Jeffrey Gitomer

A lot of annual sales meetings were canceled last year, for a lot of different reasons. That does not seem to be happening this year. In spite of appearances, and warnings from people who have never had real jobs, executives have decided to put the incentive back into the selling process.

I’ve gathered some sales predictions from my crystal ball, a bunch of people you think are hot prospects, a few irritated customers, a couple tightwad purchasing agents, and a sales manager in a pear tree. Some are tongue-in-cheek — or are they? Some are painful.

Well golleeeee! There’s a brilliant statement. Probably made by the same idiot that said the recession is over. The reality is no one knows. The fact is some businesses will have their best year ever, and others will go out of business.

I’m getting a lot of mixed email messages these days. “Our sincere wish for a Happy Thanksgiving,” followed by a sales message in the same card or email wanting me to buy right now because it’s the holiday and I can get HUGE savings or a HUGE discount.

Many people struggled last year. You may be among them. Or your relatives may be among them. And as your conversation (story telling) evolves, you have choices. I recommend that you choose to not lament what didn’t happen and focus on what DID happen.

It’s not too late to WOW your customers this holiday season! My elves at Ace of Sales have done most of the work for you. All that’s left for you to do is…

“Call me after the holidays is the second most-heard objection in sales (first being, “Your price is too high.” Third being “I have to think about it.”). It comes up year after year and salespeople get frustrated year after year, unnecessarily.

In 1972, when I was studying sales and positive attitude, I watched a movie called “Challenge to America,” almost every day. In it was a story told by the great Glenn W. Turner where he wrote a letter to Santa Claus every year that matched his wealthy cousins.

What Thanksgiving is really all about is giving thanks; or better said, saying thanks. How do you say thanks? Go into any retail store and most of the time (not all the time) some clerk will say, “Thanks and have a nice day.”

I got an unsolicited email this morning that gave me no choice but to read it. My interest had to do with the subject line, the headline, the design of the content, and the copy.