types. Go figure.
8.2 The Book of Exhibitions 237
35.5 trade show success rules.

Jeffrey Gitomer THE SALES BIBLE 33
Part 9 Networking…
Success by Association(s)
9.1 The Book of Networking 243
Networking — the challenge of making success contacts.
Networking 101. How to work a room.
Networking 102. How to milk a room.
Establishing rapport when working a room.
The Official Networking Game.
Part 10
Prophets and Profits
10.1 The Book of Trends 257
The new breed of salesperson. A non-salesperson.
What’s Bob Salvin got to do with it Lots!
Part 11
Up Your Income!
11.1 The Book of Numbers 267
The pipeline of success.
Part 12
Can I Get an Amen!
12.1 The Book of Exodus 273
Dads teach sales success without knowing it.
Commit yourself!
Afterword... When I grow up.
Your past and present hold the key to your future.

34 THE SALES BIBLE Jeffrey Gitomer
“Everyone wants to
succeed at sales.
Most people don’t.
It’s not that they
can’t. It’s just that
they don’t know how.”
– Jeffrey Gitomer

The Sales Bible
Part 1
The Rules. The Secrets. The Fun.
Genesis
P What’s so new about a
15-year-old book........................ 36
P “It’ll never happen.”.................... 37
P So, what’s in it for you............... 39
P 8.5 ways to use this book............. 41
P The old way of selling doesn’t
work anymore – sort of.............. 44
P Post-It Note your way to
achievement................................. 46
Begin Now!
The Sales Bible is a success
tool. A place where you can
get insight about all facets
of sales.
There are also rules.
To succeed at sales you
must:
• Know the rules
• Learn the rules
• Take ownership of
the rules
• Live by the rules
The Book of Genesis reveals a
story of the new way of sales,
talks about a few of the basic
rules, and presents a surefire
way to achieve any rule, sales
goal, or career goal…
Don’t just read it.
Use it. Go for it.
“Whatever the mind
can conceive and believe
it can achieve.”
Napoleon Hill
1.1

36 THE SALES BIBLE Jeffrey Gitomer
What’s so new about a
15‐year‐old book
Every year, my understanding of the selling process and the buying
process increases, or should I say takes a quantum leap.
If you’re reading this passage, you may have also read one of the books in
my Little Book series. For that, I thank you. But for this, it’s a challenge.
The Sales Bible started out as
a definitive sales resource
15 years ago. Before e-mail.
Before websites. And when cell
phones were 50 cents a minute.
Times have changed.
So has The Sales Bible.
In this new edition, you will be upgraded to Sales Bible 3.0. Not just
newer and better. More insightful. More actionable. And more compelling
for you, the reader. Don’t worry, I haven’t left out the fun. In fact, I’ve
added more of it. This new edition is laced with Randy Glasbergen’s
laugh-out-loud view of the sales profession and its realities.
I’ve spent years developing these strategies and ideas that you can
implement in minutes, become proficient at in hours, and master in days.
This new edition of The Sales Bible
is for you to read, enjoy, put into
practice, and profit from. Now that
you own it, take advantage of it.

Jeffrey Gitomer THE SALES BIBLE 37
“It’ll never happen.”
Where did this book come from
As with most sales, it started when I got turned down. An article
published about me and my sales skills in The Charlotte Observer in the
spring of 1992 made my phone ring off the hook. I went running back to
the paper to offer my services.
“I want to write a weekly article on sales,” I trumpeted. Not only did
they turn me down, they said, “It’ll never happen.” I said, “No, it’ll never
happen here.”
That same morning – one hour later – I struck a deal with the Charlotte
Business Journal to publish a weekly column on selling skills. I called it
Sales Moves.
Next time someone tells you
“never,” remember that means
“not for at least one hour.”
My name is Jeffrey Gitomer and I’m a salesman. I don’t have a Ph.D. I’m
a college dropout. I don’t live in an ivory tower. I live in Charlotte, North
Carolina. I learned to sell in New Jersey and New York, where I grew up.
I was in multilevel marketing when it was called pyramiding. I have cold
called every office in downtown Charlotte, and I’ve cold called Fortune
500 company presidents and made the sale.
I’ve made $1 sales and I’ve made $1,000,000 sales. I’m a salesman who has
been on the street for almost 30 years. Sometimes face up, sometimes face
down. I love to sell.
Sales Moves first appeared in Charlotte’s business journal on March 23,
1992. The column was an instant success. It soon found its way to Dallas,
Atlanta, Denver, Princeton, and a number of other cities.
Mark Ethridge, publisher of the Charlotte Business Journal, Pulitzer Prize-
Winning journalist, and my good friend and supporter, said that publishing
Sales Moves was his most impactful marketing decision of 1992. WOW!

38 THE SALES BIBLE Jeffrey Gitomer
People began to call, and still do every day, from all over the country.
Papers wanting to publish the column. Readers thanking me for helping
them make sales. I found out that salespeople were hanging my weekly
article on the wall in their offices. They were copying the column and
passing it around. They were mailing it to friends and co-workers in other
cities. They were using the column to lead sales meetings.
My daughter, Stacey, bought a car in Charlotte. Everyone in the dealership
reads my article. When she got to the closing room (alone), they said,
“We’re giving you the best deal of the year because we don’t want your
dad to write anything bad about us.”
The first day I wrote an article, I knew I would write a book. It was a
natural progression. My good friend and mentor, Ty Boyd, suggested the
same thing. Encouragement means a lot to a salesman. I’m grateful for his;
I’m grateful for yours.
The material I use is mine. I’m drawing on my 40 years in selling
experience, 16 of which have been in consulting. I’ve listened to
thousands of hours of records, tapes, and CDs. I’ve read everything
I could find. I’ve attended every seminar that time would permit. My
mission is to learn as I teach. I seek to learn something new every day.
I’ll continue to write my weekly column to provide you with info that you
can use to make more sales out there in the trenches. Today. I know what
you’re up against. I know how hard you work. I know how frustrating it
can be. I will help you.
I began the construction of the first edition of this book in August 1993.
After countless late hours in the office, a week at Beech Mountain, NC,
and a week at Hilton Head Island, SC, with my Macintosh, my ace critic,
editor, and friend, Rod Smith, and my cat, Lito, I was done. I thought it
would be a snap. 700 man-hours later – snap.
Here’s The NEW Sales Bible, edited by my partner and alter ego, Jessica
McDougall. It has plenty of what’s new and keeps the tradition intact.
Thank you for being my customer.
I hope this book makes you as much money as it will me.