Sales EQ

15Sales Process

You should never allow someone else to dictate your sales process.

—Mike Weinberg

Jeffrey Gitomer, author of The Little Red Book of Selling (Bard Press, 2004) and his Sales Bible (John Wiley & Sons, new ed., 2015), is one of the most prolific authors in the sales space. He has sold more than a million books and risen to celebrity status in the sales profession. I once walked through the Charlotte, North Carolina, airport with Jeffrey. People were coming up to him from every direction to shake his hand or get an autograph. They were even introducing their children to “The King of Sales.”

In his home is an impressive library, including what is likely the most comprehensive collection of sales books in the world. Whenever I'm there, I find myself staring into the bookshelves, mesmerized, just trying to take it all in.

In the center of the library surrounded by these books is Gitomer's favorite writing chair. And it was there in the library that we engaged in a deep conversation about the sales process.

“Look at all these books.” Gitomer waved at the shelves—school was in session. “There's so much that's been written about sales, but I can simplify all of it. Sales is a process—a completely predictable process. Follow the steps and you close deals. Skip steps and you lose.”

Sales is a process. I'd heard and said those words more times than I could remember. Sales is a process is the mantra of sales trainers, the hero and main character of countless sales books, ...