Jeffrey Gitomer (born February 11, 1946, in

West Palm Beach West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...

, Florida) is an American salesperson, author, and speaker who writes and lectures on sales,

customer loyalty In marketing and consumer behaviour, brand loyalty describes a consumer's persistent positive feelings towards a familiar brand and their dedication to purchasing the brand's products and/or services repeatedly regardless of deficiencies, a co ...

, and

personal development Personal development or self-improvement consists of activities that develops a person's capabilities and potential, enhance quality of life, and facilitate the realization of dreams and aspirations. Personal development may take place over the ...

Education

Gitomer attended

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

, but left after his first year to attend the

Goethe Institute The Goethe-Institut (; GI, ''Goethe Institute'') is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit German culture, cultural organization operational worldwide with more than 150 cultural centres, promoting the study of the German language abroad and en ...

in Berlin, Germany, where he studied languages. ''

The Charlotte Observer ''The Charlotte Observer'' is an American newspaper serving Charlotte, North Carolina, and its metro area. The Observer was founded in 1886. it has the second-largest circulation of any newspaper in the Carolinas. It is owned by Chatham Asset ...

'' describes him as "...a college drop-out who has built a sales training empire."St. Onge, Peter
"Aaron letter is history in his hands"
''The Charlotte Observer'', July 6, 2008.

Author/Writer

Gitomer has written fifteen books, including ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' best sellers, ''The Sales Bible'' "Hardcover Business Best Sellers"
''The New York Times'', June 1, 2008. and ''The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude''.
''The New York Times'', February 4, 2007. 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.Dorsey, David
"How to Make Them Want to Buy"
''The Wall Street Journal'', May 3, 2006. 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.''Covert, Jack

, 800-CEO-READ, ''Jeffrey Gitomer's Little Red Book of Selling: one of The 100 Best Business Books of All Time,'' November 2008. 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."Sachs, Andrea
"Barnum Would Be Proud"
''Time Magazine'', February 8, 2007 online, February 19, 2007 in print. On September 16, 2006, three of Gitomer's titles appeared simultaneously on ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' best seller lists, the only business author to achieve this in the Journal's history."Best Selling Books"
, ''The Wall Street Journal'', September 16, 2006. Gitomer has also co-authored three other titles with writers Ron Zemke, Greg Dinkin, and

Nikita Koloff Nikita Koloff (born Nelson Scott Simpson, March 9, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Jim Crockett Promotions and its successor, World Championship Wrestling between 1984 and 1992, wher ...

. He also publishes ''Sales Caffeine'', a weekly, multi-media

e-zine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to an online only magazine was the computer ...

(online magazine), which is distributed internationally to 250,000 subscribers."Sales Caffeine Free eZine"
, Issue 327, February 12, 2008.

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.National Speakers Association. ''RSVP: 2007 NSA Membership Survey Special Report''. Tempe, Arizona February 2007. On August 4, 2008, at the National Speakers Association Convention in New York, he was inducted into the Speaker Hall of Fame.National Speakers Association
"NSA Speaker Hall of Fame Press Release"
August 19, 2008.

US Airways Controversy and Resolution

Gitomer gained notoriety in November 2003 for being the first passenger ever to be banned from

US Airways US Airways was a major airline in the United States. It was originally founded in History of aviation in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon became a commercial passenger airline. In 1953, it ...

.Huettel, Steve
"US Airways clips wings of frequent critic"
''St. Petersburg Times'', November 17, 2003. The airline cited chronic, unreasonable complaints, numerous confrontations with employees, and

verbal abuse Verbal abuse (also known as verbal aggression, verbal attack, verbal violence, verbal assault, psychic aggression, or psychic violence) is a type of Psychological abuse, psychological/mental abuse that involves the use of Oral language, oral or w ...

that allegedly brought employees to tears.Chiames, Chris
"Gitomer's US Airways complaints go too far"
''Washington Business Journal'', November 7, 2003. 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.Gitomer, Jeffrey
"Showdown with Airline Teaches Sales Expert a Lesson."
'Des Moines Business Record – BusinessRecord.com'', October 24, 2004.

Personal Life

Gitomer is married to Jennifer Gitomer, a sales coach. In 2022, Gitomer put his 17,000 square foot condominium up for sale. The property, a former manufacturing facility called the Lance Cracker Factory, was priced at $12.9 million. At the time, it was the most expensive listing in

Charlotte, NC Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

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.Audio Publishers Association
"The Audies 2009
, May 29, 2009. * 2008 ASTD Award for Excellence in Workplace Learning and Performance, ''Solution Sales Elite'', Hewlett Packard & TrainOne, partners.American Society for Training & Development

", May 15, 2009. * 2008 IPPY Axiom Book Award Gold Medal Winner in Sales for ''Customer Loyalty Concepts''.Independent Publisher
"IP FEATURE 2nd Annual Axiom Business Book Awards
, February 20, 2009. * 2008 National Speakers Association's CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame. One of 146 living members.National Speakers Association

, August 4, 2008. * 2005 IPPY Top 10 Outstanding Book Award "Business Breakthrough Book of the Year" for ''The Little Red Book of Selling''.Independent Publisher
"Independent Publisher Book Awards 2005
", March 5, 2005. * 1997 Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) Award by the

National Speakers Association The National Speakers Association (NSA) is a US based association that supports motivational speaking, motivational and other public speakers. It is the oldest and largest of 13 international associations comprising the Global Speakers Federation ...

.National Speakers Association
"Certified Speaking Professional (CSP)"
.

Bibliography

Print

* Gitomer, Jeffrey (November 12, 2019). ''Get Sh*t Done: The Ultimate Guide to Productivity, Procrastination, and Profitability.'' Wiley. * 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. * 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. * * 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. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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

V-Books (video)

References

External links

* * SalesHQ – ''5 Best Sales Authors of All Time'

* Jeffrey Gitomer Interview by Jim Canterucc

* * Roth Talent Profil

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gitomer, Jeffrey Living people American businesspeople American columnists American instructional writers American motivational writers 1946 births Writers from Charlotte, North Carolina