Jeffrey Gitomer

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Jeffrey Gitomer
Born (1946-02-11) February 11, 1946
West Palm Beach, Florida
Occupationsauthor, Motivational speaker, business trainer

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.

Education

Gitomer attended Temple University, but left after his first year to attend the Goethe Institute in Berlin, Germany, where he studied languages. The Charlotte Observer describes him as "...a college drop-out who has built a sales training empire."[1]

Author/Writer

Gitomer has written fifteen books, including New York Times best sellers, The Sales Bible[2] and The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude.[3] 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 appeared on the Wall Street Journal best seller list at least 71 times.[4] 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] However, in Time Magazine Andrea Sachs described his books in terms of P.T. Barnum, quoting Paul Argenti, a professor of corporate communication at Dartmouth, as saying: "People are looking for very simple answers to relatively complex questions...." Sachs goes on to say: "Full of cartoons and bite-size nuggets of advice, the books are aimed at people who watch TV rather than read."[6]

On September 16, 2006, three 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.[7] Gitomer has also co-authored three other titles with writers Ron Zemke, Greg Dinkin, and Nikita Koloff.

He also publishes Sales Caffeine, a weekly, multi-media e-zine (online magazine), which is distributed internationally to 250,000 subscribers.[8]

Speaker

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.[9] On August 4, 2008, at the National Speakers Association Convention in New York, he was inducted into the Speaker Hall of Fame.[10]

US Airways Controversy and Resolution

Gitomer gained notoriety in November 2003 for being the first passenger ever to be banned from US Airways.[11] The airline cited chronic, unreasonable complaints, numerous confrontations with employees, and verbal abuse that allegedly brought employees to tears.[12] 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.[13]

Personal life

Gitomer is married to Jennifer Gitomer, a sales coach.[14]

In 2022, Gitomer put his 17,000 square foot condominium up for sale. The property, a former manufacturing facility called the Lance Cracker Factory,[15] was priced at $12.9 million. At the time, it was the most expensive listing in Charlotte, NC.[14]

Honors and awards

  • 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

Print

Audio books

  • 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)

  • 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

  1. St. Onge, Peter. "Aaron letter is history in his hands", The Charlotte Observer, July 6, 2008.
  2. "Hardcover Business Best Sellers", The New York Times, June 1, 2008.
  3. "Hardcover Business Best Sellers", The New York Times, February 4, 2007.
  4. Dorsey, David. "How to Make Them Want to Buy", The Wall Street Journal, May 3, 2006.
  5. Covert, Jack. 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. Sachs, Andrea. "Barnum Would Be Proud", Time Magazine, February 8, 2007 online, February 19, 2007 in print.
  7. "Best Selling Books" Archived June 3, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, The Wall Street Journal, September 16, 2006.
  8. "Sales Caffeine Free eZine" Archived August 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Issue 327, February 12, 2008.
  9. National Speakers Association. RSVP: 2007 NSA Membership Survey Special Report. Tempe, Arizona February 2007.
  10. National Speakers Association, "NSA Speaker Hall of Fame Press Release" Archived February 23, 2009, at the Wayback Machine August 19, 2008.
  11. Huettel, Steve. "US Airways clips wings of frequent critic", St. Petersburg Times, November 17, 2003.
  12. Chiames, Chris. "Gitomer's US Airways complaints go too far", Washington Business Journal, November 7, 2003.
  13. 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
  14. Paynter, Sarah (September 16, 2022). "In Charlotte, a 17,000-Square-Foot Spread With 13 Live-Work Units Asks $12.9 Million". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved March 25, 2025.
  15. Frances, Morgan (February 13, 2024). "South End listing is the most expensive ever in Charlotte". Queen City News.
  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.